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DS6 played T-ball last year and signed him up for baseball this year. He is excited about it. He was great about going to practice and games adn got all excited. He had no interest in ever practicing outside of his official practice time. He is kind of big for his age, but I often forget that because he is grade skipped and subject accelerated in addition so he is often with kids several years older. He is avg. ability, and sometimes is pretty good for not practicing. There are clearly several above him though, which honestly I think is a good thing. I want him to see that everyone has different talents and gifts and also that skills take practice. Last year I think he mostly enjoyed being in the dugout, being outdoors in general, and the concession stand afterwards. I also do think he will be very into the scoring part this year. Last year he would run hard and fast and then was very confused about the fact that they didn't keep score. Then the rest of the year he would skip to the bases and at one point tried to convince me that skipping was actually faster than running. Anyhow, I hope he enjoys it this year like he did last year. Both my husband and I were not into playing sports (although we are very active and outdoorsy and DH knows all about sports and plays them with friends). I think baseball will be better than some other sports for him because I do think there is less sensory overload. I think basketball and soccer would be very overwhelming.

DS8 played T-ball at 5 for the express purpose of watching him fall on his face! Sounds terrible, but he had himself convinced that he was better at everything than everyone else. It worked! It opened his eyes to the fact that different people have different talents.

He takes karate at school now and surprisingly he loves it.

DS8 (grade skipped oneyear) has the same thing but with basketball. The odd thing about this league is that you are placed only by grade. He is not the smallest on the team, but he is close. His team memebrs are 1 to 2 years older, and many have been playing for 3 years together, the good thing is the coach and his teammates are supportive, and its not highly competative. This is DS8's first time trying a sport. He enjoys it, but will need a lot of practice. He still becomes a spectator at times, and is not agressive, but the coach assures me that in time he will grow into it. I also did not fight the league and have him play with 3rd graders because he will have PE in middle school with boys 1 to 2 years older.

Your post was so funny! I think I love your DS.

I just wanted to comment on track and field... it's great for taking anyone of any ability at a starting point and everyone can have measureable improvement. If he cares at all about stats, he could track his progress in terms of effort + time.

It can also be a social sport with a real mix of different personalities.

Good luck to him - hope he likes it.

Sports has always been a struggle in our house. DD9 tried karate at age 4 and then gymnastics around 6 and finally ballet at age 7ish. Now she hates all sports and gym is her most hated "special". She is not naturally athletic and the problem is that she is smart enough to realize this LOL...once she saw that the other kids could do it so much better then her she didn't want to participate because it was "embarrassing" (her favorite word when it comes to anything sports related)
She is very self conscious and likes to excel in most everything except spelling and sports. Of course it doesn't help that her gym teacher tends to pair her up with the mentally challenged kid in her class! Not only that but her gym teacher has pulled her out a few times to try to work on her basic skills and she hates the attention being focused on something she does not do well at. By the way...she still gets A's in gym LOL I think it is because she knows how to cater to adults...."Oh no Mrs Smith, how was YOUR winter vacation?! How are YOU today?"

Thanks Seablue! I think he'll like it. Our club will let him do mini-javelin, which is the main reason he's excited. A love of Greek mythology combined with an interest in physics... the geekiest javelin thrower out there! He will love the stats part too and is even looking forward to picking up a running event as well.

Sajechma, maybe the A is for effort and improvement. In all seriousness, that's where the grade should come from in PE.

CAmom, the history behind the track and field events - all war related - is awesome. The physics is pretty cool, too. The javelin, for example, is thrown with the body, not the arm, and the block to the leg is where the power origiates. The arm is like a sling shot, so flexibility in your shoulders is more important than arm strength. The overall movement resembles a pendulum.

Here is a link to a youtube video analysis for track geeks only You know, if your DS watches javelin video it will train his brain and assist his performance.

Someone asked me yesterday about team sports. I played soccer in 7th and 8th grade, otherwise I did individual sports and pursued one very seriously. I think as long as you teach a child that being active is important and a sport allows them to be disciplined about it, any sport will do.

DD just started a semester of gymnastics, which I should have cancelled, since she has decided it isn't her favorite. But she was on track for team and her coach is excellent and pushes her and she is developing great upper body strength. So we decided to finish the spring session, focusing on how it helps her body and she can either just do more dance or add some martial arts to try that. I didn't see soccer on the list just because it was a team sport.

Ren

This post is sure timely! My DS8 begged this year to do little league baseball. He loves watching baseball with dad and he and Daddy play "ball" in the backyard. DS8 has dyspraxia and he has issues with tracking the ball to his bat and gripping the bat/catching the ball. 6 months ago he was diagnosed with PTSD after a medical event and he has been "fragile" and getting lots of therapy. My husband and I really wanted to hold off on baseball til next year because he really needs to build up his self-esteem right now but our son was adamanet about trying. So our first practice is today - god help us! Our little guy is a perfectionist and does not like it when people do not go by the rules/regulations. He has trouble working in a "team" with kids his age because he tends to get annoyed. I have a feeling that he is going to get very annoyed that with this level of little league they do not follow regular baseball rules - I will just keep my fingers crossed!!! I always played team sports and excelled at them all my life but my little guy seems to do much better at things like rock climbing/kayaking....so we will see
:-)

[quote=seablue]Sajechma, maybe the A is for effort and improvement. In all seriousness, that's where the grade should come from in PE.


I would believe that easier if I didn't know my daughter better! LOL
She is a politician walking down the hallways talking to all the teachers. They LOVE her. I kinda laugh sometimes when they talk to me about her cause they don't realize that she is "playing" them to win them over.
I also have a son who is a really good kid, does well at school..not labeled as gifted but a really smart kid..gets all A's in academics and all B's in Gym and Art. He really tries hard but he is quiet. It is hard to see his disappointment every report card. We have just decided in our house that those grades don't count. I am afraid of HS.