A Great Family Sport

5:28 AM Posted by jo

We are trying to do a lot of things together as a family. My husband and I want our children to have fun doing activities without feeling the pressure of performing at their best at a very young age. We recently became involved in golf, which is something we never thought we would do. It is great fun, and we love the fact that the whole family can play at the same time. We have had our share of team sports with our oldest, and he is a natural athlete so he enjoyed it and has always done well on the teams.

Golf is a great sport because as I mentioned, the whole family can have fun at the same time. I really enjoy being outdoors with my family for hours. We have a lot of fun and we joke and laugh. The focus is to have fun. I also like the fact that just like bicycle riding or hiking, it can be scheduled at our convenience.

It can be devastating for a child's self image if the child is not doing very well in a team sport at a young age due to the pressure of performing well. My husband and I decided to hold back on organized team activities with our youngest children until they are older. Honestly, with my experience in team sports I wouldn't be disappointed if they don't want to play. We have exposed Paola and Alexander to sports where they can grow as individuals without the pressure of competing with team mates. So far they have tried Track and Field, bicycle riding and now golf. We have not forbidden them to play team sports, but so far they haven't had a desire to do so.

Many young children start very young doing organized sports because it is thought that they have to in order to become the best. My oldest is an example that it is not true. He started his first football practice in 8th grade and immediately was able to start at the games. It is worth mentioning that he had lived most of his life overseas in Europe, and he had hardly ever been exposed to football on TV or real life.

Many team sports ask too much of very young children and they are singled out based on their talents at an early age. I think it is ridiculous to do so with young children before they have fully developed their co-ordination. I think children under 12 should just have fun playing sports and focus on learning skills instead of feeling the pressure of winning the games. I don't mind keeping scores when there's a game, but the focus seems to be the game only. Which often means that a very young child is categorized by her talent before she is fully developed. How can you honestly say if a 7 year old is talented or not? Perhaps, he or she is a late bloomer who needs more practice on co-ordination skills for example. At the age of seven this child may be singled out as not being good and that label will follow her for years.

When sports become too serious at a very young age the fun is taken out and the children don't think it is fun anymore. Instead of nurturing the future talents the children are burned out by the age of 14. More than 70% of the children quit their sports by the time they are 14. My husband is currently working on his Masters in Coaching Education and they focus a lot of what is happening in youth sports. It is a concerning what is going on in the youth sports programs today.

We are even allowed to bring our own furry caddy.

I think it is well known to you that my dog has allergies. Here in Texas they say the worse period is from October to about Easter time. Prancer, our newly appointed furry caddy, had her herbal cocktail before we headed out to the course. Her cocktail contains of noni juice, ALJ liquid herbal decongestant blend, Pau' darco for her yeast problems, and coconut oil. I always bring the Young Living RC blend with me in my purse in case she becomes congested. Luckily enough she doesn't become congested very often anymore. I also noticed that she responds well when I diffuse Thieves in the house. She also gets sprayed down with Purification Essential Oil Blend. Which I used as an insect repellent before we went out to the golf course last time since our tee time was early evening.