Selecting a Sport

When Is Your Child Ready To Play Sports?

I am often asked by parents how to decide when a child is ready to play sports? What sports should she play? When is too early? When is too late? What should a parent's expectations be starting out? While there are no pat answers to these questions and no hard-and-fast rules, here is some general advice.

To Play Or Not To Play Youth Sports: That Is The Question

While every family’s situation is unique, a former professional football player believes in the Power of Sport to have long lasting, physical and mental positive benefits for girls and boys who participate which far outweigh the inherent risks, especially when sports are taught and practiced in a responsible manner.

Parents Rethinking Contact Sports

Local youth football organizers in Minnesota say they are experiencing a 20 percent decline in registrations this year, citing increased awareness of the potential of serious injury and parents who are apparently picking other sports for their 3rd and 4th grade children.

Choosing A Sport: A Family Decision Weighing Risks and Benefits

Choosing a sport should be a family decision, says Lyle Micheli, MD., Director, Division of Sports Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston, involves many factors, including injury risks and benefits and whether it is a lifetime sport. 

Adults In Youth Sports: How to Make It Fun for Kids

Adults involved in youth sports are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the quality of a child's sports experience. To create a positive sports environment for youth athletes to ensure they have fun, parents need to ask six key questions.

Take a Stab at Fencing: Your Child Will Love It and So Will You!

A father and author describes how he couldn't wait to introduce his son to a wide variety of them.  But although his son was a natural athlete, there was one problem: he had absolutely no interest in any sport until, miraculously, fencing came along. It challenged and excited him in a way those other sports could not.  He recommends finding a local fencing club and giving this amazing, addictive sport a try; a sport by the way that appeals to girls every bit as much as boys. A sport that can appeal to kids who have never found a passion for any other sport. For some, it will change their lives forever. But even for those who never become addicted, he promises that trying it even a single time will be a fun, unique, and unforgettable experience.

Desire To Excel in Sports Needs To Be Child's, Not Parent's

When is the desire to excel a child's and when is it the parents'?  When does a parent cross the line from supportive to pushy? Sports parents should always remember to think about their motives for encouraging their child to play a certain sport or to attain a specific goal.

Youth Lacrosse Field

Youth Lacrosse Field

What to Look For in A Picking A Sport for Your Child

There are :(1) look for a program that emphasizes skill development over winning; (2) look for sports activities your child will enjoy; and (3) ask whether your under-12 child needs to participate in competitive sports at all.

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