youth sports

Yes, we’ve been writing more and more about youth sports. But is it really that big of a surprise, since our kids are now 2-3 years into their teams and activities?

Just like OT, everything is foundational. What they are learning now is going to shape their social skills and identity 5, 10, 20+ years down the road.

Our kids’ sports experiences are vastly different, and they are uncovering a lot of skills and lessons for us parents to dive into. We’re also seeing a lot of bad habits thanks to sports system that’s getting harder to navigate.

Therein lies the conundrum: How long will our kids be on this path before it starts turning into a tearful, stressful, time-sucking money pit? Can we walk the line, or are we already in the vicious cycle?

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This past February, the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina held our attentions for three weeks straight, including our kids. Watching hours of slaloms and biathlon and speed skating, completely engrossed.

Both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games pique kid’s interest in new sports. They are at an age where they think they can pick up these sports so easily and they want to try everything. What, like it’s hard? We found ourselves Googling where the nearest luge center was.

But with the Winter Olympics particularly, the countries bringing home the most medals aren’t always the biggest or richest. This year, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany were in the top five medal count, along with the US and Italy the host country.

Are they just better at snow sports? Do they start their kids on the Olympic track early? Yes and no.

It raised a bigger question about youth sports around the world and how different countries develop young athletes. Turns out, different countries structure youth sports very differently and the contrasts are big enough that they shape kids’ experiences, family culture, and even national athletic success.

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