The trend in youth sports is to imagine your son or daughter as the next Olympic star, NFL wide receiver, NBA point guard, or Premier League striker.
Growing up playing linebacker in youth football was a blast, and then soccer along with the neighborhood swim team made for some great memories. Maybe that 9 year old who trains 7 hours of swimming per week would be much happier passing the soccer ball around and scoring goals for the team. Perhaps a few rounds of tennis might reveal amazing talent to the 7 year old who is required to practice baseball 4 days a week. Or maybe at age 10 a discovery is made by the swimmer that he is most excellent at soccer (a true story of a newly drafted MLS player). Who wants to make the wrong choice by only playing one sport at age 7?
Growing up playing linebacker in youth football was a blast, and then soccer along with the neighborhood swim team made for some great memories. Maybe that 9 year old who trains 7 hours of swimming per week would be much happier passing the soccer ball around and scoring goals for the team. Perhaps a few rounds of tennis might reveal amazing talent to the 7 year old who is required to practice baseball 4 days a week. Or maybe at age 10 a discovery is made by the swimmer that he is most excellent at soccer (a true story of a newly drafted MLS player). Who wants to make the wrong choice by only playing one sport at age 7?
Did you know Super Bowl champion Tom Brady didn't play football until he was in high school? Tom Sr. said, "The first time I ever saw Tommy seriously throw a football, he was 14 years of age.” Tom Brady's parents wanted to keep their boy safe from injury, and perhaps youth football should teach the pros a lesson and start using safer and softer helmets - read article 1 and article 2. You can become a pro without being a child pro. Some may choose tackle before high school, and those three years of my own youth tackle football were loads of fun. Some may want other options. We now offer Flag Football for ages 8-13.
The Summer Swim Team is a great way to develop stroke skills while giving your joints time off from impact. Like football, swimming is one of those sports that one can begin specializing in at age 12 or 14 and catch up with hard work. Football is one of the rare sports though that has an easy entry point if you are athletic. Unlike football, you can't decide to join the high school swim team at age 15 if you can't swim your four strokes. The Summer Swim Team is a great option for gifted swimmers who don't want to be forced to toss out other sports.
Some sports like baseball and soccer need technical skills in order to play the game well. And there is a predicament: if you are brand new to the sport at age 8 or your technical ability is not developed, it can be frustrating and will require time to catch up. You will need the skill to catch a ball with a glove at age 7 in order to play the game. If you can't dribble a basketball you just can't play the game.
Soccer presents a huge dilemma-you can participate by playing "kick ball" if you can't dribble a ball. One practice a week without practice at home is only a just good enough for the gifted player. For those less gifted the road is full of frustration. Soccer uses the feet, and to train the feet to work like hands takes hours of muscle memory and synaptic connections.
Fun play at age 4 with simple technical milestones in multiple sports can help you kickstart into more competitive play without having to toss out all the other sports. Parents can start with just a few minutes every day. While catching requires an interactive parent to toss a tennis ball into the child's left hand, after 5 minutes of that you can set up a T in the back yard and let the hitting begin with a plastic bat and whiffle balls while you pull weeds or pick oranges. Sunday afternoons for a family game with bases?
At age 4 you can make playing fun with only a little technical instruction. Tom Byer's Soccer Starts at Home program is full of videos examples and easy to follow. Encourage development with fun at an early age so enjoyment of the sport is greater at later years. You can jump into the program anytime, even if you are starting at age 7, or 9. The good thing about the Soccer Starts at Home program is parents don't need to know the technical skills and it's a great bonding experience.
Not specializing in one sport under 10 doesn't mean practice isn't important. Like playing piano or saxophone, if you only go to the lesson once a week without any practice, your results won't be good. Three or four practices a week, even if for only 30 minutes each, is needed to get good results. Since our recreational league guidelines are one practice per week, playing recreational soccer and baseball needs some supplemental practice at home.
We now offer an after school early evening soccer training program for ages 5-13 that works like a gym membership. Drop off 2 days or 4 days a week. The Pro-Training program follows the play-practice-play method so players are getting technical skill teaching and development along with lots of 1v1 and 2v2 game play.
Shadow Creek Sports offers Select Soccer through our Pearland Soccer name. We begin formal training at age 9 (with some advanced 8's). But we have designed the select competitive option in a way that requires a commitment to practice without eliminating options to play other sports.
Michael Jordan loved baseball as a youth, and by age 15 he was a well rounded athlete-baseball #1 and then football and basketball. Who knew at the time he would become one of the world's greatest basketball players?
Young humans need time to rest, grow, and be social. Different sports put different muscles to use - and that's healthy for body, mind, and heart.
Some sports like baseball and soccer need technical skills in order to play the game well. And there is a predicament: if you are brand new to the sport at age 8 or your technical ability is not developed, it can be frustrating and will require time to catch up. You will need the skill to catch a ball with a glove at age 7 in order to play the game. If you can't dribble a basketball you just can't play the game.
Soccer presents a huge dilemma-you can participate by playing "kick ball" if you can't dribble a ball. One practice a week without practice at home is only a just good enough for the gifted player. For those less gifted the road is full of frustration. Soccer uses the feet, and to train the feet to work like hands takes hours of muscle memory and synaptic connections.
Fun play at age 4 with simple technical milestones in multiple sports can help you kickstart into more competitive play without having to toss out all the other sports. Parents can start with just a few minutes every day. While catching requires an interactive parent to toss a tennis ball into the child's left hand, after 5 minutes of that you can set up a T in the back yard and let the hitting begin with a plastic bat and whiffle balls while you pull weeds or pick oranges. Sunday afternoons for a family game with bases?
At age 4 you can make playing fun with only a little technical instruction. Tom Byer's Soccer Starts at Home program is full of videos examples and easy to follow. Encourage development with fun at an early age so enjoyment of the sport is greater at later years. You can jump into the program anytime, even if you are starting at age 7, or 9. The good thing about the Soccer Starts at Home program is parents don't need to know the technical skills and it's a great bonding experience.
Not specializing in one sport under 10 doesn't mean practice isn't important. Like playing piano or saxophone, if you only go to the lesson once a week without any practice, your results won't be good. Three or four practices a week, even if for only 30 minutes each, is needed to get good results. Since our recreational league guidelines are one practice per week, playing recreational soccer and baseball needs some supplemental practice at home.
We now offer an after school early evening soccer training program for ages 5-13 that works like a gym membership. Drop off 2 days or 4 days a week. The Pro-Training program follows the play-practice-play method so players are getting technical skill teaching and development along with lots of 1v1 and 2v2 game play.
Shadow Creek Sports offers Select Soccer through our Pearland Soccer name. We begin formal training at age 9 (with some advanced 8's). But we have designed the select competitive option in a way that requires a commitment to practice without eliminating options to play other sports.
Michael Jordan loved baseball as a youth, and by age 15 he was a well rounded athlete-baseball #1 and then football and basketball. Who knew at the time he would become one of the world's greatest basketball players?
Young humans need time to rest, grow, and be social. Different sports put different muscles to use - and that's healthy for body, mind, and heart.
I have always thought that if we put kids first and have fun, adults and youth will build character and respect together through teamwork. A little competition can go a long way, but in the end it all comes down to the quest for excellence in character and achievement, truth, and a beautiful Community.
Ted Bryan Kalivoda
President
Shadow Creek Sports
Ted Bryan Kalivoda
President
Shadow Creek Sports