Kids and Soccer

[RSKY]

I have never been a fan of soccer. But my oldest daughter in a middle school librarian. She is determined that her three year old daughter will start playing soccer as soon as possible. She says that the soccer kids in her school are the fittest, healthiest, kids in the school. She has pointed out to me and my wife several of the soccer kids. Trim, fit, slender, good looking kids. They stand out among the others.

Anybody have any comments.

 

[stratton]

I never played soccer but I do think it is great for kids to play. Lots of running and endurance training.
My 4 year old son just signed up for soccer. We are hoping that he will keep up the athletics just enough to stay fit and healthy but not let it rule his life.

 

[beppington]

Sounds like a fine plan if she can keep her interested, & there is no doubt it should help keep her fit. I played soccer in 6th & 7th grade but then lost interest ... Soccer = run, run, run, run, run, ball comes near you, run, run, run, run, run, run, kick the ball somewhere wildly, run, run, run, run, run; Repeat until the final whistle blows.

 

[California]

Very worthwhile. Both my daughters started young and played on school and rec teams, nothing extreme, just good exercise and friendship.

Younger daughter was good at it and both her JrHi and HS school teams went on to City championships, but she didn't choose to join the serious kid leagues that travel statewide every weekend. Like Little League, I think some people go overboard when they center a kid's life around athletics to the exclusion to everything else.

 

[dmccarty]

Our kids have been playing soccer for years. Not sure they started at four but certainly by five or six they were playing soccer and basketball. There are quite a few fat kids playing both sports.

Getting a few hours of exercise a week playing sports is a good thing but if one is still consuming more calories then expending one will still gain weight.

Our middle school soccer season just ended. There were quite a few heavy girls playing on each team.

One of the best players on our team ended the season with a knee injury. Our kid got hurt two weeks ago in a game. She has injured the same knee three times in six months but only once or twice because of soccer. The XRAY showed nothing broken but she still is on crutches with knee and ankle pain. She goes back to the doctor this week.

Later,
Dan

 

[tcartwri]

I have never been a fan of soccer. But my oldest daughter in a middle school librarian. She is determined that her three year old daughter will start playing soccer as soon as possible. She says that the soccer kids in her school are the fittest, healthiest, kids in the school. She has pointed out to me and my wife several of the soccer kids. Trim, fit, slender, good looking kids. They stand out among the others.

Anybody have any comments.

Unless they are playing on a regional competitive team, the fitness commitment is only about 2~3 hours a week.... So the kids who are slim and fit are that way because of other influences. Most likely the parents are more active, and they pay more attention to their diet.

One huge bonus to getting involved is the number of friends they will accumulate. The girls in particular.

Both of my kids play lower level competitive soccer in the summer, hockey and ringette in the winter.

 

[LMTC]

Do some poking around on the web about soccer injuries. Virtually no protection yet there are at times collisions to rival the toughest football game. I coached youth soccer for many years, assistant coach with HS varsity one year before our oldest quit the game. If I had it to do over with what I know now, our children might play soccer until they were 6 or so for the fitness aspect, but after that I would not allow them to play soccer. Ask a receptionist or tech in an orthopedic office what sport brings them the most leg/knee injuries and the answer will be soccer by a lot.

 

[LazySusanFarms]

All of our three daughters played competitive soccer. They also played basketball, lacrosse and softball. We never pushed them too much. It was a great way for them to fit in and meet new kids. All three played on some form of competitive team in one of the sports.

Soccer is a physical sport and my youngest has the scars to prove it. She will have the four screws removed from her right hip on June 1st from where they broke her hip in three places to permanently fix a recurring labrum tear issue. Alex Gordon on the KC Royals had the same doctor. Her injuries were caused by soccer but the flaws in her bone structure were there at birth. Soccer just hurried things along.

Would she do it again? You bet. She played goalie in the state championship game and held a much superior team at bay through regulation and two overtimes. They lost in penalty kicks. She hurt her hip several years prior and moved to goalie to keep playing through high school. It was an amazing effort and most people didn't know the extent of her injury during the game. We stayed in St Louis and had her hip broken two days later.

My eldest had her left thumb ligament torn from her hand in a freak soccer injury. No one hit her, she just fell weird. She was in a cast for over 6 months. She moved to goalie and now can't feel her left shin because of the many slide tackles and collisions in the goalie box.

The middle daughter excelled at softball which is the most dangerous sport a girl can play. High school pitchers can throw the ball faster than you can get out of the way. They recently moved the mound back three feet to give the hitters a better chance. She was never hurt in any sport she played.

Sports are dangerous whenever played. Freak accidents and overzealous players can get you injured quick. On the other hand, sports kept my kids busy and out of trouble. They all met great people and had plenty of positive role models. Kept us busy on the weekends though so I didn't become a farmer until they went to college.

Anything these days can hurt your kids. With two wage earner families the norm these days, sports, or any other after school activity, will help keep kids out of trouble and teach them some responsibility.

 

[buck12]

My oldest daughter has played recreation and semi competitive soccer. It had been a great experience for her. She has made many friends and learned that competition is a good thing.

 

[Loren49]

Soccer is a great sport. As with any sport, when played at higher levels the chances of a physical injury is increased. Some of the pluses of soccer are that its relatively inexpensive for the athletes (equipment), may be played on any field in smaller groups, is a world wide sport with world wide competition, promotes fitness, and team work and can involve high levels of skill and strategies.
Leg, knee and ankle injuries are a possibility but I contend that if all these athletes were not on the soccer field the other problems they could become involved in with that time would be much more dangerous. It was clear as a HS teacher/coach that those students who participated in sports in general were better students. (I worked in a school with about 100 students per class so a significant percent could be involved in sports - example fall season for 9-12 grade, Football 50 students, Boys Soccer 40, Girls Soccer 50, Tennis (girls) 12, Girls Swimming 20)

Loren