Sports for a 7 year old boy (apart from football!)

[ByDreamyMintNewt]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could advise of the best sports for a 7 year old boy to begin? I feel like he's missed the boat a bit on football as his dad (and none of the rest of us) are into it, but I'd like him to have some kind of sport to at least give a go to. I never had the opportunity for clubs/active hobbies really as a child so I'd like him to have the opportunity.

He's a very energetic child and I think the best thing I can do for him is try to keep him active and busy! So any recommendations of things that he'll be able to start out now at beginner level, without standing out too much, and hopefully enjoy?

Thanks

Rugby , look up your local rugby club and see if they run a mini rugby section.

Dance?
Hockey?

If there's an athletics club near you that does kids' activities, that could be fun, and he can run cross country in the U9 category in winter.

Triathlon, archery, climbing, hockey, horse riding

Martial arts I think is a good one, it helps with their confidence a lot

My daughter goes to a local athletics club that's really good. She also did tennis for a bit and there was a starter course that 2as good value over the summer that we did first.

Taekwondo is great for kids that age. It's quite social and also teaches patience, listening, working with partner etc.

Our local tennis club runs a nice low-key juniors session at the weekend, ages 6 and up.

Rock climbing? We have an indoor climbing centre that my kids LOVED at that age.

So many options. Martial arts, karate or taekwondo, badminton, tennis, rugby, dodgeball, swimming, diving, rowing, basketball, the list goes on. Climbing.

Has he ever been to a sports day childcare where he did load of different things?

Gymnastics and trampolining both burn off loads of energy, you just need to try and find a club where he'll have some other boys for company (generally easier with trampolining).

Alternatively, my neighbour's two boys are 6 and 8 and LOVE taekwondo!

Over the years both of my children (one boy and one girl) have enjoyed the following:
Karate
Judo
Horseriding
Rugby
Climbing
Gymnastics

Rugby, tennis, squash, cricket, hockey, climbing.

Some kids like playing team sports, some more individual things. If he's not sure yet you should give him a choice of both.

Things like tennis, dance (loads of different styles available), boxing, gymnastics, bmx-ing.

Then also maybe cricket, basketball etc. He can easily do football as well, he doesn't have to become a professional standard!

Is there winter sports places near you/correct weather? If so ice hockey, ice skating, skiing, snowboarding.

It really depends on what he's into. He could be the type that prefers abstract imaginative play, cooking, caring for animals or strategy board games as opposed to sport.

Have you got a dry ski slope or snow dome locally? Skiing or snowboarding, 7 is a good age to start and most have a Club race team to join if he gets proficient. It’s a skill that can last a lifetime, many people still skiing in their 70’s and eighties.

Mine does kickboxing as really good for concentration and focus.

Football tends to be important for boys socially, especially as they get older. It pays for them to be able to hold their own a bit when playing so I wouldn’t discount that and I’d probably look at getting him into a low key team (unless he absolutely does hate football).
Another good option would be Beavers, they try out a lot of activities there and tend to be outdoors a lot.

My 9yo boy plays hockey, tennis, football, American football, table tennis, trampolining and gymnastics. Hockey is far and away his favourite, followed by American football. We are lucky to live somewhere with lots of clubs and his school offer lots of variety too!

Ideal time of the year to find a local cricket club with a junior section , horse riding , rugby

waterpolo athletics tennis climbing all great

Rugby for sure, they welcome beginners at any age - my 7 year old loves it. Season will start end of August/start of September but ours has informal training and games on over summer.

He also plays football, but not for a team, he does a training session with a game between who attends at the end - good for school and playing with his mates as he's developing skills and technique.

Great time of year for cricket too, he does an All Stars beginners session over the summer, look it up, it's country wide.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Especially those who've expanded with their own experiences. We live rurally, so that makes some things slightly trickier - for example be really enjoys climbing but it's too far to go weekly.

He goes to Beavers already which he really enjoys. He generally is pretty outdoorsy, if not sporty.

I do worry about him missing out on the social aspect of football. The clubs near us all seem a bit competitive already though and I worry he's too far behind with it all already? He's not really bothered about football but I don't know if it's something I should be trying to expose him to a bit more just so he can fit in? He's a "boy's boy" in other respects.

Dad's not keen on him doing rugby as he's witnessed some nasty injuries over the years. Cricket could be a shout if there's anything locally. I know there's karate and a running group nearby too. There's tennis but again it actually looks a bit competitive already?!

I think my concern with most things is that he'll already be behind somehow and it'll affect his self esteem?
I'm not sure whether individual or team would be better. He does tend to be a sore loser at things.

gymnastics has been great for my ds

junior parkrun if you have one locally. If he likes it he might enjoy an athletics club.
Watersports can be good for kids who don't enjoy ball sports or something on bikes?

I’m sure a 7yo can catch up- call a couple of clubs and ask if there’s room for beginners, or if there are skills courses a beginner could do a term of before joining a club. Basketball is like that here so some children who didn’t start early do skills courses to prep them for a team. Football of any variety anyone can get into at 7,8 though, and I wouldn’t say we are not a sporty culture (Australia)
I like mine to do a team sport, then swimming is not optional, and they also do athletics, one does cross country too. They didn’t love tennis, I think they might again when older but we also don’t have time for another sport so that’s fine for now!

My 6 year old does football, basketball and tag rugby (league) he has only very recently started rugby and absolutely loves it, I would definitely recommend (we as a family have no previous interest in rugby)

Just to expand on my earlier response, if your local running club has junior coaching, 7 is a good time to start and you can't be 'behind' with anything, as it's not really available before then, and it's the youngest age group for junior cross country. Athletics and xc are also both individual and team sports: you obviously try your best as an individual, but in xc, you might also count for your team, and/or against the other teams. And in athletics competitions you end up specialising in the events you like best, but you go to competitions where there are loads of events and an overall club score.