Seeking ideas: Alternative sports for kids

[Captain Cactus]

Hey all,

I have two boys (9&11) and I'm looking for "sport/activities" ideas for them.  Our town has the traditional sports (soccer, baseball, basketball) through clubs, but I'm looking for additional ideas, ideas that one would not normally think of (think along the lines of fencing, swimming, etc...). 

The goal is to be another avenue for making friends, having fun, maybe a little friendly competition, physical fitness, etc...

We live south-east of Hartford, Connecticut.  Would love your ideas!

[Metalcat]

Badminton. I frickin' loved badminton as a kid and we all had it set up in our back yards.

Cheap, easy for kids to pick up, but does have technical skills that can be learned, can be played singles or doubles, and is a great lead into tennis if they want to graduate to that in the future.

Best of all, it's great for mixing kids and adults because it's not a strength game, so it's something you can get in and play with them.

[erutio]

My kids (8 and 10 now) have always loved the climbing gym.  Do you have one nearby that offers kids lessons? 
I love that it's not a traditional ball sport with all the baggage that comes with them.  The kids learn about safety, planning ahead, patience, perseverance.  Physically, it's great for strength and flexibility.  The competition is against yourself.

[mspym]

 Both badminton and climbing are great. Climbing especially has a really friendly crew of people, very generous with their time. Another one could be martial arts but you’d want to get the schools to make sure they aren’t Cobra Kai.

My brother’s family are all into ballroom dancing which is fun and physically demanding.

[chasingsnow]

Dont know if your town has a rock climbing gym but its an awesome way for your kid to make friends and its something you can do together too!!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Swim club, pickle ball, rock climbing all come to mind. Do your kids have a preference? I've found at that age, best to let them try out the sports they are most interested in. Tennis is also a good option, with a life long span. Boys volleyball? Don't know the terrain near you, but mountain biking?

[YttriumNitrate]

I shot competitively in high school and in grad school. Riflery is terrible in terms of the "physical fitness" aspect but good in the other aspects. Also, among the original sports of the modern Olympics, it's one of the few where short uncoordinated kids stand a chance of doing well.

[Metalcat]

Both badminton and climbing are great. Climbing especially has a really friendly crew of people, very generous with their time. Another one could be martial arts but you’d want to get the schools to make sure they aren’t ARE Cobra Kai.

My brother’s family are all into ballroom dancing which is fun and physically demanding.

FIXED IT!

[Villanelle]

Several kiddos of people on my friends list are into ninja warrior-ing (goes by various names but usually it has 'ninja warrior' in it somehow), which is basically American Ninja Warrior type obstacles courses.  Lots of training, and while it is a solo sport, there seems to be a great deal of camaraderie (and competition) among them and the other kids at their gyms.  It looks amazing fun, but also like a very physical activity. 

[mspym]

Several kiddos of people on my friends list are into ninja warrior-ing (goes by various names but usually it has 'ninja warrior' in it somehow), which is basically American Ninja Warrior type obstacles courses.  Lots of training, and while it is a solo sport, there seems to be a great deal of camaraderie (and competition) among them and the other kids at their gyms.  It looks amazing fun, but also like a very physical activity.

That sounds truly great

[Mariposa]

In addition to the ones already mentioned:
-ice skating
-roller skating / roller blading
-skateboarding
-surfing
-skiing / snowboarding
-parkour
-ping pong
-hand ball
-dodge ball
-bowling
-mini and regular golf
-tap dancing
-zumba

My kid has tried out soccer, basketball, swimming, ice skating, and surfing (which he liked but couldn't tolerate a full wetsuit, so can't resume until June). He ice skates with me recreationally but isn't that interested in learning new moves. He's agreed to try out indoor climbing for the cold months.

[sixwings]

Ultimate frisbee, speed skating, did both quite a bit and still love both. The communities are usually small and tight knight/friendly.

[CrustyBadger]

Orienteering is a great sport! I used to take my Girl Scout troop orienteering starting around age 10. They learn so much and also get great exercise.

[CrustyBadger]

Here's a Connecticut orienteering club if you are interested - I don't know anything about the club, but they seem to have a number of events!

https://www.wcocorienteering.org/current-schedule

[Just Joe]

Mtn biking (trails) or gravel biking (dirt roads). Did alot of spelunking as a teen. Hiking too.

