Have you ever wondered if your child is ready to get their start in sports or how early is too early to enroll your child in their first sports program? At Sportball, we believe that children of all ages are ready to participate in sport as long as the program is structured to meet the skill level and developmental stage of the child.
There are many benefits to starting your child in sports at any age, even as early as toddlerhood (1-3 years), if done in a fun and safe environment where they can develop age-appropriate physical, emotional, social, and psychological skills. When introduced appropriately, you can help your child build a life-long, positive relationship with sport and physical activity. Given that well below 1% of high school athletes will progress on to have professional sports careers, we believe that this is the ultimate goal!
What to look for in a sports program at each age and stage
Sports for Toddlers (1.5-3 year olds): Focus of Fundamentals and Free Play
Your toddler will need a program that breaks down sport-specific skills into appropriate steps and has coaches specifically trained to work with young children whose language skills are still emerging – try telling a 3-year old to “keep their eye on the ball” and see what happens!
Organized sport (i.e. league play) is not recommended at this age as key physical milestones are still in the early stages of development.
You’ll want to look for programs with a lower ratio of children to coaches or programs that require parental involvement, as toddlers need this additional support to build confidence as they develop their skills.
Don’t worry about how much your toddler is engaging with other children during classes; they are not quite developmentally ready for this yet.
At this stage, it’s all about having fun, exposure to new experiences and testing out new movement patterns so avoid programs that are overly structured or repetitive.
Consider a multi-sport program where toddlers are exposed to a variety of sports within a single session so they can explore different movement patterns and maintain engagement week after week.
Sports for Preschoolers (3-5 year olds): Developing Skills and Gaining Independence
As with toddlerhood, you should look for a program that breaks down sports skills into achievable steps, allows time for free play to explore their new found skills, and uses their imagination to engage them in the learning process.
While they might not be ready for organized sport just yet, they are certainly ready for a little more independence in their sport program. This means that your preschooler is likely able to follow coach instructions and is ready to observe and cooperate with peers to learn new movement skills.
You’ll likely want to consider a drop-off program for this age group to assist in developing their independence, which means that parents can take a well-deserved break during class! You can ask the program administrator or coach about how to help your child with this transition.
Sports for Children (6 – 8 Years Old): An Introduction to Organized Sports
At this age and stage, children may be ready to begin organized sports! These programs should focus on developing fundamental movement skills and the development of transitional movement skills in addition to introducing game play and rules of the game.
Kids at this age still have limited attention spans and are still new to organized sport, so rules should be flexible, instruction time should be short, and games should be inclusive with minimal competition. The focus should be on learning and having fun!
Look for entry-level sports that focus on growing movement skills like, soccer, baseball, swimming, skating, gymnastics, dance, biking, and racquet sports, like tennis. Consider a multi-sport program that provides kids with the opportunity to explore a variety of sports and develop different movement patterns in one session.
At this stage, you’ll want to avoid sports that require more complex visual needs, advanced motor skills, quick decision making, and detailed strategy (i.e. football, basketball, hockey, and volleyball) unless these sports are modified for younger players.
Ready to register your child in their first sports program?
If you are looking for a program that serves up developmentally appropriate sports for kids with an emphasis on FUN, Sportball is the perfect fit! Sportball offers multi-sport and single sport programs, like soccer,& t-ball all year long, starting at just 16 months up to 12 years of age. From our expertly trained coaches who are skilled in working with young children, to our tried and tested research-based methodology and our guaranteed fun policy, your child is sure to have a blast at Sportball! Spring & Summer programs are now open for registration at locations across Canada.
