Top 5 Sports Every Child Should Play

As a kid, my mother never allowed me to play organized football early on, even though each year I would ask her to sign me up in the local Pop Warner organization. However, what she did do was sign me up for a plethora of other sports such as soccer, t-ball, baseball, and basketball to name a few. I never really understood why she wasted her time (and mine) with making me play those boring sports when she knew my heart was in football. Maybe she knew that I needed those motor skills from the other sports to make me a better athlete in football. (Nah! I think she was scared seeing her only son out there on the football field). I guess whatever the reason I thank her for it because it made me a better athlete overall in the long run.

When I work with youth athletes the main stories that usually have me cringe and run for cover deal with the adults (coaches and parents).

The first scenario deals with the over-zealous, poorly educated coach that prides his program or team on how many wins or league championships that he has taken then to thus robbing the kid of a great experience and potentially being one of the factors that cause the kid to drop out early in that particular sport never to play again. Instead, less focus should be placed on the outcomes of the sports (though we do want our athletes to develop that drive to be the best that they possibly can be without developing a quitter's attitude), and more focus should be placed on teaching and instructing the proper way to play the sport and building a firm foundation not only physically but mentally by addressing the motor skills needed at that particular age.

Coaches are so often limited in their knowledge about the necessary building blocks needed for physical success for the age group that they are coaching. In many cases, they are just volunteers, who may have had some experience with sports because they either played or watched the game and have been asked by the head of the organization to coach the team because no one else is proficient enough to take on the task. Less time is spent on building a foundation of motor skill development and addressing the bio-mechanical needs of the group, while more time is spent on drilling the kids with age-inappropriate drills that usually predispose the child to learning the technique wrong (in which most cases an expert has to re-teach the drill correctly) or predispose the child to injury.

The second most common scene is the parents who are way too invested in the success of their kid. They either themselves are constantly training their kid, or the kid is participating year round in sport. Many children today start specializing in one sport way too early -- playing year-round, joining competitive club or travel teams and participating in specialized training programs -- believing they'll put themselves on the fast track to college scholarships or maybe even a pro sports career.

But for too many of these kids, that fast track leads straight to injuries, sometimes serious ones. More concentration should be on allowing the kid to participate in as many different sports as possible so that it exposes them to a variety of motor skills and different presentations/ situations for those motor skills.


A story was once told to me about a parent who had their kid participating in baseball. This kid played pitcher. The parents were so invested in wanting their kid to be the best in town that they had enrolled him into three different leagues simultaneously in three different towns that were in close proximity with one another. The kid would play the first game, hop in the car drive over to the next town and pitch in second game. Once the second game was over, he would participate as the starting pitcher in the final game one town over. When the story was presented to me, the storyteller posed the question should this be considered a form of 'child abuse'? Of course, this story is extreme but my point is that year round training exactly stunts the growth of the athlete in the long run because it can predispose them to detrimental outcomes (1) burn out/ early drop out which could result in being turned off to fitness altogether and (2) overuse injuries i.e. Little Leaguer's Elbow.

Youth sports have become big business in this country. If you don't believe me, then turn on your television, you can find some type of sporting event sponsored by some big corporation promoting the youth event. Don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer that sports are one of the best tutors to nurture and develop kids into becoming great leaders and possessing great skills sets that can be utilized over a lifetime; however, the emphasis should not be placed on the wins and loses. The emphasis should be on developing a 'global' athlete and preparing them for the next phase in their athletic career.

My athletic career is similar to the above. I loved to play football. I couldn't get enough of it. Even though, some of my best experience during the years was learned playing football, I truly felt as if I was underdeveloped as an athlete skill wise when transitioning from one competitive level to the next. It was seen when I moved from Pop Warner to high school football. I had to learn twice as hard as my teammates because I couldn’t comprehend and demonstrate the necessary skill sets needed to play on the high school level. While playing Pop Warner, the coaches' main focus was outcome driven- going to the next bowl game or trying to have a perfect season. Less time was spent on the fundamentals of football i.e. receiving a hand off properly from the line of scrimmage or switching the ball from one hand to the other properly. I just couldn't do it. So, I had to practice and teach myself the fundamentals during the off-season or after practice so that I could compete and keep up with my teammates. Likewise, the same happened when I transitioned from high school to college (which I was constantly reminded daily by my college defensive back coach). There were areas that my college coaches were amazed (and usually frustrated with me) because I couldn't perform. As you know, on this stage the stakes are the highest and usually patience for error is at a all time low. The end result cost me playing time and even scholarship money. I always felt like the kid that had to "catch up" with learning the skills needed to excel not only in the sport but excel at the position that I was playing. This is the reason why when I train youth today, the majority of my coaching style is based upon teaching the fundamentals needed to not only excel with performance at the current level, but be a ‘global’ athlete with a strong foundation of motor skills.


So what sports should a young athlete start off participating in?

Here are the top 5 sports that a young athlete should play early on:

1. Tennis-it's fun and keeps the child in shape and develops the child hand-eye coordination and kinesthetic differentiation of ball play. Kinesthetic differentiation refers to the knowledge of how much force is necessary to produce a desired result. Kids have to judge how hard they need to hit the ball in order for it to stay in play and score. Likewise, it teaches great mental development in strategic play with placing the ball away from the opponent to score. Also it's great for developing balance and reaction skills.

2. Soccer-improves on foot dexterity and hand-eye coordination. It is a great opportunity to also stimulate their mental capacities as well base upon the tactical nature of soccer which can be applied to other field and court sports. Examples of tactical development is seen with learning the give and go, moving without the ball to invade the opponent's space, etc. Also it is great for developing change of direction (i.e. agility), explosive movement and acceleration and deceleration training- going from a near standing position to a full sprint and back to static position.

3. Swimming-every muscle is used in this sport which builds great mobility in the shoulder and hip joints. At the same rate, it adds a great deal of pliability to the frame of a young athlete. Additionally, kinesthetic differentiation is developed in this sport. Swimming is the essence of building kinesthetic differentiation – kids simply won’t last long in a pool if they put as much force as possible into every stroke.

4. Gymnastics and dance (yes, dance is cool thanks to former NFL running back, Emmitt Smith and 'Dancing With The Stars')-spatial awareness, flexibility, upper and lower body strength, coordination, being able to control and manipulate their body, dynamic and static balance, etc are all learned with participating in these sports. Just the ability to learn how to fall properly is priceless because it can prevent injury for any sport that they participate in.

5. Martial arts-not for the brutal or self defense component, but to stimulate their mind and teach self discipline (which is important in sport and life), balance, spatial awareness, coordination development, as well as overall fitness.

Here is a mock annual calendar for the youth athlete:

Summer-Dance/gymnastics
Fall-Soccer
Winter-Indoor Swimming
Spring-Martial Arts/ Tennis

Parents should seek out a programs, performance coaches/trainers, and/or coaches that expose their child to a wide variety of components in motor skill development. They should enroll their children in seasonal sports instead of year-round programs geared towards one sport. If parents keep to a schedule as the above then they will alleviate a lot of the risk discussed in this article (1) their athlete will stay stimulated and engaged because of the constant change in activity. (2) injury due to overuse injuries is minimized. (3) the child is able to develop the motor skills needed to become a 'global' athlete which spells FUTURE SUCCESS.

Until next time, keep playing and keep active.

Reference: Brian Grasso http://www.DevelopingAthletics.com

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC