Youth Sports Trends: A Guide for New Parents Entering the Twilight Realm of Sports Parenting.

So your kids want to play sports? Oh, get ready parents. You will soon be entering a twilight zone between reality and the surreal. You have been warned. But, seriously though, most of it is actually fun to watch. Especially at the beginning.

As a beginner, understanding the current trends in youth sports can help you make better decisions for your child. This article will serve as a guide to the benefits of youth sports and tips for getting started. Also, I'm going to be really real in what this all means for you, as the sports parent. Because, kids can't drive themselves to these things.

Youth sports have evolved. With new trends emerging, parents need to stay informed. This post will cover popular sports and how to choose the right sport for your child. And keep you sane when doing so.

Choose a Sport. Any Sport.

When it comes to youth sports, some activities stand out more than others. Here are a few popular sports that are gaining traction among young athletes:

• Soccer: Allows for your child to learn basic skills and play on a small field with a bunch of children their age. Also allows for you to start a sport where you can start learning the basics and sit on the sidelines with a bunch of parents your age. Also, there are oranges and water at halftime.

  
  

• Basketball: Basketball is another favorite with kids. The gym is stuffy and the parents yells echo off the walls while the older kids are playing on the court next to you. But as a starter sport, its actually a good way to promote teamwork and learn how to use basic offense and defense skills that can eventually help in other sports down the line. Also AAU is not basic basketball. Avoid these letters until your kid knows how to press.

  
  

• Swimming: Swimming is not only a competitive sport but also a vital life skill. Many children start swimming at a young age, and it can lead to lifelong enjoyment. At least that is what other parents tell me. My kids only swam in the summer and at parties.

  
  

• Gymnastics and Dance: Gymnastics helps develop strength, flexibility, and balance. It is popular among younger children and can lead to various competitive opportunities. Dance is a fun way to promote rhythm and coordination in all kids. In my experience of watching many of my friends become dance parents, it is also the easiest path to putting your child in brutal competition and revealing outfits way too early and exposing them to other moms ready to eat your young. But again, I was only looking as an outsider. The music is fun, though.

  
  

• Baseball/Softball: These sports are classic American pastimes. They teach teamwork and strategy while providing a fun way to stay active. I had one who started in baseball at four-years-old and loved it all the way through high school. It taught him everything from teamwork, basic hand-eye coordination, to handling competition to handling adult politics and greed and how sports can turn normal people into grueling hungry beasts. Yet, we persisted. And softball. The majority of parents I know who put their child in softball at a young age are happy they did. It is the perfect sport to promote teamwork and skills and set them up for success well beyond childhood. If you look at every social media post made by every mom who ever put their kid in softball, they will also tell you the exact same thing. Every. damn. post. My kid only liked the cheers in the dugout and running around the bases. But softball, its cool.

  
  

• Flag Football: Notice I said "Flag" football. Don't be like us and sign your small child up too early for tackle football and then spend the next few years after high school explaining to others why you signed him up so early for a sport he easily could have learned right before High school started. Let him play flag and l learn the rules and plays and have fun. Also, its cheaper and less equipment and pads mean less smells in the trunk of your car. You're welcome.

  
  

• Track & Field: I recommend this sport to all parents who want to start their kids on the youth sports journey. It is an all day adventure that requires you to sit in the sun-soaked bleachers and cheer for other kids who you don't know until that few seconds when your childs event is up and they run really fast down the track and thats the end of it. But-they get to run. And they get to feel that feeling of running not only against others but against themselves. And there is no better feeling than having your kid wave to you with their little hands while they are running around the track and all of the other parents say "Awwww" as your baby runs in slow motion. Or at least that's how I remember it. But, yes. Track and Field is a cheap and easy starter sport and comes highly recommeded.

  
  

• Tennis/Hockey/Lacrosse/Horseback Riding/etc.: These are all sports that my friends swear by and that also cost way too much money to start. I would be lying to you if I told you I knew anything about them. But they are sports. And sports are fun. Kids need variety so these are various sports. There you go.

  
  

Each of these sports offers unique benefits. Choosing the right one for your child will depend on their interests and physical abilities. Also, what you can handle as a first time Sports parent. Approach cautiously. Just saying.