Kids Sporting Activities | GTAMotorcycle.com

Kids Sporting Activities

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mimico_polak

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Hey all,
As I know we’ve got plenty of parents here just trying to get some advice on how (and when) is a good time to get kids involved in some sports recreationally.

I’m under no grand visions of my kids being the next Lewandowski or Gretzky but it would be good for them. Boy is 4.5 and daughter is 2 so too early for her.

Thinking a good start would be soccer and some swimming lessons. Thoughts?

On the soccer front anyone recommend any smaller sized nets for the backyard to kick a ball around with him/them?

I’ll get him on some skates this year but as it’s his first time I’m not planning on signing him up.
 
My kids are much older now but back then they pretty much picked their sports. I tried street hockey with them, took them to skating lessons, had them all try soccer, basketball net on the driveway, swimming lessons, tossing a baseball and football around in the backyard......

All hated soccer. Why? Too much running and have to play even when its raining. I tended to agree with the rain part.

All hated hockey (MAJOR disappointment). Why? Too cold! That one still hurts.

Oldest liked baseball. Why? Not much running and no playing in the rain! The other two found it boring. Why? Too much standing around waiting for something to happen.

They all played some sort of sports but not enough enthusiasm for any of them to keep at it.

Today...they can all swim and skate and can throw/kick any type of ball so it wasnt a wasted effort on my part. They all will occasionally watch sports on tv and understand how/why most the games are played.

I learned with my first to just let him figure out what he liked. He tried most sports but none appealed to him enough to follow up. The other two I just tried to make sure they had basic skills that would come in handy later in life (skating, swimming) and knowing enough about a game to be able to follow it as a spectator. I believe my oldest had some influence on the other two over which sports to try as they werent very keen on anything. He denies it, they confirmed it. Two against one, lol.

I also believe I may have pushed too hard toward hockey as that was my sport. Figured out of three one of them might like it. Nope.

Good luck but make sure its fun. No expectations.
 
Swimming lesson offers the opportunity to save one's life or others, great exercise from young to old age. At that age, you will enjoy some great bonding time too.
My wife pushed them into swimming, not competitive, and now the older one has her life guard certificate and the younger one is on her way to getting hers. You gotta push a little bit!
 
My parents enrolled us in all kinds of stuff for the exposure - if we liked it, they kept us in it. If we hated it, we weren't forced to do it, except for learning basic swimming. Between the ages of 4-8, I was enrolled in soccer every summer, swimming/skating lessons constantly and always going to the family open skates at the local arena.

With the size of your property, I would be buying an adjustable basketball net and a street hockey net at a minimum. For soccer you can get nets if you want, but kids just need two things to act as goalposts and they are happy - so we would use pylons, jackets or whatever we could. When we wanted nets, off we went to the local park.

Agree that your son is at the perfect age for being signed up for soccer, swimming and skating.
I would also say that 4-5yrs old is the perfect time to start getting your kids into martial arts - it yields so many different benefits later in life.
 
The only non-negotiable activity for my kids was swimming lessons. They all started at their 4th birthday and continued till they were level 3.

I always recommend team sports first (hockey, soccer, baseball, lacrosse), individual sports second (dance, golf, racquet sports, martial arts) unless there are reasons not to participate in team stuff. Help kids find their own interests, having them tell you 'dad - sign me up, I want to play!' is better than 'dad, why did you sign me up for this?' and let them change sports as often as they like.

Ideally your kids will learn to play a sport that enriches them through their whole life -- athletic careers can go have 10-12 years as a child, and 30-40 years as an adult. My preferences are hockey, and baseball as team sports as they are available to men and women across the country at a range of competitive levels. For individual sports I like golf and tennis for the same reasons.
 
lacrosse is a pretty cool sport too and it's gaining popularity...one of the teachers at school has a son in it and he loves it...has been playing for years and this year his team won the U9 championship...
 
hdsomeday said:
My kids are much older now but back then they pretty much picked their sports. I tried street hockey with them, took them to skating lessons, had them all try soccer, basketball net on the driveway, swimming lessons, tossing a baseball and football around in the backyard......

All hated soccer. Why? Too much running and have to play even when its raining. I tended to agree with the rain part.

All hated hockey (MAJOR disappointment). Why? Too cold! That one still hurts.

Oldest liked baseball. Why? Not much running and no playing in the rain! The other two found it boring. Why? Too much standing around waiting for something to happen.

They all played some sort of sports but not enough enthusiasm for any of them to keep at it.

Today...they can all swim and skate and can throw/kick any type of ball so it wasnt a wasted effort on my part. They all will occasionally watch sports on tv and understand how/why most the games are played.

I learned with my first to just let him figure out what he liked. He tried most sports but none appealed to him enough to follow up. The other two I just tried to make sure they had basic skills that would come in handy later in life (skating, swimming) and knowing enough about a game to be able to follow it as a spectator. I believe my oldest had some influence on the other two over which sports to try as they werent very keen on anything. He denies it, they confirmed it. Two against one, lol.

I also believe I may have pushed too hard toward hockey as that was my sport. Figured out of three one of them might like it. Nope.

