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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

What sports do your girls do

59 replies

Tohaveandtohold · 15/06/2022 10:07

What would you recommend.

So I have a DD who will be 9 soon. She plays an instrument at school and at a music school for 3 hours on Saturday and she’s very good at it. She likes it as well and also does 30 mins of swimming per week.

She has been doing gymnastics for almost 4 years now (goes to training for 8 hours a week, more during competition season) but myself and dad thinks it’s getting out of hand now. She loves going and has lots of friends however since competitions started after covid, she has been to 4 (2 county and 2 regional) but apart from the second competition when she came second with her group, she has always had a low grade in her individual routines and not come home with medals which is getting her down. She cries for days, we ask if she wants to stop but she refuses.

We don’t care about medals, etc but I care about how this is making her feel. It’s almost like she feels like an imposter, this is getting me down as well but she just does not want to quit, mostly because of the friends she has made as she’s also in a competitive group there.

I feel if you’re committing an average of 10 hrs a week to something, at that age, it shouldn’t be something that’ll affect you negatively. We’ve decided that we’ll pull the plug on it at the end of this term but she’s very athletic and competitive, we can’t just take her out and not find her something else (though ideally, I want something that does not require that much time commitment), sorry this has turned out to be long but what sport will you recommend.

OP posts:
PritiPatelsMaker · 10/08/2022 19:13

Has she found anything she likes yet @Tohaveandtohold?

Tohaveandtohold · 12/08/2022 07:38

Yes, we only just left gymnastics at the end of the term (July). We found a netball team that she’ll start in September because they’re closed in August. I’ve told her to be upfront if she does not like it so we can quickly try something else.
I think I like the netball club though because they only have 2 classes a week and one is for 45 mins and the other is for 1 hour which will give her so much time back. She’ll still be playing an instrument and going to the music school. Thank you all for your suggestions.

OP posts:
DillonPanthersTexas · 12/08/2022 07:49

I'm a massive advocate of team sports. I coach at my local rowing club and it is so rewarding watching shy and unsure young kids grow in confidence and find themselves. We compete at local regattas so they all experience winning (and losing) together which are important lessons. Keeps them bloody fit too.

itsgettingweird · 12/08/2022 07:55

Personally I wouldn't have moved her if she loved it.

My ds was always behind at swimming despite the number of hours training.

He stuck at it. Learnt resilience and actually learned that the training is part of the process compared to his peers who were winning medals from day one. Their motivation became medals which isn't what sporting bodies encourage at grass root sport.

He's just one a gold and 2 silvers at British champs.

Anyway I hope she enjoys netball but if she misses gymnastics and wants to return please consider it.

popandchoc · 13/08/2022 16:47

My daughter does cheerleading which she really enjoys . She used to do gymnastics and dance which has helped her . It’s a team sport so not as bad if they don’t win etc .

XelaM · 12/09/2022 13:52

I do NOT recommend the sports my 12-year-old daughter chooses to do. After she tried most conventional sports, she unfortunately settled down on the most expensive ones:

Equestrian show jumping - absolutely the pain of my life and I am spending literally every penny on this (of which I don't have many!). I am now being put under immense pressure by my daughter and her trainer to get a second pony 🤦‍♀️

Skiing - thankfully she doesn't do it as seriously as horse riding otherwise I'd be completely bankrupt.

She also really loved rock climbing and wants to take that up again.

At school she's in the netball team, which I recommend 😀

XelaM · 12/09/2022 17:44

itsgettingweird · 12/08/2022 07:55

Personally I wouldn't have moved her if she loved it.

My ds was always behind at swimming despite the number of hours training.

He stuck at it. Learnt resilience and actually learned that the training is part of the process compared to his peers who were winning medals from day one. Their motivation became medals which isn't what sporting bodies encourage at grass root sport.

He's just one a gold and 2 silvers at British champs.

Anyway I hope she enjoys netball but if she misses gymnastics and wants to return please consider it.

Wow that's amazing!! Congratulations to your son!!

Magnolia24 · 12/09/2022 17:48

My dd14 boxes, and has played football for the last 7 years. I’d highly recommend both. She also swam, but stopped when the only route forward was competitive.

drspouse · 13/09/2022 09:23

Having said my DD plays football, she has now tried out a competitive cycling club (she's only 8 so it's skills training and a bit of light pootling round the track), she's only gone once but it's fun and a friend of hers goes so I think she'll want to carry on.

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