[Kl285528]

My kid got into climbing about 4 years ago at age 14 - still actively pursuing it, doing outdoor bouldering and rope climbing now, as well as the climbing gym. Boy Scouts will also encourage lots of different physical activities - camping and hiking are obvious, but others too. Shooting sports, archery, orienteering, swimming, building stuff in the woods, running around in the woods. Merit badges in lots of more physical areas. Has been a real great program for my son.

[mspym]

My husband, who is from CT, suggested jai alai and it wasn't till I looked it up that I realised why he immediately followed it up with "...no, don't suggest jai alai!"

[Gremlin]

Swim club, pickle ball, rock climbing all come to mind. Do your kids have a preference? I've found at that age, best to let them try out the sports they are most interested in. Tennis is also a good option, with a life long span. Boys volleyball? Don't know the terrain near you, but mountain biking?

Why "Boys" volleyball?  None of the suggestions otherwise are gender stereotyped.

BTW, both my kids (boy and girl) played social volleyball for a bit before they found their favourite sports.

But +1 for orienteering or its lesser known cousin rogaining.

[HPstache]

Pickleball 100% .  Fastest growing sport in the US, amazingly fun game that is quick to pick up.  Huge leagues and tournaments popping up all over the place.

[Freedomin5]

In my neighborhood, the kids tend to be involved in the following:

- Ping pong
- Horseback riding
- Golf
- Tennis
- Fencing
- Gymnastics
- Ballet or another form of dance
- Skateboarding
- Parkour
- Sailing
- Swimming

As well as your typical baseball, soccer, basketball, etc.

[Hadilly]

Tennis is super fun and a good family game.

If your kids get into swimming, water polo can be fun.

I know a lot of kids who play lacrosse.

Crew is awesome when they get a bit taller.

[gooki]

Sailing.
Kayaking.

[Villanelle]

Tennis is super fun and a good family game.

If your kids get into swimming, water polo can be fun.

I know a lot of kids who play lacrosse.

Crew is awesome when they get a bit taller.

Another thing about crew is that there tend to be amazing scholarships available if they are any good at it as a teen. 

[Captain Cactus]

These ideas are great!  Love it!  Thank you!  Keep the ideas coming!

Looks like there are some ninja gyms in the area, we're going to propose this to the kids tonight. 

The orienteering looks super cool as well.

[jeninco]

Another vote for martial arts ... but go watch a class or two yourself first, and think "is this a person I want as a role model for my kid(s)?"  We loved the youth Aikido teacher, who was absolutely an awesome, patient, thoughtful male role model, but I've met other teachers I would absolutely not subject my kids to.

Actually, that's kind of a general observation. We partly choose activities by the quality of the instructors. And by how crazy the parents are -- you want to start something where it's OK to be a beginner, but watch for the pressure to rapidly ramp up your commitment to be on a "traveling team" and pay 5 times as much! Unless your kid is really, really excited about the activity, move cautiously down that path.

[GuitarStv]

Any good martial arts gym will do what you're asking for.  There's very little standardization between gyms though, so some judicious questions and maybe a short trial period will be necessary to determine if the gym you try is a good one.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Swim club, pickle ball, rock climbing all come to mind. Do your kids have a preference? I've found at that age, best to let them try out the sports they are most interested in. Tennis is also a good option, with a life long span. Boys volleyball? Don't know the terrain near you, but mountain biking?

Why "Boys" volleyball?  None of the suggestions otherwise are gender stereotyped.

BTW, both my kids (boy and girl) played social volleyball for a bit before they found their favourite sports.

But +1 for orienteering or its lesser known cousin rogaining.

Volleyball is great for kids of all genders, as are all of the options on this list. I applied my own lens (two teen boys), & volleyball seems to be better known for girls, lesser known for boys.

[Luke Warm]

cross country skiing?

[Just Joe]

Another vote for martial arts ... but go watch a class or two yourself first, and think "is this a person I want as a role model for my kid(s)?"  We loved the youth Aikido teacher, who was absolutely an awesome, patient, thoughtful male role model, but I've met other teachers I would absolutely not subject my kids to.

Actually, that's kind of a general observation. We partly choose activities by the quality of the instructors. And by how crazy the parents are -- you want to start something where it's OK to be a beginner, but watch for the pressure to rapidly ramp up your commitment to be on a "traveling team" and pay 5 times as much! Unless your kid is really, really excited about the activity, move cautiously down that path.

Correct! We quit T-ball one season b/c the coach was a dude we didn't want around our kid. "You guys throw the ball like a GIRL!" he complained. This was a co-ed team. With girls...

