To think it’s difficult to maintain fitness in teens unless they are elite level in something

[Uyhko]

my kids aren’t really that competitive and not terribly sporty but enjoy being active. It’s really hard once they hit 12 and are not good enough for swim team. Not good enough for football team etc etc. we try to bridge the gap I do a lot of bikes runs etc with them at the weekend but it’s hard to find activities that really increase fitness. I am not cut out for park runs due to an injury. I suppose I could send them round park runs on their own although I don’t think they would massively enjoy. They would like to join a swim only for fitness team. But such a thing doesn’t seem to exist.

I agree OP, it's a terrible situation that there are so few clubs for teens to join if they just want to stay active. My DD has been lucky with netball and swimming but was pushed out of gymnastics and not even allowed to join a hockey club because she was a beginner at 12 🙄

Totally agree.

I have no idea why there can't be more hobby sports clubs for teens. Loads of adult men play in five a side football teams for instance- why not run fun give a side leagues for teens? And similar things with other sports.

We give teens so little to do in this country then complain that they don't do anything! And keeping people active would help future health.

Totally agree op! We’ve lost the art of encouraging dc and teens to be physically active for fun and for the way it makes you feel, rather than for a certificate or the thrill of winning. It sets a really awful example to them. We adults need to model a good balance of wellbeing in mind, body and soul as teens do what we do, not what we say. And with smart phones being so prominent in teens’ lives currently, they need to do sport to counteract all the sedentary on-line activity.

I recommend The DofE Award Scheme and horse riding clubs but obviously those activities are not within everyone’s grasp, especially teens who live in very urban areas.

I agree, in fact even younger than that. My DS1 was always enthusiastic, but not very good at sport and there didn't seem to be a place him after about 8/9yo.

Even PE at secondary school is rubbish if you've been labeled as not sporty. They seemed to be left to their own devices in the fitness suite or to organise their own games with others whose main aim was to avoid PE.

Cadets was brilliant for him though.

Our local hockey club rubs all comers Junior sections up to U14 and then accepts anyone who wants to play into the adult teams! There is also walking hockey. They have sticks to lend out .
My DDs football club has 3 teams at different levels
The athletics club takes anyone.
They can swim in a general lane swim?
I haven't found this level of exclusion tbh. Maybe our local clubs are just more inclusive....
Hockey is generally a very inclusive sport. People take it up as adults and can join in!!! We are just a provincial town not a big city ....

I agree too. My Dd was great at gym but didn't want to do hours and hours like you had to once you were identified as being good at it.

This said netball seems to be happy having lots of different levels of children

To some extent, but you don't need to be really good at something. My ds did do athletics to a high level but he also swam recreationally. He was never a member of a club, just did a teenfit class and then joined an adult class when he was 16 for coached swimming. So it was effectively lessons, but as you get better you do more coached swims and technique work - you can do distance badges and personal survival but you are not competing. Check if your local pool does lessons for older kids. Something like Rookie lifeguard might appeal to them too.

If they like running, they can do parkrun without you (go and marshal if you can't run yourself) and you might find an athletics club that has a kids' running section (though they tend to have long waiting lists). There are also lots of classes like yoga, aerobics etc, kids can try them all out and see which they like (though not sure if they are all open to under 18s or 16s).

It probably is harder with team sports and even where you have lots of levels of leagues or teams, there is still a win at all costs mentality (thinking of football).

Scouts is also good for general getting out of the house and a lot of the activities are outside.

In my area there are a lot of outdoor fitness classes - again not sure if they will take under 18s or 16s, but might be worth investigating in your area.

My dd got fit and strong in her teens, having been 'unsporty' by getting into watersports. We were fortunate to find a club near us which did kids sailing on the Saturday morning and windsurfing in the afternoon. Obviously helps if the rest of the family likes that sort of thing too. (Quite a few of the kids were brought along by their granddads). She's living somewhere that's not great for those sports now so got into kayaking instead.

We did also do quite a bit of hillwalking and some cycling - these are also the sorts of things that are easy to carry on with.

Would they consider something like martial arts if it's affordable? There are people of all levels at all ages and it's great fun as well as being great for getting or keeping fit.

ds stopped doing organised sport around 13-ish (also not good enough for team). Doesn't stop them doing lots of other things. ds did walking (miles!) with friends in the local countryside, five-a-side with friends. He also did swimming laps at local pool and gym, sometimes with friends sometimes alone once he stopped football training.

