D is not the most coordinated kid, but she is not the least coordinated. She is very awkward at running and throwing, but she always liked tennis, so we played quite a bit of that with her when she was younger. Soccer and dance at age 6 were complete failures, not too different from your story above (except that she was shy and wouldn't even talk to the adults). She did go out for the tennis team in middle school, but quit after one season (although I think she could have done okay, not great, if she had stuck with it). However, she is now reasonably good in gym (9th grade) in racquet sports, and also likes volleyball. She has learned to avoid the sports she is not good at (no way could you get her to go out for softball, but she is on the volleyball team). She actually managed to get an A- in gym this year, which is amazing to all of us. Good thing part of the grade is for tests on sports rules - not that she EVER watches sports, but she can memorize as needed
Sounds like options are limited in your area, but are martial arts available? That is an individual sport where he could progress at his own pace. Also, can you put up a basketball hoop at home? Even if he never plays on a team, shooting games like HORSE are fun.
Our goal has always been just to make sure our Ds live an active life and get enough exercise to be healthy. We bike and hike as a family.
Swimming is an important life skill (I sometimes tell my kids that there are only 2 things they HAVE to learn before they leave the house for college, and those are how to swim and how to drive a car!). If you S is frustrated, you might shelve it for a year or two, then try again. If he is enjoying it even if he has to repeat class levels, then maybe you should continue. And maybe it is really sinking in and he just can't execute yet... I took golf lessons at age 11 and was really awful; put the clubs down, picked them up again at age 21 and found I had a perfect swing. I credit those early lessons, even if I couldn't make my body do what I wanted to at the time.
Just a thought, have you had your son evaluated for Asperger's?
