Choose the Best Sport for Your Kid
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What Sport; What Age
| Sport | Best age to start | What kids need to know | What kids will learn |
| Swimming | Newborn to toddler for basic swim classes. 5 or 6 years for competitive swimming. | A child needs to know a few basic swimming strokes to compete in swim meets. | Swimming provides cardiovascular exercise without putting any stress on a child's bones. Swimmers also develop endurance and self-discipline. |
| Gymnas-tics | 2 or 3 year-olds can take basic movement classes. | A child must have control of her body and be able to do basic moves such as forward rolls. | Any child at any age can benefit. Gymnasts learn gross motor skills, balance, flexibility and strength. |
| T-Ball | 3 or 4 years | A player needs to know how to swing a bat and catch a ball. | Players gain confidence by making contact with the ball and have fun running around the field with their friends. |
| Soccer | 5 or 6 years for team competition, but children can play soccer-like games as young as 3 years. | A child must know how to run and kick, how to play as a team and move the ball up the field | Kids learn teamwork and develop their attention span. |
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Baseball/ |
5 or 6 years | A child should be able to complete a throwing motion. | Young athletes learn how to track a moving object with their eyes and improve hand-eye coordination. |
| Basketball | 7 or 8 years | A player needs to be able to dribble, shoot and pass a ball. | Children learn about teamwork and precision of their movements. |
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Ice Hockey/ |
7 or 8 years | A child needs to skate well for ice hockey. A field hockey player needs endurance and the ability to hit the ball consistently. | Players learn balance (in ice hockey), teamwork and how to track an object with their eyes. |
| Tennis | 8 or 9 years | A player needs to be able to swing a racket, which is similar to throwing a ball. In addition, complex rules make tennis a difficult sport to learn. | Children develop hand-eye coordination. |
| Football | 10 to 12 year-olds can join in non-tackle games, but kids should be 13 or 14 years old for tackle games. | Experts advise waiting until children are older to prevent injury to growing bones and muscles. A football player needs to be able to throw and catch a ball. | Athletes learn about teamwork and discipline. |
| Track/Cross Country | Junior high school or 12 or 13 years. | Kids need endurance to run long distances. | Runners learn mental discipline while getting cardiovascular exercise. |
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