Youth Sports: How Young is Too Young?

Until I started watching my step son, who turns 3 next month, I didn’t realize how important out of the house activities are to the sanity of a parent, as well as for the growth of the child.

But how young is too young for children to be doing organized sports, and what are the benefits versus the drawbacks of organized sports at a very young age?

A few years ago when I first started i9 Sports, the youth sports league I own, a father I was talking to told me that his four-year-old was playing in a “Skills and Drills” hockey league that winter. I thought that was insane! This kid could barely walk, and he was going to put him on skates! Looking back after a few years, while I don’t know if four-year-olds playing hockey is a great idea, starting kids at sports at such a young age does have benefits.

First, since I run youth sports leagues that start at 3-years-old, parents need to have the right expectations as to what they expect from the league, and more importantly, their children. A flag football league with 3-year-olds in it will certainly be run, and look, much differently than our senior division of 11-14 year olds!

In a pee wee league (typically consisting of kids ages 3-5 or 4-6 ):

-The kids only want to have fun! They will forget about the score (if they ever knew it) in their car seat on the ride home.

-They will still learn a lot of life skills: the kids can learn some very important values like sportsmanship and teamwork, which can benefit them for the rest of their lives

-“League rules” are a very fluid concept: While we have many safety rules and regulations that we are strict on, coaches and refs must be able to adapt to the age group’s dynamics.

A lot of times, when 3-5 year olds play sports, it’s the child’s first experience playing a sport, and may even be the child’s first time away from mom or dad for longer than five minutes! As long as everyone has an upbeat attitude, and has fun, the experience will be a good one!

Matt Elder owns and operates i9 Sports, a youth sports league in the area. They offer sports for kids ages 3-14, including flag football, soccer, T-ball, cheerleading and basketball. They are currently taking registrations for summer camps and leagues, and all fall programs. Patch readers get a special $10 off discount! Please visit www.i9sports.com for more information, and use coupon code ZCJA-JZEJ when registering.