There are lots of other things they can do such as most martial arts are inclusive and welcoming to those who want to so it for just keeping fits, or boxing training without the fighting you don't need to be competitive and do competitions.

There is running/cycling/fitness sessions/teen circuit training, ice skating, skate parks, etc. Not good enough for football team doesn't mean they can't hire an astroturf with friends and have a kick abouts, our local powerleague hired out pitches to teens really cheaply. Local leisure center for badminton, table tennis, short tennis, basketball, squash. Play golf.

Lots to do if they/or parents can organise themselves and friends and use their imagination, they are not limited to just organised clubs.

There are some really good, teen-friendly things though?

Martial arts always seem to take beginners, and on a more hobby front there are open water swimming/ climbing wall/ ice skating/ skating/ trampolining/ street dancing places all over the place in larger towns and cities. Add to that some of the other facilities which do high roping and the many teen-friendly play parks and there is plenty to keep them active and enjoying themselves.

In the US and Canada kids are normally separated into serious or recreational leagues around age 12. I didn't know it though until I complained to someone that DS wanted to play a sport but was only a beginner and there was nowhere for him to do it - luckily she set me straight, and he's been playing on a recreational team for a year now. Are you sure there isn't such a thing there? Because otherwise I agree with you that it's hard to keep them fit unless they have unteenly self-motivation.

Rowing clubs tend to accept anyone. Agree with hockey too.

Hockey is generally a very inclusive sport. People take it up as adults and can join in!!! We are just a provincial town not a big city ....

Interesting, I have the completely opposite experience. Several hockey club I know were explicit that they only wanted new members if they were going to help them win leagues. They were not interested in adult beginners, newbies or unfit returners.

Teens can do self-organised, general activity but we know that being with their friends/peers for the social side is so important for them. Going to general lanes at the local pool at 7pm on a Tuesday night just isn't appealing.

*clubs

Is there a triathlon club near you? Ours takes everyone in; you don't have to be fast and most importantly you don't have to race. You can train as little or often as you like and they run about five sessions a week,swim, bike run. My 11yo has been going willingly since Feb.

Maybe it depends where you live. I can think of multiple sports club within easy reach of where I live that will accept teens of any level of ability and would be delighted to have them.

Totally agree OP. Swimming is particularly bad - the choice is usually 10h+ a week training (assuming you are good enough) or nothing.

My teens/tweens do a few different things (riding, climbing, parkour, skateboarding) but usually non-competitive activities like this lack the social dimension of a club, because kids come and go a lot. It's a shame.

A lot of the clubs are hidden in plain sight, you need to seek them out. ds did some boxing training (not actual boxing) in a community center for 6 months before deciding it wasn't for him and he did something else instead. It was walking distance from our house, never even realised it was there until someone else mentioned it.

Try physically visiting local community centers to find out what they have going on.

I think you need to try different teams in the area for the sports he's interested in. My DDs do gymnastics and swim with a club. They are much younger, but I know both their gym and swimming club have recreational/training only classes for those who don't want to or aren't good enough to be elite. The other swimming club in the town is the same. PP is correct about lane swimming too: as long as they can competently swim lengths (and know the etiquette), they are allowed to join a session. DD1 is 8yo and joins me for the odd lane swim. The sports centre also offers junior gym membership from 12yo.
Friends' teens also do martial arts, indoor rock climbing and kayaking, as well as Scouts (our unit tends to do pretty active stuff).

There's other sports you can start later and do socially - fencing, climbing, rowing, athletics and quite a probably racquet sports like tennis, badminton and squash to a social level.

D of E is good for suggesting things to try for skills/sports as well as volunteering.

For all of us we get hung up on 'going to a club' or doing an activity to be fit or to keep fit

What do they do, day to day, do you ferry them around or do they use public transport, do they cycle or walk to places?

Its about what they do on a daily basis in the running around of life

Why do they need to be on a swim team, all pools have lane sessions, they can go to the gym, do park run without you, take up more unusual sports perhaps. Dd took up rugby at 16.

Our triathlon club is really friendly, there's no pressure to compete and if you do it's more of a personal challenge thing. We have a good record of keeping teen girls engaged, some of whom are not that fit or sporty but appreciate the encouragement they are given to do their best. There is always an assistant coach happy to jog along at the back and even just walk if necessary. I know, because I'm often that assistant!! There are ways if setting up running sessions which mean people can be at vastly different speeds but still get something out of it. The swimming is in lanes so differentiated that way.