Barrister's obnoxious thread full of smug parenting stories

[Jacob]

The trend of kids starting organized sports before 6 is so dumb.

I've been taking my almost-3-year-old to soccer class. Calling it organized would be a bit of a stretch.

[Barrister]

The trend of kids starting organized sports before 6 is so dumb.

I've been taking my almost-3-year-old to soccer class. Calling it organized would be a bit of a stretch.

Just one anecdote:

I took Timmy out to outdoor soccer last year - age 4/5.  He was okay, trouble focusing on what was going on.

During the winter, because it was cheap, I had him in indoor soccer at the YMCA.  It wasn't heavily organized, they mostly just played games that involved soccer balls.

This summer, I had him back in outdoor soccer.  Suddenly he was scoring goals almost at will.  Just knowing how to control the ball made it so he could kick the ball into the net.

Nothing about this says he is going to be a soccer star.  It just goes to show that early exposure to a sport does actually mean something.

[Jacob]

For sure.

Though from my perspective, it's just about providing some sort of framework to do stuff.

[Tonitrus]

Nothing about this says he is going to be a soccer star.  It just goes to show that early exposure to a sport does actually mean something.

Lies.  "Bend It Like Timmy" is his future. 

[celedhring]

Like any good red blooded Spaniard I played football since I was 4 years old and I still sucked at it 20 years later. Well, ok, I ended up becoming a decent goalie, but I didn't switch to that position until my tweens, thanks to the "fat kid in goal" rule.

That said, getting kids to do sports at early age seems to me a good in itself, in spite of it not inherently making them better at them in the long run.

[alfred russel]

The flip side is a friend of mine wants to get her 6 year old into baseball. She signed him up, and he was lukewarm on the sport. Okay, no big deal, she thought, lets give him a couple years and try again at 8. Only at that point, the other kids will have been playing for years, and he will suck, and then he really won't like it. Which could be part of the problem now, as the other kids have been playing before 6, and he consequently isn't very good.

I'm talking out of my ass on this, but I'd think that baseball/t ball and hockey are probably a bit different than soccer, because by their nature they require a bit more organization than soccer (where you can put a ball on a field and let kids chase the ball around.

[Grey Fox]

I think there will be soccer for my household next summer. Right now it's swimming lessons since it's much cheaper than hockey & is indoor.

[celedhring]

The flip side is a friend of mine wants to get her 6 year old into baseball. She signed him up, and he was lukewarm on the sport. Okay, no big deal, she thought, lets give him a couple years and try again at 8. Only at that point, the other kids will have been playing for years, and he will suck, and then he really won't like it. Which could be part of the problem now, as the other kids have been playing before 6, and he consequently isn't very good.

I'm talking out of my ass on this, but I'd think that baseball/t ball and hockey are probably a bit different than soccer, because by their nature they require a bit more organization than soccer (where you can put a ball on a field and let kids chase the ball around.

I can't talk about baseball or hockey. The thing about football is that at youth levels athleticism is the biggest factor. The larger and/or faster kids will always shine, even if they aren't that good with the ball. That also means that just being in decent shape and having enough stamina to run around will make you an asset to your team. Heck, you'll probably be more effective than somebody with great technique that gets winded after 10 minutes. I'm not talking about top level youth football here, of course, but the thing about football is that it isn't that hard to grab a ball and be useful to your team - it's one of the factors that has made it so successful around the globe.

[Gups]

You guys are idiots.

Fast forward 10 years and you'll be getting up at 6 a.m. to drive your kid to an U15 rugby match, wait in the car for an hour while they change and warm up  because it's in the middle of the countryside you can't get a fucking cup of tea, let alone full English before standing in the pissing rain watching the muddy oafs knock seven shades of shit out of each other then wait another 45 minutes for him to get changed and piss about with his mates.

Make 'em play video games or let their mum take 'em.

[derspiess]

We're driving down to Tennessee for a weekend regional 8U football tournament the weekend before Thanksgiving.  I was the one coach that voted against it, but whatever.  Should be fun.

[Jacob]

You guys are idiots.

Fast forward 10 years and you'll be getting up at 6 a.m. to drive your kid to an U15 rugby match, wait in the car for an hour while they change and warm up  because it's in the middle of the countryside you can't get a fucking cup of tea, let alone full English before standing in the pissing rain watching the muddy oafs knock seven shades of shit out of each other then wait another 45 minutes for him to get changed and piss about with his mates.

Make 'em play video games or let their mum take 'em.

Speaking from hard won experience?

[Barrister]

You guys are idiots.

I know.  Already my Saturday's are ruined - Andrew has skating lessons at 9:45, then Timmy has hockey practice at 1:15.  Wait till next year when all three are in organized sports...

[celedhring]

My parents never drove me to my football matches, neither did the parents of my teammates. Then again, all matches where in and around Barcelona so there wasn't usually a need. We just bused or rode the subway.

[derspiess]

My parents never drove me to my football matches, neither did the parents of my teammates. Then again, all matches where in and around Barcelona so there wasn't usually a need. We just bused or rode the subway.

My first time in Buenos Aires my brother in law had a soccer championship game that nobody in the family bothered to attend.  I had no knowledge of it until he arrived back home with a big trophy.  I was horrified that none of the family went to watch him.  I'd have gone.

[celedhring]

My parents never drove me to my football matches, neither did the parents of my teammates. Then again, all matches where in and around Barcelona so there wasn't usually a need. We just bused or rode the subway.

My first time in Buenos Aires my brother in law had a soccer championship game that nobody in the family bothered to attend.  I had no knowledge of it until he arrived back home with a big trophy.  I was horrified that none of the family went to watch him.  I'd have gone.

Probably a cultural thing. Our football tournaments were definitely a parent-free zone, and that was part of the experience. Hanging out with the teammates, travelling to the match together, esprit de corps... this kind of thing.