We're putting kids in sports at a very young age, sometimes as young as 3 for soccer and basketball leagues. The whole purpose of these leagues is to get kids ready to play the "real" game. But that results in getting them ready to play games rather than teaching them the skills they need.
I believe a lot of these practices are set up to do what I call "focus on failure." You have, say, 12 kids on the team, all lined up, single file, and one at a time they dribble up and shoot at the goalie. You're out there maybe an hour and a half, but you have very few opportunities to kick the ball. And when you fail, everyone knows it.
When kids are 3, 4, 5, 6 and even 7 years old, they need to play fun games that will teach motor skills. They need lead-up games for sports, which gets them to try the game out, building skills without pressure. For example, those 12 kids could get turned into six two-person units. One person is the goalie, the other the kicker. The kicker gets five kicks to get the soccer ball past the goalie. Then they switch places.
For 6-year-olds like your daughter, I would give each of them a ball and play "soccer golf." Set the cones up in a random pattern on the field. Players then dribble the ball and try to kick it at as many cones as they can. If everyone has their own ball, no one knows who missed the cone or not. You can also put hula hoops out there and get the kids to kick the ball into the hoop. Basically, it comes down to the fact that what children learn is not as important as how they learn it.
You may want to approach the coach and explain the situation. Make some suggestions. See if he or she might make some changes. A lot of these coaches are really enthusiastic, but, unfortunately, they don't know that much about child development in regards to sports skills.
Or, you may just want to take your daughter out in the backyard and do it yourself. Help her develop kicking skills before you sign her up for soccer again.
Curt Hinson
Title
Expert Section | Expert Section | Expert Section | Expert Section | Expert Section | Expert Section | Expert Section | Expert Section | Expert Section | Expert Section
Great reply.
Although we love Cub Scouts now that my older son is done and in Boy Scouts I realize Boy Scouting is a better and more important program for the boy's development into manhood. I now feel badly for the boys pushed into Cub Scouts in the early years for whatever reason, don't like it and drop out, never to return to Cubbing or to Boy Scouting.
The six year old Tiger year of Cub Scouts is the weakest of all and understandably so. However if a boy in first grade is bored with Tigers it is a shame to drop Scouting entirely.
I think sports is the same issue. Pushing too early can cause negative feelings that hurt the entire larger picture of doing something like soccer more thoroughly when they are a bit older.
Little League was a total waste of time for my boys in the early years. They were not even teaching basic skills nor were they playing real games (giving everyone a chance to bat, not scoring right and not even playing a real game and 'everyone wins'). My DH's first year in Little League was when he was 10 or 11 as he recalls. What is the rush to have preschoolers and Kindergarteners in organized sports?
my advice is very simple. my daughter has played soccer since she was 6 and she is now 14. she has failed many times at making a goal. my suggestion would be to take your daughter to a high school game and show her that even the big kids make mistakes but they still have fun playing
My oldest daughter started soccer at 5 and played until she was 10 or 11. She encountered a coach she just despised and it ruined her love of the game. She's now 13 and involved with basketball, volleyball and softball and loves them.
My youngest just started soccer last year (@ 4) and still loves it.
Coaching has a lot to do with it the making or breaking of how much the kids like it. We are very lucky (twice now) that the elementary gym teacher is her coach again. He is fantastic (was her first coach ever). We had one other coach this past spring that while she had played in high school, and is such a nice person, she really had no idea how to coach kids.
Approach the coach out of earshot of the kids and just feel it out. Find out what the coaches goals and plans for the team are. It may turn out that he or she haven't coached this age before? All of our players are required to have their own ball and they do a lot of practicing dribbling, kicking, shooting, passing.
Good luck!
I think you should encourage her to play out the season. At this point it's about learning to stick things out when you make a commitment (even when you don't initially like something or think you are very good at it) and I don't think 6 is too young to be learning that very valuable lesson.
My kids all tried soccer and none liked it well enough to commit to it as "their sport", but all learned the value of being a team mate and learning to work together and being responsible to a team. All life lessons that reach far beyond a 6 year old's soccer season.
Incidentally, they all went on to find their niches and success in other sports - karate, gymnastics, and dance. I really believe that if I would have let them give up on different sports and acitivities every time something went wrong, they would have had a far harder time finding things they really could commit to and love and explore and grow in for themselves.
good ideas!
My 4 year old son has GREAT fine motor skills but the gross motor needs a little work.
His soccer 'coach' does all the things suggested and more and my son loves it and is doing well.
*Maybe try to find a 'soccer program' really targeted to the age group-
my son's 'team' is a soccer 'tots' program and it's all about having fun