Sports for 3 Almost 4 Yrs Old??

My daughter has been playing soccer since she was 3 years old and loves it! Look for the "lil' Kicker's" team.

There is soccer that starts in the fall where 4 year olds can play (Pickerington Area Soccer Association). Try the Y or call the Pickerington Parks and Rec.to see about classes or sports for kids his age. He should be old enough for swim lessons at one of the local pools once they open up.
:) C.

Hope this helps
soccer info

Division breakdown for age groups
Proof of age is required if your child is new to the Mason S.A.Y. Program.
S.A.Y. age cut off is July 31, 2004 thru July 31, 1990
Division Age
(U6) Instructional 4 or 5
(U8) Passers 6 or 7
(U10) Wings 8 or 9
(U12) Strikers 10 or 11
(U14) Kickers 12 or 13
(U19) Co-ed Minors/Seniors 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,19 (MUST still be in High School)

I'm not sure what area you are from, but here is a link to an optimist club in the Hancock County area (Fortville, McCordsville, and surrounding area) in Indiana. http://fortvilleoptimist.org

I don't know what part of town you are in, but you can always call your local chamber office to see if they can help you.

If you live in Mason, there's Mason Youth Organization and also the Mason Rec. Center.

For you, you might want to check out the Cincinnati Mothers & More chapter at http://www.geocities.com/mothersandmorecinti/. It's a great place to meet other moms and to get all kinds of questions like these answered!

J., do you have a YMCA in your area? They offer sports for young kids. Also where I am from the local Parks and Recreation Centers also offer lots of stuff. Good Luck! C.

We've had a lot of fun and success with the Skyhawks Sports Academy programs. They start with ages 3 and go to up to 14. They are reasonably priced, widely available and offer a variety of programs.
You can check them out at www.skyhawks.com.

Good luck and welcome to the area.
N.

Check your local parks and recreation department. Lots of times they offer stuff for kids of all ages.

J.,
My husband is coaching for our 3 1/2 year olds team in Broadview Hts. I would call your local rec center or Y. There are many activities for active kids. I would love to share with you the thought of joining our Preschool Mothers club. We have 150 moms and are very active with field trips and kids' activities. Brecksville Broadview Hts. Preschool Mothers Club. ###-###-#### call with any questions and you do not have to live in Brecksville to join.

We are also new to the area and I think we missed the Xenia YRC t-ball but we will be doing some things through the Y and are signing up next month for Fall Soccer through the Xenia Soccer club. I would also love to hear about local sports teams or extra recreational things to do with my 6 and 3 year olds this summer.

Here is a list of things we have done since our move here last August:

Classes we have had at the Y:
Soccer=disorganized not super informative
Gymnastics=almost like an open gym with a little help but no real teaching (3-5 year old class)
Basketball=maybe too competative but good
Swim=dirty and old locker room/pool and too many kids per teacher the kids were a little out of control

Dance Loft
Ballet=fun and my dh wants to go

Kindermusik in Beavercreek=expensive and a little bit of a drive

MOPS=good time for me and the kids

J.,
I don't know where you live or when the little man's birthday is, but check out the closest YMCA. They can start soccer and basketball at 3, and t-ball and flag football at 4. We go to the one in Springboro and I know the South Y, in Kettering offers some of them. I have been happy with the programs- not too competitive, just fun and not too expensive- $32 for member and maybe $60 for non-member. My son loves the t-ball and flag football and he is 4 1/2. Also, check out your townships web-site. Springboro has a t-ball and soccer league starting at 4. Good luck!

Hi J.,

Not sure where you live, but on the Southwest side of columbus (Bolton Field area) there is Southwest Soccer Association. They have a website, but I am not sure if it is too late to get you little guy in for spring. Practices start next week.

Our son started in the fall when he was 3 1/2. He is getting ready to start his second season. He really seems to enjoy it. My husband is one of the coaches for U4...they mainly work on learning how to dribble the ball and that the idea is to get the ball into a net (not always the right one at this point), and that soccer is FUN.

