Tough one, don’t really have a solution. I’ve coached my son from 4/5 year old tee ball up to now, 9u travel. Of all the kids that were just terrified of the ball for no obvious reason, I don’t recall many getting over it. Most stopped playing. I have no insight into why, it might just be something primal in the back of some people’s brain, which totally makes sense. If he’s not having fun, there is no reason to have him out there.
In addition to baseball (which has been my son’s favorite thing in the world since he was introduced to swinging a bat at 3), my son started playing ice hockey at 5. He is a tiny kid, although in 3rd grade he could easily be a confused as a first grader or big kindergartner. I think partially due to his size and no meat on his already vertically challenged self, he is always cold. During the 2015 into 2016 ice hockey season, he played very well for having moved up from mites to squirts (he was 7 and playing in a 7 - 9 league with some kids turning10 during the season). While by no means a star, he more than held his own, scored 5 goals in about 20 games and his team won the championship. Great season right! So last summer when it was time to sign up for this year, he says “Dad I don’t want to play this year, I am tired of being cold all the time”. Even though the rink was indoors, he had a point. In the locker room after almost every game most of the kids would be sweating, faces flushed red. My son would sit down shivering with blue lips and saying that he hadn’t been able to feel his feet since the second period. Even though hockey was one of my sports growing up, I loved taking him skating just so I could skate, and I stunk/still stink at baseball, it seemed like a well thought out reason to stop playing, so he isn’t. He is now focusing on baseball, which we frequently practice/play, and is happy playing dek hockey, which is warmer.
All I am saying is, it isn’t quitting if he is truly miserable. I mean yes he should finish the season, but after that, well it is a great big world with lots of other hobby opportunities.
From a high level, I think the one poster that said to “play” with your kids, instead of “practicing” hit it right on the head. Get yourself out there and play a game. You don’t have to crush them (I do see some dads that are incapable of this), and can make it fun. I think that is why my son loves baseball. We started playing “games” against each other at probably 4 years old. It was probably ridiculous to watch, but man I look back on those times and love them. We had a great time together and he learned a ton.
To the poster that indicated 8 is too young for organized sports other than the examples he gave, but doesn’t have kids, that just isn’t reality today or probably for the last 15 years. Kids start everything very young and get tons of coaching, if you think that at the age of 12 a child’s recreation league (according to the poster they shouldn’t be playing travel before this point) soccer skills are going to cross over and make them a competitive XXXX player, you are mistaken. Yes, there are some gifted folks in this world that can rapidly pick up a new skill, but for most of the bell curve, they are going to be wayyyyyyy behind. It may not be good, and we all may be doomed, but it is the reality. For the most part, unless they are interested in a no cut sport or is one of the gifted ones, such a child will have very little chance making a middle or high school team around here.
My daughter is in 5th grade. She has danced since she was 2, competed since she was 4, and attended countless gymnastics classes. So she really has a solid ‘base’ foundation of general athletics - dancing 3 hours a day 3 days a week (at least that much for the last ~3 years), plus a gymnastics class that includes basic calisthenics, plus a general fitness class, like Zumba, every week. Some weeks have even more dancing. So this Spring she decides she wants to try recreation league girls lacrosse. She had her first practice this week. Holy crap these girls are good. They are 10 years old and NOT travel players, but they have better skills than high school aged girls had back in the early 90’s when I was in high school. She is probably already hopelessly behind the travel players that were practicing on the adjacent field and were REALLY good, and this was with us practicing a couple times a week for a month before that first practice. Its crazy, but is the world we live in.
