dd wishes she was more sporty

I’m still not sure what you and your daughter are after, OP.

Is it to find a sport for your daughter to do independently of her sporty friends, or is it for her to do the sports with her sporty friends?

Dd is not sporty, but danced. She took up volleyball as a social sport.

DS has never been sporty at school but he did karate for years and was good at it which was excellent for his confidence. I was disappointed when he gave it up whilst training for black belt but he can always go back to it. Karate is very egalitarian, people of either sex or any age can join a beginners class and they won't stand out.

DS joined a gym last summer. He loves it and has developed a real interested in the physiology side. It's a great way to get him out of the house at weekends and school holidays and to destress during GCSE revision and mocks.

I was never sporty either and still can't catch or hit a ball but I always liked aerobics classes and things like that. Then I took up running as an adult and whilst I was never going to win any races I always finished midfield in 10ks and half marathons so wasn't the worst. I took up yoga a year ago and the teacher recently asked me if I was interested in training to teach so I guess I must be OK at that too.

I think your DD should work on her fitness and stamina, join a gym and try couch to 5k. Then she might be more confident joining an organised sport.

At 16 she isn’t to old to learn to balance on a bike

Rowing is really easy to start. I started at the gym got talking to professional rowers there who, unbeknownst to me, were monitoring my times. The moment I was fast enough I got a spot on the beginner rowing team.

Why doesn't she talk to one of her trusted friends about how to begin?

Would second this. There are always beginner MMA/BJJ classes starting. Loads of fun, gets you super fit very quickly and there's the added bonus of learning how to look after yourself.

There are plenty of active things she can try her hand at without the pressure of being on a team or being compared to people and these activities will help build strength, stamina and coordination.

Visit a climbing centre
Go roller skating
Rent out a local tennis court
Go swimming together weekly
Do a couch to 5k
Dance classes

Start with some swimming lessons, especially if she's friends with rowers!

Would she go to a gym? Away from school so she can get stronger.

And dancing is brilliant for coordination, body awareness, grace.

It's getting lighter now so maybe short jogs round the local park after school and weekends.

Getting more stamina, stronger muscles, more used to using her body for enjoyable activities.

What about cross-country running? They go to comps as a team and there's a team and individual result. Group training. But no really coordination involved.

It depends how serious you want to be about it. If you want to compete to a reasonable level then you need good technique and have good enough proprioception to be able to make small adjustments to your movements. If you just want to have a fun social activity then technique is not so important.

Also rowing can be very cliquey.

(I don't want to derail the thread with a discussion on rowing!)

How about Padel? I think pretty much anyone can pick it up and that's why it is such good fun. But as others have suggested rowing could also be a good option... I joined the rowing team at uni as a novice and loved it.

Please don't take this the wrong way but you come across as not being very open minded to her trying things out in case she isn't good at it straight away. Obviously she isn't going to row in the olympics, but it is possible to take part in sport just for fun and she will improve at any sport if she practises. You've already acknowledged it's great for her social life but playing sport teaches us resilience too. So I think you should try to be more encouraging and tell her to just have a go. Who cares if she fumbles the ball or trips over whilst learning a new game? She needs to pick herself up, laugh and carry on... and possibly you could benefit from doing this too.

Climbing is worth a try. Nice community of friendly people on the whole.

I disagree, I row and some of my fellow rowers are not particularly co-ordinated (if you chuck something at them they can't catch it etc) , but they can still learn, it takes time regardless to get good at rowing so would suit someone who can persevere while learning, doesn't mind getting soaked regularly and does what they are told (as you can't just do your own thing until you are good enough to go out on your own)

I actually find it great, I don't have to think I just do what I'm told and it's very meditative and I love being on the water.

I think everyone is sporty, they just need to find the right sport!

Have a look and see if there are any ladies softball cricket teams near you. She’s old enough to play and it’s really welcoming of all abilities and experience levels. It’s designed as an introduction to the sport and is very low key, all about having a bit of fun.

We take newbies at that age in our rugby club. As others mentioned martial arts is a good thought but also join a gym

@CosyRubyDreamer wtaf do you want from thus thread? You are very negative

Gym/training is probably the answer. It is just personal to her, no measuring against anyone else, she’ll be toned and enjoy exercise.

Activities like rowing are more about fitness, stamina and physique than sportiness and coordination. How do her friends train, are they in the gym, running, swimming? Can she join them? She could train as a cox or referee, lifeguard or first aider if she wants to feel more included.

She needs swimming lessons, which are available in every part of the country.

Edited to add: I now see you're not in the UK, but in any country with similar infrastructure there would be swimming lessons presumably, and some countries (e.g. Australia) potentially more emphasis on swimming.

I'm not sure what you're hoping to achieve from this thread. Loads of people have made helpful suggestions which you have ignored or say are not possible

This is not true.

Both football and rowing have beginners options at all ages.

The first step for rowing would be swimming lessons.

I agree with the comment above you are coming across as putting barriers in the way.

Is the issue money, you don't want to spend the money? Because 1-1 swimming lessons would be the best start for rowing, about ten lessons would help her make lots of progress.

You seem quite negative about all the ideas. What are you looking for from this thread?
You're putting up a lot of barriers.

Look at some getting into cycling schemes in your area. Lots of council run initiatives to get people cycling confidently.
And there are lots of adult swimming lessons too.
My dc struggled with swimming at 7 and then really picked it up when we tried again at 9/10.
Look also at ThisGirlCan for ideas and perhaps the both of you can start something together.

www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/

I think rowing probably isn't for her then. Rowing clubs need people to be able to swim to shore or a launch if they capsize, which happens, even to very capable rowers. Ours tested us during a capsize drill in a swimming pool first and we had to swim two lengths without visible struggle. I wouldn't worry about not riding a bike though... I can't either and was always very sporty :).
How about horse riding? Lot's of people take that up later and you can get 1:1 lessons to start off.
Also yoga has a lovely community and could help with coordination, balance and general wellbeing.

So why doesn’t she take up one of those?! You have rookies of all ages in both sports.

You do need to be co-ordinated for rowing.