[skp]

 If you want a sport that crosses into school, and fits any ability level, I'd choose Cross country.  My boys weren't that athletic, one was decent, the other not so much.  But both got to participate in a high school sport, belong to a team, and participate to the best of their abilities.   Track is more ability based. But they did that too.  They just sat the bench a lot.

[Gremlin]

If you want a sport that crosses into school, and fits any ability level, I'd choose Cross country.  My boys weren't that athletic, one was decent, the other not so much.  But both got to participate in a high school sport, belong to a team, and participate to the best of their abilities.   Track is more ability based. But they did that too.  They just sat the bench a lot.

My son's preferred sport is track and field.  One thing about T&F is that it caters to many different body shapes for the various disciplines.  The build of a good sprinter is very different to a middle distance runner or to a distance runner.  A shot putter has a different build to a discus or javelin thrower and different again to the jumps.  And that's before you start looking at the specialist-type events such as walks, pole vault, hurdles and steeplechase.

At that age though, I'd encourage anything where they really want to participate.  In many respects, it's going to be a combination of the healthy activity, a social element, the coach(es) or program leader and some confidence in their own ability.  I'd also encourage something where there's a pathway to do it for life, if they desire, at a relatively low cost.

Cross Country is really good for this - it's a very low cost sport (in the scheme of things) and, if they like it, you're setting them up to be runners for life.

[Just Joe]

We tried many different sports with our kids. Basketball, T-ball, and then landed on soccer and both were pretty good in the local youth league. Neither wanted to play in the school league.

After that came Scouts for a while and then drama and speech which seemed to be the right fit for both. Not athletic at all. Friends did something similar and their kids landed in the school band.

We are still hikers and bikers.

[wenchsenior]

Badminton. I frickin' loved badminton as a kid and we all had it set up in our back yards.

Cheap, easy for kids to pick up, but does have technical skills that can be learned, can be played singles or doubles, and is a great lead into tennis if they want to graduate to that in the future.

Best of all, it's great for mixing kids and adults because it's not a strength game, so it's something you can get in and play with them.

SAME.  I wasn't at all traditionally athletic. I had some 'niche' skills that didn't translate to most school sports (mainly I was an excellent swimmer and a pretty good horsewoman), but badminton, which we occasionally played in gym class, I was so good that I could beat all the jocks (much to their amazement). Super fun.

[ericrugiero]

Pickleball 100% .  Fastest growing sport in the US, amazingly fun game that is quick to pick up.  Huge leagues and tournaments popping up all over the place.

This. Tons of fun and people who aren’t “traditionally athletic “ can still be good. Also, it’s a fun way to meet people and almost everyone is super nice. It will be a good way to play a sport with your kids and with others.

[Just Joe]

What makes it different from tennis? It just looks like tennis to me. FWIW I've never seen or heard anyone mention pickleball. Regional?

[Frugal Lizard]

Our town is big into wrestling.  My son loved high school wrestling. My neighbour put her two youngest in the club. It resolved the issue of the bigger kid hurting the younger in their constant rough play.  The coaching was focused on respect for your opponent. The older learned how to 'win' without hurting and the younger learned how to defend. Both got a lot of the need to rough house out of their system at wrestling.

[HPstache]

What makes it different from tennis? It just looks like tennis to me. FWIW I've never seen or heard anyone mention pickleball. Regional?

Pickleball is pretty much played everywhere in the US at this point, try googling it in your area and there is a high likelihood it's being played somewhere.  There are some similarities to tennis, badminton & ping pong.  It's different from tennis in that it is played on a much smaller court and the action is much quicker.  There is a "no volley" line 4 feet from the net which means you cannot be in that area and hit that ball on the fly at the same time meaning much of the game is played very close to the net at medium-high levels of competition.  For some reason it is just incredibly easy to pick up as a game getting to a point where you can be semi competitive within a day or two of playing, whereas my experience learning tennis in college it took a lot more effort to play competitively.  Serves are performed underhand, balls are "whiffle" style balls so the travel much slower and aren't a danger if you get hit, etc.  Really hard to describe why it is so fun... best way to check it out is to play some time.  Good luck!

[sonofsven]

Hey all,

I have two boys (9&11) and I'm looking for "sport/activities" ideas for them.  Our town has the traditional sports (soccer, baseball, basketball) through clubs, but I'm looking for additional ideas, ideas that one would not normally think of (think along the lines of fencing, swimming, etc...). 

