What Age is Appropriate to Play Organized Sports?

Yesterday, I overhead someone's cell phone conversation. It was a father, asking if it was okay for his kindergartener to play on the first and second grade girls lacrosse team. At first, I was excited that a lacrosse team even existed for first and second grader girls. A few years ago, the youngest girls team was comprised of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. I was thinking that these girls would have great skills by the time they entered high school. Then I wondered if these girls might be too young. This got me to thinking about organized sports in general. Gone are the days when I attended local Recreation programs.  We played dodge ball, scooter ball, basically anything with teams and a ball and a winner. There was no obligation to attend every week, there were no set teams and we chose sides each day. We played hard, we played to win, but mainly played for the sake of playing. We learned various skills, sportsmanship, team play, winning and losing, and of course, got our exercise.

My son played flag football in kindergarten, a decision I second guessed many times. He was not so much interested in playing as eating a hot dog at half time (he usually lost interest by the second half). The following year, when he was one of the older kids, he was much more into the game and wanted to play. However, certain players got more playing time, maybe a coincidence, but they were the coaches' children. Or did my son already have the reputation of not being a player? This did not go unnoticed by my son or one of his teammate's who also did not see much playing time. The teammate's parents approached me at one point to see if I noticed what was going on. I did. This teammate never returned to football. How sad it is to discourage a second grader from playing football or any sport. This young man was a good athlete, too, and played soccer and baseball throughout elementary school and high school. My own son played football until he was a sophomore in high school with the exception of fifth grade when he took the year off. There are a few children who are born with natural coordination but for the average 6 and 7 year olds, they want to be part of the team, have fun, wear a uniform. Unfortunately, too much emphasis is put on winning and playing the "best" players. Children develop physically and emotionally at such different rates, that it seems unfair to separate them by ability at such a young age. And the fathers, I mean coaches,  put a lot of emphasis on winning. Not all coaches are like this and my son had many great coaches but it only takes a few to spoil the game, whether they are your coach or the coach of the opposing team. I know my own son matured physically in his early teens, and mentally, too. He played several sports and is now concentrating on his favorite, lacrosse, and is looking forward to his senior season in high school.

I don't think it matters what age kids start playing organized sports, as long as they are active.  Pushing them too early might actually backfire. My own children tried several sports each. My daughter played softball, lacrosse, volleyball, and cheerleading. She did not start cheerleading until she was in the fifth grade and that was the sport she loved most and worked hard at improving her skills. She attended camps, tumbling classes, and was a member of both game and competition squads. She even considered cheerleading in college. My son played baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and wrestled. He started playing lacrosse in the sixth grade and it is the only sport he still plays as a senior in high school. He is considering playing in college. The sports they played at ages 6 and 7 are not the sports they continued with. It could be burnout or just finding the right niche. I have coached many players who suffer from burnout once they get to high school, particularly the ones who played on travel teams prior to entering high school.

My point here is that children should be allowed to participate in sports and progress at their own rate. I wish there were more intramural sports and town recreational sports with less emphasis put on travel teams. Or just be allowed to be kids and play on an empty lot or field. If one of them is a superior athlete, they will get noticed, no matter what.