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Home › Articles › Fun and Creativity › Put Me In, Coach

Put Me In, Coach

Is Your Preschooler Ready for Organized Sports?

By Alexandria Powell

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Sports also can help young children learn social skills and motor skills. "A lot of kids that age don't do daycare or they're not in preschool yet, so this is their first interaction with somebody other than a family member," says Ashley Chamberlain, a former optional level gymnast who has been coaching gymnastics since 1991 and teaches preschool gymnastics for Creek Flipsters in Beavercreek, Ohio.

Chamberlain's students learn about being around other children, taking turns, standing in line and safety. "The big thing is getting them used to interacting with somebody other than Mom and Dad," says Chamberlain.

J.P. Christiansen has been coaching soccer for five years and currently coaches a girl's team for the Northeast Louisiana Soccer Association. Christiansen says that playing sports is a great way for kids to make friends and get exercise. It also offers preschoolers the chance to learn about persistence. "If you want to score a goal, you have to run and hustle and kick the ball in order to do it," he says. "You can't just stand around and expect things to come to you."

Finally, obesity and other health problems related to inactivity are on the rise. Sports can foster a love for being active if you make sure your child's first experiences are positive ones, says Stahl. "Shift away from competition," she says. "Make sure it's fun."

It's All About Fun
When you enroll yor preschooler in an organized sport, you walk what Stahl calls "a very fine line" between doing it for them and doing it for you. "Our society is so competitive, and as parents we can transfer that to the sports field," Stahl says. "It's a very negative trend." She notes that competition has its place, "at older ages and in the right context."


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