The goal is to be another avenue for making friends, having fun, maybe a little friendly competition, physical fitness, etc...

We live south-east of Hartford, Connecticut.  Would love your ideas!

I'm curious, what kind of sports/activities are your boys interested in? Have you asked them?
If they are like my nephew the answer is: none. And, video games.

[StarBright]

My kids (8 and 10 now) have always loved the climbing gym.  Do you have one nearby that offers kids lessons? 
I love that it's not a traditional ball sport with all the baggage that comes with them.  The kids learn about safety, planning ahead, patience, perseverance.  Physically, it's great for strength and flexibility.  The competition is against yourself.

Seconding climbing! My oldest (10) is not into team sports at all. He has settled into climbing, tennis, and "ninja" classes in the last year. We have access to a cheap climbing facility in the summer so he did that twice a week during the summer. Tennis and ninja are once a week so far, with family tennis time on weekends or evenings when the weather is nice and the schedule permits.

Also - we haven't played, but we see lots of families in our town getting into pickleball. 

[GuitarStv]

Our town is big into wrestling.  My son loved high school wrestling. My neighbour put her two youngest in the club. It resolved the issue of the bigger kid hurting the younger in their constant rough play.  The coaching was focused on respect for your opponent. The older learned how to 'win' without hurting and the younger learned how to defend. Both got a lot of the need to rough house out of their system at wrestling.

Most well run martial arts programs with regular/hard sparring will do this.  I think it's forced by the nature of the game.  If you injure your sparring partners, you have nobody to train with.  This holds true for Judo, BJJ, Taekwondo, etc.  The only exception I've regularly run into is boxing gyms.  There are still quite a few old school boxing gyms where surviving people really trying to hurt you is seen as a rite of passage - these places tend to have a few long term and quite skilled boxers and huge turnover of newcomers.

[Frugal Lizard]

Our town is big into wrestling.  My son loved high school wrestling. My neighbour put her two youngest in the club. It resolved the issue of the bigger kid hurting the younger in their constant rough play.  The coaching was focused on respect for your opponent. The older learned how to 'win' without hurting and the younger learned how to defend. Both got a lot of the need to rough house out of their system at wrestling.

Most well run martial arts programs with regular/hard sparring will do this.  I think it's forced by the nature of the game.  If you injure your sparring partners, you have nobody to train with.  This holds true for Judo, BJJ, Taekwondo, etc.  The only exception I've regularly run into is boxing gyms.  There are still quite a few old school boxing gyms where surviving people really trying to hurt you is seen as a rite of passage - these places tend to have a few long term and quite skilled boxers and huge turnover of newcomers.

True
I think the physical contact is something children crave.  We stop touching them as much as when they were little little, particularly boys. The contact nature of all these types of sports meets a need.

[Sugaree]

My high school has a mountain biking team now.  I don't know exactly how the competitions work, but it looks like a lot of fun.

[BlueHouse]

What makes it different from tennis? It just looks like tennis to me. FWIW I've never seen or heard anyone mention pickleball. Regional?

Pickleball is pretty much played everywhere in the US at this point, try googling it in your area and there is a high likelihood it's being played somewhere.  There are some similarities to tennis, badminton & ping pong.  It's different from tennis in that it is played on a much smaller court and the action is much quicker.  There is a "no volley" line 4 feet from the net which means you cannot be in that area and hit that ball on the fly at the same time meaning much of the game is played very close to the net at medium-high levels of competition.  For some reason it is just incredibly easy to pick up as a game getting to a point where you can be semi competitive within a day or two of playing, whereas my experience learning tennis in college it took a lot more effort to play competitively.  Serves are performed underhand, balls are "whiffle" style balls so the travel much slower and aren't a danger if you get hit, etc.  Really hard to describe why it is so fun... best way to check it out is to play some time.  Good luck!

It's so popular here in the mid-atlantic region, tennis courts are being repainted to pickleball courts. 

[Just Joe]

What makes it different from tennis? It just looks like tennis to me. FWIW I've never seen or heard anyone mention pickleball. Regional?

Pickleball is pretty much played everywhere in the US at this point, try googling it in your area and there is a high likelihood it's being played somewhere.  There are some similarities to tennis, badminton & ping pong.  It's different from tennis in that it is played on a much smaller court and the action is much quicker.  There is a "no volley" line 4 feet from the net which means you cannot be in that area and hit that ball on the fly at the same time meaning much of the game is played very close to the net at medium-high levels of competition.  For some reason it is just incredibly easy to pick up as a game getting to a point where you can be semi competitive within a day or two of playing, whereas my experience learning tennis in college it took a lot more effort to play competitively.  Serves are performed underhand, balls are "whiffle" style balls so the travel much slower and aren't a danger if you get hit, etc.  Really hard to describe why it is so fun... best way to check it out is to play some time.  Good luck!