Good luck but make sure its fun. No expectations.
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I started skating at 3, and played competitive hockey at 6 so I thought is was their birth responsibility to do the same. As much as it was killing me -- I didn't force them.

My youngest son was killer competitive in everything he did, always trying to best his bother who was 4 years older. No matter how hard I tried, he simply refused to learn how to skate. At 8 he came home from school and said he wanted to play hockey. We registered in the local house league, and from there he took off and got pretty good. He still plays.
 
I like all the above suggestions and +1000 for swimming lessons.

Check the city run programs, here in Vaughan they have a parent and child sports program.
Every week a different sport and the parents participate with them.

Lmk his foot size, SB25 has some old skates that don't fit anymore.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
 
See if you can find first shift near you for hockey. If you can get it, it's amazing. All hockey gear, six lessons and hang out with an Nhl player for less than the cost of gear.

We did swimming lessons and canned that when I realized how little they teach the kid. Bought tickets at the local pool weekends in the winter and taught kid that way for far less money.

Kids have done gymnastics and soccer so far. May sign up for can skate next week. Skiing in jan, tennis in jan or march. I try for one sport per season or less, my wife tries for more.
 
Grandkids love swimming. They started at about 10months. Mom and dad are divorced. He wants them skating. They want not part of it. They want to be with mom and her bf doing nature stuff.
 
Growing up our parents made swimming lessons from as early as I can remember mandatory up to Star 6 (don't know if that's still a swimming grade). I went one grade above that then stopped and took up the guitar. Parents also said we could play any sport and learn any musical instrument we wanted but we had to always be doing one.
I played every sport in school and baseball outside of school. Dirtbiked from 5-19yrs and sis always had a horse in the barn.
Kids will have a dirtbike for them in the garage before the age of 3 and soccer nets in the yard (wife plays soccer). If they want to do something different that's fine but we'll push them to do something/anything. We live in the forest and always out doing something active so I'm sure the kids will just be used to that anyways.
 
Swimming was a must for my kids and they still take lessons now (11 & 9). They are both in skating as well. The boy signed up for First Shift hockey lockdown and had fun. He lost the want to play hockey now but is still ready to get on skates.
 
We enrolled our daughter in a few activities - Swimming, Taekwondo, Paino (lessons) etc until she settled down on something she's passionate about and enjoys doing - Arts & Craft.

She continues to do that, at kids classes and workshops at 4Cats in Burlington.

Swimming stopped owing to Covid. We will be re-enrolling her once the city opens up classes.

.....And I am left with a 88 key scaled hammer piano, that I try my hand at as I paid for it.. Usually end up infuriating my wife and scaring my infant daughter
 
My kids had no choice in swimming, that one can save them. Not to mention, employment opportunities at 16 are somewhat limited to flipping burger, washing dishes, stocking store shelves, or being a lifeguard. They also have to play an instrument, both chose piano. Beyond that they could do whatever else they wanted on the condition they HAD to finish anything they started as far as team sports were concerned. Son played soccer for a few years, got bored of it. Played basketball, got bored of it. Played baseball, got bored of it. Played squash and won a few tournaments, covid killed that one. Started racing karts at 7 (this I would recommend to any/every parent) and still does this at 12. Started motorcycle track days this year at GB with KSR and loves it.
My daughter played soccer, hated it. Did kickboxing, got bored of it. Did dance, liked it, but quit because she loves gymnastics and won't sacrifice that time for dance. She also started racing karts this year at the age of 7.
The three of us ski/snowboard as well. And both kids have dirt bikes.

Regarding karting, I would rank it at the same level of importance as swimming. Just about everyone has to drive in Canada on a daily basis, and the sooner you start something the better you are at it. Car accidents are the largest cause of death among teenagers between 16-19, this has the potential to save their life. It's impressive to watch 7 year olds race (not drive, but race) around a track as fast as they can with no brake lights/horns/turn signals/abs/traction control/etc and NOT crash. Then you see adults that can't even merge onto a 400 series highway without causing a traffic jam.
Also, kids learn how to lose at the track, an important life lesson. I can't count the number of times I've seen kids come off the track crying because they lost. Unlike team sports, you know when YOU lost at the track. But they come back and do it again the next week because it's fun.
 
+10 for swimming, 2/3 of the earth is covered with water, somebody is always getting invited to a cottage ( more water) and at a high school pool party some twat is always pushing people into a pool.

Downhill skiing , you can do that with them , it makes for awesome holidays in winter and you can do it for your whole life.

Sailing lessons . if kids don't learn to sail they cant grow up and buy my old boats .
 
crankcall said:
+10 for swimming, 2/3 of the earth is covered with water, somebody is always getting invited to a cottage ( more water) and at a high school pool party some twat is always pushing people into a pool.

Downhill skiing , you can do that with them , it makes for awesome holidays in winter and you can do it for your whole life.

Sailing lessons . if kids don't learn to sail they cant grow up and buy my old boats .
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Kids will definitely do sailing school when they get older. I only did up to white sail iii as bronze was too much money and time to fit in. Would have been fun though. A dinghy on simcoe is a definite possibility for summer fun.
 
I don’t know Jack about sailing but it sounds expensive…
 
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