Hope this helps.
R. B

Hello J., What part are you in? Cincinnati is fairly large and some areas only allow children in their immediate area to do the sports programs. I would suggest calling you local town/city hall and ask to speak with the recreatiuon director as ithis is many times a volunteer part time postion it may take days to get a hold of someone. Also sign ups are happening now in many communities so they may be filled by the time you get ahold of someone. Another avenue might be the local Y or check out the library. That's where we get allot of our info when we didn't have children in school. If you fall short in any of these departments what about getting a group of the age ages together and do a clinic yourself. Stress fun while learning the fundimentals. At this age stressing winning can be bad on their self esteme. While winning is good someone has to lose and it's all about fun. Good luck. If you cannot afford to do this on your own you may be able to approach a business in your community and stress the lack of something for that age group and how important it is to start early. They may be willing to help buy equiptment. To make the money go the fartherest go to paly it again sports to buy thing and uggest that to parents too. Nothing wrong with gently worn items that probably won't fit next season. You also maybe able to rent ballfields in your area for free. Give it a try. Good luck and you have fun too. Get other parents involved. Women make good coaches too not just men.
Oh I almost forgot call your local school and find out who the PTA/ PTO president is. Ours is great on knowing who to call for many things as she has 4 child and one with special needs.

My daughter did Sporties for Shorties at the Westerville Parks and Rec when she was that age. I will do it again for my other two as well. It's a great program that lets them try out lots of different sports and tires them out! And it's not too expensive. I highly recommend! Good luck

Hi J. - I'm not sure what part of town you're from, but on the Northwest side (Dublin area), there is a place called Sports Ohio. They have several complexes including Soccer First, Field Sports, The Chiller, a par 3 golf course, go karts, etc. My son got his start at soccer there. They don't have teams, but fun little classes. And, I think they offer tee-ball for the little guys. Go to sportsohio.com.

What about tumbling classes to get the energy out? There are gymnastics places that have them as well as sports clubs and YMCAs.

Hi J.,
The YMCA in Cuyahoga Falls is offering t-ball for 3-5 year olds. I think the registration starts this weekend. There is also a soccer league in Cuyahoga Falls that offers soccer to 3 year olds. That league has started for the spring but you may be able to sign him up for the summer. The website is http://www.fallssoccerclub.org/.
My son is almost 4 and he signed up for the soccer. Hopefull it will help to burn off some energy as I am running out of tricks to keep him occupied!
C.

I've been taking my 4 and 6 year olds to the YMCA for soccer and swimming lessons. They love it!

Check your local rec center if your community has one. Ours (in Westerville) offers some sports classes that start at 3.5, others at 4. Swim lessona are offered there for all ages too. Buckeye Gymnastics (in Powell and Westerville) offers week-long summer camos with a variety of themes, one of which is sports.

Hi J.,

I have no idea where Lithopolis is, except that it is nowhere near me!! lol

If you have no luck with finding organized sports, you could try inviting another child over so they can play catch, kick a soccer ball around, do mini golf, run around at the park, etc.

If you feel really inspired you could organize a mini "Olympics" at your house, with races, jumping, throwing, etc.

You might consider exposing him to other stuff besides sports, e.g. summer "reading" program at the library (you'll be doing the reading, to him, but it's still good for him), classes at your local arts center (if there is one nearby), or Kindermusik. You might end up meeting other moms and kids at those places that you could invite over. He might also find new interests.

Our YMCA in Ashtabula has what they call "Day Camp" where the kids go on field trips and do swimming lessons in the pool there. It's aimed toward the children in their child care center, but open to other kids as well. You don't have to go every day, you can pick,say, all Tuesdays, etc. Maybe yours has a similar program.

Does anyone in your neighborhood have kids the same age as yours or a little older? Ask them. Good conversation starter.

Other moms have given you good suggestions. It's tough being new in town (been there, done that). Good luck to you!

K. Z.

I am not from Streetsboro, by since where we live doesn't offer anything for three year olds, we signed my daughters up for gymnastics with the Streetsboro Parks & Rec dept. Last week they gave us a flier with upcoming activities, and they have soccer for three year olds. I wish we could attend, however it is on Monday nights and we just wouldn't be able to pull that off on a Monday.

Hello,
I babysit for a four year old who play's basketball at the YMCA. She goes every Saturday morning. Check there, they may have something for your little one. T.

Sports ohio offers soccor for kids your son's age. Most of the local parks and rec centers offer a variety of classes for children. However they want kids to be 5 or over for teeball. The have and inroduction to sports class, soccer, and gymnastics. The last registration period was last week. Also they should be offering another swimming session at the aquatics center and that should be comming up next week.

Call a local YMCA and ask them if any of their sports are allowed for boys that age. It's a great time to call because they have lots of summer sports. My daughter started playing teeball at 4. She loved it. My son played baseball and football through the YMCA at age 4 and although had no idea what he was doing then, he loved it too.

Hi J.,

If you live in Canal, once your son turn 4 he can play soccer through the Canal Rec center. All my kids were involved and love it.

C.