Thanks. I'll give it a look.

[Just Joe]

My high school has a mountain biking team now.  I don't know exactly how the competitions work, but it looks like a lot of fun.

We've assisted our local leisure mtn bike club to build trails. There is a growing interest here. We love it.

[dividendman]

I don't think weightlifting has been mentioned yet, it's a good one. There's different types like powerlifting or Olympic lifting, and it'll get you strong! They won't get too many crazy gains yet but once they hit their teens they'll be ahead of the game if they have good forms on the lifts. You can easily work into their routines as well and make it a family thing.

[wenchsenior]

What makes it different from tennis? It just looks like tennis to me. FWIW I've never seen or heard anyone mention pickleball. Regional?

Pickleball is pretty much played everywhere in the US at this point, try googling it in your area and there is a high likelihood it's being played somewhere.  There are some similarities to tennis, badminton & ping pong.  It's different from tennis in that it is played on a much smaller court and the action is much quicker.  There is a "no volley" line 4 feet from the net which means you cannot be in that area and hit that ball on the fly at the same time meaning much of the game is played very close to the net at medium-high levels of competition.  For some reason it is just incredibly easy to pick up as a game getting to a point where you can be semi competitive within a day or two of playing, whereas my experience learning tennis in college it took a lot more effort to play competitively.  Serves are performed underhand, balls are "whiffle" style balls so the travel much slower and aren't a danger if you get hit, etc.  Really hard to describe why it is so fun... best way to check it out is to play some time.  Good luck!

Thanks. I'll give it a look.

I'm now curious as well.

[Villanelle]

These ideas are great!  Love it!  Thank you!  Keep the ideas coming!

Looks like there are some ninja gyms in the area, we're going to propose this to the kids tonight. 

The orienteering looks super cool as well.

Were they interested in ninja-ing? 

If I were a kid right now, this would 1000% be my sport of choice!

[markbrynn]

A couple things that I've considered with my kids:
1. Does it lead to long term injuries? , I played a few sports (soccer, street hockey, tennis) and between them I ruined my knees. Doesn't happen to everyone, but the chances are higher in some sports. I would rather have painless knees and have played something else.

2. Is it overly competitive (personal judgement, of course)? I played competitive team sports and survived, but when my kids have played less- or non-competitive sports, I've seen them be happier. These have been swimming, judo and yoga. Swimming and judo can both turn into competitive sports, but don't seem to become that way as fast as the traditional team sports.

3. Does it have life-long potential. Some sports become much harder to play as you get older. Either you need a lot of people to play or physically it's difficult to play long term. I like the idea of setting my children up with sports/activities that can keep them fit for life, which is a reason why I love yoga.

Most important is to have them doing something that they enjoy, gets them exercise and learning life's lessons. Good luck.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Hey all,

I have two boys (9&11) and I'm looking for "sport/activities" ideas for them.  Our town has the traditional sports (soccer, baseball, basketball) through clubs, but I'm looking for additional ideas, ideas that one would not normally think of (think along the lines of fencing, swimming, etc...). 

The goal is to be another avenue for making friends, having fun, maybe a little friendly competition, physical fitness, etc...

We live south-east of Hartford, Connecticut.  Would love your ideas!

I'm curious, what kind of sports/activities are your boys interested in? Have you asked them?
If they are like my nephew the answer is: none. And, video games.

I certainly think you should include your kids in the decision process, because encouraging kids of any age to participate in an activity they don't enjoy is...not a recipe for success. That said, it really wasn't an option we gave our kids to not play any sports. They could choose across a huge spectrum (anything offered near us, that had a schedule we could roughly work out). That's been the rule since they were five or so, and FWIW, is a rule my parents also had growing up. For us, sports serve a really important developmental role, keeps them fit, and also ensures they are not spending all of their time gaming with friends. Ours are still playing sports in high school. For their friends who gave up sports, they do spend significantly more time gaming. Of course, there are other ways around limiting electronics time, and other activities like band or whatever are also worthy endeavors. But, for our kids, it's been a really important part of time management & balance, as well as meeting friends, and staying healthy.