Which Sport for a balanced life?!

[MusicMum80s]

So my DD is pretty athletic and enjoys a lot of different sports- running, swimming, tennis, cricket, netball etc mostly done at school.

She’s only 6 but wants to do more sport outside of school and her school says she’s ‘able’. She already does other out of school activities though so I’m just curious which sport is least demanding regarding practice time, coaching at primary school age if you play in a club or progress to county level?

Young tennis players seem to train excessively if they are talented and I don’t really want her to get roped in to that or be demoralised because she can’t progress.

All sport seems to be so serious from so young these days so I guess I’m asking what is still relatively low key for kids at club or even county level?

I’d suggest cycling also. Probably with a bit of triathlon alongside. (If you go here https://uktriathlon.co.uk/uk-kids there are about 4 fun triathlons over the next couple of months that you can do from age 5 if you live in a convenient place - most triathlons you can’t try out until the year they turn 8.)

My eldest competes at the top end of National for cycling and still trains a lot less than friends who are swimmers and gymnasts and compete at regional level.

Hockey all the way !!!

hockey Sat, tag rugby Sunday whilst they are younger. The hockey family is lovely 😊

2nd generation hockey family here!

I don’t play but DH did and now coaches…both DS play county level. Great boy / girl mix, lovely kids.

Cricket at the right club. DS2 (7) plays U9s and that’s training once a night plus match once a week. At the wrong club though you won’t get picked if you DDad doesn’t play so do your research!

Volleyball is pretty low-key and friendly.

Glad to read that you had discounted swimming- not at all balanced as soon as you get to county standard and the madness (and cost) increases exponentially with every tier you move up!

DS liked cricket as his chill sport, completely different to his swim training. He rather wondered if stopping for tea could be introduced midway through a 200m fly race.

I second cheer if your daughter has any interest in gymnastic type activities. Training is usually once or twice a week for most clubs and it’s great for fitness and team work.

Judo, definitely the nicest club we went to, and nicest wider community when we went to competitions. Focus on fun. And teaches them to manage conflict, be gracious in victory. Lots going for it.

Triathlon! You control how much training and how many competitions they do. Our club has up to five sessions a week but most do a couple depending on time etc. It's good value too and always plenty of equipment sold on/ given away as people upgrade so not expensive at lower levels. Not letting a team down if they want to go to a birthday party or on holiday. Friendly atmosphere at events, often in nice settings. There will be a handful of kids on a performance pathway but you are really competing against yourself. Also the categories are female and open, so girls/ women are not competing against boys/ men.

At 6 I think you need the just them enjoy lots of sports still.

I think team sports are probably key, eg netball, football, rugby, cricket. most aren’t year round so you get an ‘off’ season too.

avoid: swimming, rowing (she’s too young at the moment anyway), dance, gymnastics, tennis. The children I know who do those to a good level (or even an average level or not particularly good level in some cases!) seem to be tied in to sessions 4/5 times a week by age 8 or 9.

@MumHereAgain2023 she does do other sport. I’m going to let her do a club sport and want one that’s not too time demanding

I’m glad people think triathlons are a good option. Training seems to be twice a week at our local club and not too demanding. She really likes cricket at school so I’ll have a chat to the local cricket club which is good and specialises in girls / women’s cricket and is also very close by.

I’m a bit weary of team sports at club level though at this age as you are letting people down if you miss things for birthday parties etc as @horseymum suggests. She will do lots of team sport at her private school throughout so she’ll still get the benefit of competitive team sports all year but less intense than club sport.

Cyclocross - off road (parks, playing fields) etc, not mountains) bike racing for predetermined time periods depending on . age group. Leagues all over the country, many cycling clubs have kids coaching sessions.

Check out cycling clubs with •
"Go Ride" accreditation.

Link

I would recommend rugby too. At this age it is a Sunday morning session only and all the focus is on skills and giving everyone a chance to play. There is also a heavy focus on sporting behaviour and supporting all players.
Girls and women's rugby is also growing and there are girls only teams from age 11 plus opportunities to play at county level as they get older.
Ideally look for a club with a women's and girls section. They are likely to have more girls playing when she is younger and role models in the senior female players.

Athletics. If you're anywhere near North London, there is a fantastic club in Finsbury Park that used to cost £3 per week for 1.5 hours really high quality athletics training. You weren't tied into any contract either and could do more sessions a week/compete if you wanted to but there was zero pressure to do so. It was divided by age and ability groups and started from a very young age (whereas some athletics clubs start at 8).

Rock climbing 🧗‍♀️ is also really fun and not that time-consuming.

My own kid does show jumping 🏇which wasn't that time-consuming when she was at a riding school, but is now extremely time-consuming (and expensive!) that she has her own ponies. Very good for keeping teens mentally healthy though.

Anything but swimming!

Is there a girl's cricket club?

Actually, now I've read the thread properly-I think you should leave sport to the school and choose another out of school club if you want her to do something. She's only 6. For all you know her real passion is drama or painting. Don't put all her eggs in one basket!

Methinks you’re projecting a little. My dc did tennis, and even as teens only played once a week. As a young adult, he still plays and enjoys it.

Whatever sport she plays, you can continue at club level, or national level, do one session a week, or train everyday.

Let her enjoy being six and playing sport.

@Riverlee and @CurlewKate she does already do other non-sport activities. She’s musical but she’s also very interested in sport and so a balance is good as long as she’s asking to do it in my opinion. I’d rather guide her to something not too intense as it progresses as I’m not prepared to go down that route. I’m not sure why people keep saying let her enjoy sport and do other things which I’ve repeatedly said she does and is…

yes there is a girls cricket club walking distance to our house.

@XelaM @IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads @LostMySocks thanks for the really helpful suggestions! It’s much appreciated.

At the age she is none of the competitive sports need to be so intense unless you’re driving it so why not just let her pick what she’d enjoy most? Or avoid what you’d least enjoy watching (eg outdoor v indoor in the winter).

Eg my 7yo is in a swimming club and just does one session a week with the club alongside her lessons. It is actually one of the nicest, most inclusive things she does as the ethos at this age is about supporting your friends and improving. I’m not naive about where it might go later but our club has lots of routes and less intensive squads so it isn’t all 5am steers or nothing. They are also very strict about maximum hours for under 10s.

Similarly my daughters are enjoying tennis. They’re not going to get to Wimbledon but I’m sure in time they might do some local competitions. While there will be children regularly competing at that age and throwing money at it you don’t have to go down that route.

At the age she is none of the competitive sports need to be so intense

I think gymnastics is the only one where I heard it's impossible to catch up unless you start very young

There’s no need to start very young, it is possible to catch up.

problem is the culture of gymnastics and BG’s age related progression to elite means clubs can’t or won’t take on a child who starts “late”. They are focussed on the kids they have already been developing and a newbie won’t fit in a group that is learning advanced skills, and the classes for that age will not provide the hours and coaching needed to catch up.

it’s not they can’t catch up, but that nobody is prepared to help them do so.

I wouldn't be worrying about progressing to county level in anything at any age, just try a few sports and see what she enjoys. My kids love climbing and martial arts. They do both to quite a high level but not too intensive but the sport has to suit the child.

It’s a good question! I would only ever sign her up for something she was interested in and excited about. Luckily she likes lots of things so I have the luxury of choosing something for outside of school that if she excels at it won’t become too demanding. I don’t want to be in a position where I am the one stopping her continuing to pursue something she is already doing because I disagree with the ethos or time commitment. Again the risk of this a slightly higher with her because 1.) she’s relatively able at sport according to her school and 2.) her personality!