Sports Girls Play

Girls youth sports news, tips and resources for raising a happy, healthy athlete

  • Home
  • About / Contact
  • Resources
  • Shop for Girls Sports Gear
  • Disclosures

Ways to Keep Kids in Sports Longer

Ways to Encourage Kids to Stay in Sports

According to an article in the Washington Post, 70% of kids quit organized sports by the age of 13 and the number one reason quoted is that it is no longer fun. If you think about it, it makes sense. Most kids start sports in elementary school – parks and recreation soccer, t-ball, gymnastics classes, and the like. When they start out, it is that, just fun – it’s all new, there is no pressure and they feel like every practice is something different.

As kids get older, they get better at their sport, which means they may take it to the competitive level resulting in more practices, higher expectations, more potential for injury, time management challenges and the list goes on.

So, how can you help kids navigate these challenges so they stick with their sport through high school, possibly college and eventually develop life long healthy habits?

As a coach, get creative and get the kids involved in the planning of the workout. Remember that as a coach, you are using sport to give kids the basis for a healthy adulthood – teaching them skills about persistence, dealing with adversity, teamwork, time management and more. Yes, you need to focus on things like good technique and strategies for your sport, but don’t forget the big lessons you are really trying to teach.

As parents, be supportive and take the focus off the performance (and the winning) and embrace the process and journey. Your child will be headed off to college or independent life before you know it! Their sport and your role in it, will be an important part of their foundation for success as an adult.

Once your child gets to high school, encourage them to get involved in sports at their school. Not only does it keep them in sports, but it gives them the opportunity to be more involved in their school. One of the great things about high school sports is the opportunity to try new things. For example, your child may have played soccer in elementary school and middle school, but now in high school they can use all that training to try new sports like cross country or field hockey. Your daughter may not want to swing bars or flip on the beam anymore, but she may want to take those years of gymnastics training and show her school spirit on the cheerleading squad or take her love of jumping to the track team or volleyball court.

As your child contemplates her journey in sports and whether or not she should continue or not, the best thing to do is keep the lines of communication open – discuss options and alternatives. You may also want to read my tips on Getting Past “I Quit”.

Kids in sports is a team effort! Parents, coaches and the athletes and how they work together can make all the difference in keeping kids in the sports they love!

January 4, 2019 Leave a Comment

College Golf Scholarships for Girls Going Unclaimed

girls golf scholarships going unused

A few weeks ago my daughter (a rising high school junior) and I headed to our local driving range to hit off a few buckets of golf balls on a Sunday morning. While taking our turns, the owner of the range stopped out to say hello and he was somewhat surprised to see the Mother-Daughter team we made. He gave us some tips on our strokes and we talked about high schools, high school sports and of course, golf.

After watching my daughter hit golf ball after golf ball, he asked if she played high school golf. She said she had not thought about it before (she cheers for football season and swims during winter), but may now consider it. The golf pro then shared a little tidbit with her and her whole outlook changed!

According to the LA Times, the National College Athletic Assn. (NCAA) estimates that every year 200 college golf scholarships for young women go unclaimed. Too few girls compete in the sport to qualify for these scholarships, which means many young women are missing an opportunity that could make all the difference to their education, their income and their future.

Golf is a sport that all ages can enjoy and if you have a girl who is showing interest, sign her up for a camp, find some local junior golf clinics in your area and when she gets to high school age, encourage her to play high school golf. You just might discover a hidden talent and open up new opportunities!

July 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

Swim Bag Essentials

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. 

My daughter just finished another season of high school swim and had one of the best season’s of her career to date. Her hair also survived the season better than it ever has before, too!! So, what was in her swim bag this season? Let’s take a look:

Swim Bag Essentials

The biggest difference this year (apart from her dropping times meet after meet), was that her hair did not get trashed this year from the chlorine! Prevention really is your best friend when it comes to protecting your hair and skin from the damaging effects of chlorine.

We invested in some good quality hair/body products this season. Triswim makes a line of shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion that removes the chlorine from the hair/body and then protects it. We bought the travel size set of the Triswim products to put in her swim bag and got the full size ones for home and refilling the small ones.

She also found that if she put a little conditioner in her hair before she put it up in a silicone swim cap, that it helped to protect it even more. Silicone swim caps are thicker and more gentle on the hair than the latex ones.

Even though most pools have kickboards and pull buoys that can be borrowed for training, my daughter prefers to use her own pull buoy to work on just her upper body strength during her strokes. The short fins make working on leg strength and endurance more effective. The shorter fins provide more resistance that the traditional length fins. I like that you can purchase the shorter fins – we used to always have to buy the long ones and cut the tips off.  The pull buoy, fins and other wet equipment goes into a mesh bag for transport and to dry out.

Rounding out her essentials is a quick-dry, microfiber towel that does not take up a ton of space in her swim bag and her favorite Vanquisher goggles. Everything gets packed into the Speedo backpack that has plenty of compartments for caps, goggles, hair care supplies, a sealed compartment for wet suits, and room for dry clothes for after practice.

High school swim season may be over, but in a few short months it will be time for summer swim season!

February 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

Next Page »

Find Your School. Shop Your Gear.

School Banner

Recent Posts

  • FANCHEST – A Unique Gift for College Bound Athletes
  • Ways to Keep Kids in Sports Longer
  • Sports Girls Essentials – Recovering from a Tough Workout
  • Gifts for Girls Who Play Volleyball
  • Printable Instructions for Common Uses for KT Tape

Reader Favorites

  • Free Printable Training Journal Page
  • Tips for Dealing with Gymnasts’ Hand Rips
  • Hairstyles for Gymnastics and Cheerleading
  • Getting Past I Quit
  • Mouthguards Are A Must For Field Sports
  • Coaching Tips: Sandwich Your Corrections
  • The Power of Youth Sports
  • kids science kits

Sports Girls Love

Got Running Pains? Biofreeze - It's like ice, but better! Shop Now Evolve Fit Wear Banners College Ladies Gear at Fanatics.com

KT Tape | Kinesiology Therapeutic Tape | Train Longer. Finisher Stronger. | Shop Now

Categories

  • Athlete Profiles
  • Athletics
  • Basketball
  • Books
  • Celebrities
  • Cheerleading
  • Coaching
  • College Sports
  • Competition
  • Deals
  • Diving
  • Everyday Fitness
  • fashion
  • Fencing
  • Field hockey
  • Fun Friday
  • Fundraising
  • Gear
  • gifts
  • Golf
  • Great Resources
  • Gymnastics
  • High School Sports
  • Ice Hockey
  • Ice Skating
  • In the News
  • Injuries
  • Lacrosse
  • Life Lessons
  • Movies
  • NCAA
  • Nutrition
  • Olympics
  • On TV
  • Pan American Games
  • Parenting
  • Resources
  • Rowing
  • Running
  • Sailing
  • SGP Go-Getters
  • Shows
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Strength Training
  • Swimming
  • Taekwondo
  • tennis
  • Track and Field
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Volleyball
  • Wednesday Workout
  • winter olympics
  • Winter Sports
  • Wordless Wednesday
  • Youth Sports

Let’s Connect

Email us Like us on Facebook follow us on Twitter

Copyright © 2018 · Jane Theme By, Pretty Darn Cute Design