I have a relative the same age who's 15th percentile for height and I'd describe him as an excellent and competitive athlete: he's quick, a fighter, tenacious, dogged, well coordinated, agile, etc. He jumps out at me as someone who could be a fantastic high school wrestler when he gets there. He's currently doing great on a swim team and progressing rapidly through karate belts. As academics are not his forte, if he were in the same position I'd say yes what a great idea it would be to put him in a situation where he can be a bit more competitive athletically.
The original poster here though identified her son as "not particularly athletic", as having friends in his current grade and fitting his current grade okay right now, it was more fearing for the future that was prompting their concern. It is in this particular context that I have a hunch that undoing a skip for sports and general "fitting in" might backfire.
I do think in early elementary grades an awful lot of success with school sports is simple size, when later on skills and teamwork start to be important. Flag football is an excellent example of that, in 1st grade a big size kid who grabs the ball and barrels through with their elbows out deflecting the other kids can look great. But by maybe 6th grade there is actual planning and teamwork and a quick thinker who can keep his head under pressure might be highly appreciated as a running back. One may find ways to fit in with school sports even without changing grades.
In no way did I mean to generalize that people who are shorter than average have globally poor athletic aptitude, that's not what I intended at all, I can see it came across that way, I apologize for that.
Polly
Last edited by Polly; 11/30/12 10:47 PM.
