Future champions: how to choose a sports section for a child?

At the beginning of the school year, many parents rush to enroll their children in extracurricular activities. Sports clubs are especially popular. It is not easy to choose the right sport for your child. If you don’t know where to start and how to decide, this guide of four simple steps will help you.

Get a medical examination

Every sport is a physical activity. That’s why, before choosing a sport, take your child to the clinic for a checkup and find out how much exercise your child’s body can handle. If your child has a medical condition, consult a doctor: he or she will not only tell you what sports to avoid, but also what to pay special attention to. For example, children who have problems with the spine, often prescribe recreational swimming, and gymnastics, on the contrary, recommended to avoid.

In general, the child should be examined at least once a year, as children’s bodies change very quickly, and health problems can appear suddenly.

Assess the child’s physical qualities

It is important to determine how physically fit the child is. For this purpose, there is a huge number of exercises for endurance, flexibility, agility, speed and strength. There are also special tables with indicators that are considered normal for each age. Take a test with your child to assess physical qualities and, based on the results, identify his strengths and weaknesses.

For example, good coordination, endurance and flexibility are ideal for figure skating. And great tennis can help improve endurance.

Pay attention to your child’s interests

Often parents forget that any activity should positively affect not only the child’s health and physical skills, but also his emotional state. Therefore, the next step in choosing a sports section is to talk to your child. Find out what he likes, what sports are interesting.

If the child is lost and says that he does not know, take him to open classes in different sections. It is not necessary to force him to train, it is enough for him to see how other children are doing. Perhaps it is at this point the child will develop an interest in a particular sport. Remember that training should be fun, not a “punishment”.

Match the training schedule to your child’s personal schedule

The frequency of practice needed to achieve results is different for each sport. If you plan to combine sports with other activities, look for activities that don’t require frequent attendance. For example, swimming and tennis can be practiced 1-2 times a week, but hockey and soccer require much more time.

Also, compare the school schedule with the section’s schedule and assess whether your child can attend training without compromising the learning process. Doing homework late at night after an exhausting practice will not appeal to you or the young athlete.

Hopefully, these four steps will help you make the right choice. But remember, there is nothing wrong with changing sports over time. The main thing is to make sure that the activity is beneficial and that every training session is a joy for your child.