D*#@ Basketball!!!

[ga tennis]

My 7 year old son has been playing tennis since he could walk. I thought i did everything right with him and his tennis development. I made ALOT of mistakes with my daughter and learned from those mistakes. About a month ago basketball season started and i signed him up because he wants to play EVERY sport. I did not realize that he would go basketball crazy and ONLY wanna practice basketball everyday. Everyday i get home from work and ask him do you wanna go play tennis and he says no daddy i wanna go play basketball. He was really getting good at tennis and i was gonna put him some level4 and 5 12 and under tournaments this summer. I just dont know what to do?? I am not gonna force him to do anything it just kills me that basketball has taken over his love for tennis. He said he was gonna start back tennis after basketball season but thats a month away. Anybody experienced anything like this with their child???

[gplracer]

At 7 I would not worry about it. When he is ready put him in some rising star tournaments in SC. They are one day round robins for kids with 200 points or less. He would do really well in them. That might encourage him more. They give out trophies the same day. My son started there and loved playing in them. Plus they are cheap. Greenwood has good ones and it is only 50 minutes from us so it is not far for you either. Columbia has some as well.

[mikeler]

He is not you, let him do what he enjoys.

[gplracer]

http://tennislink.usta.com/tournamen....aspx?T=126768

[ga tennis]

Originally Posted by mikeler

He is not you, let him do what he enjoys.

I know... You are right...

[ga tennis]

Originally Posted by gplracer

At 7 I would not worry about it. When he is ready put him in some rising star tournaments in SC. They are one day round robins for kids with 200 points or less. He would do really well in them. That might encourage him more. They give out trophies the same day. My son started there and loved playing in them. Plus they are cheap. Greenwood has good ones and it is only 50 minutes from us so it is not far for you either. Columbia has some as well.

Thanks gplracer.

[BMC9670]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

My 7 year old son has been playing tennis since he could walk. I thought i did everything right with him and his tennis development. I made ALOT of mistakes with my daughter and learned from those mistakes. About a month ago basketball season started and i signed him up because he wants to play EVERY sport. I did not realize that he would go basketball crazy and ONLY wanna practice basketball everyday. Everyday i get home from work and ask him do you wanna go play tennis and he says no daddy i wanna go play basketball. He was really getting good at tennis and i was gonna put him some level4 and 5 12 and under tournaments this summer. I just dont know what to do?? I am not gonna force him to do anything it just kills me that basketball has taken over his love for tennis. He said he was gonna start back tennis after basketball season but thats a month away. Anybody experienced anything like this with their child???

Don't know what to do?!? Let him play b-ball. Why the need to specialize in one sport at 7?

Both my son and daughter play and at around 8 or 9, my son took off, both in interest and playing level, but my daughter never caught the bug. Just wasn't as into it. She wanted to swim, and now loves it and is excelling at it. Granted, we are not "all in for the pros", and certainly not from the age of 7, but IMHO, if they find a sport they love, encourage it. They will do a lot better than being forced to do something they don't like as much.

And as a bonus, basketball is good cardio for tennis. He can do both for some years to come.

[nightfire700]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

My 7 year old son has been playing tennis since he could walk. I thought i did everything right with him and his tennis development. I made ALOT of mistakes with my daughter and learned from those mistakes. About a month ago basketball season started and i signed him up because he wants to play EVERY sport. I did not realize that he would go basketball crazy and ONLY wanna practice basketball everyday. Everyday i get home from work and ask him do you wanna go play tennis and he says no daddy i wanna go play basketball. He was really getting good at tennis and i was gonna put him some level4 and 5 12 and under tournaments this summer. I just dont know what to do?? I am not gonna force him to do anything it just kills me that basketball has taken over his love for tennis. He said he was gonna start back tennis after basketball season but thats a month away. Anybody experienced anything like this with their child???

My son started roller skating at 4.5 yrs and by 7 yrs he was ready to jump into competitions and went into his first one and did well. Unfortunately just a few months before that we had changed his coach who was way too aggressive and my son lost total interest and left the sport. A few days later he saw some kids learning tennis in an academy nearby and forced me to put him there. 2 yrs have passed since and he is now doing good in tennis and played his first recreational tournament last week and ended up runners-up in under 10 and played well in under 12 as well winning a few matches. He still roller skates once in a while for fun and still is the fastest in his friend group. He plays soccer and cricket as well and depending on whats hot on TV, develops a special love for that game for those few weeks . I guess at 9 yrs its the way it is and I am more than happy for his love for sports and if he tells me today that he wants to leave tennis and go for soccer or cricket (and not video games) I would be as happy

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

My 7 year old son has been playing tennis since he could walk. I thought i did everything right with him and his tennis development. I made ALOT of mistakes with my daughter and learned from those mistakes. About a month ago basketball season started and i signed him up because he wants to play EVERY sport. I did not realize that he would go basketball crazy and ONLY wanna practice basketball everyday. Everyday i get home from work and ask him do you wanna go play tennis and he says no daddy i wanna go play basketball. He was really getting good at tennis and i was gonna put him some level4 and 5 12 and under tournaments this summer. I just dont know what to do?? I am not gonna force him to do anything it just kills me that basketball has taken over his love for tennis. He said he was gonna start back tennis after basketball season but thats a month away. Anybody experienced anything like this with their child???

I guess that his friends are playing basketball. Tennis training can be rather boring especially he won't get many chances to hit with other kids of his age, even less chances of hitting with his friends. Maybe playing basketball would help meeting his social needs for now. After he has new friends, who also play tennis, he will be less crazy about the B-ball.

[ga tennis]

Originally Posted by Chemist

I guess that his friends are playing basketball. Tennis training can be rather boring especially he won't get many chances to hit with other kids of his age, even less chances of hitting with his friends. Maybe playing basketball would help meeting his social needs for now. After he has new friends, who also play tennis, he will be less crazy about the B-ball.

Thats the problem he and my daughter are the only kids that play within 50 miles.And they cant practice together because it turns into ww3.

[Rina]

Basketball is fun, tons of friends to play with, somebody to impress, most importantly other kids to impress and have a great time with them. Nothing bad can come out of it, I am afraid to say it but you are overreacting a bit. Any sport is good to play and enjoy, if you make an issue out of this when he is seven, how will you react if he truly quits tennis when he is 16? and maybe really, really good at it?

[WARPWOODIE]

Basketball is a great sport and compliments tennis in many ways such as eye hand coordination, footwork, stamina building, etc. Maybe he likes the team aspect of basketball better that being alone on court by himself against another singular opponent. At 7 years old, I wouldn't worry about it.

[ga tennis]

Thanks for all the advice!!! RINA you are probably right i am over reacting..It wont be the first time.

[strike1]

My son was exactly the same. He wanted to play every sport growing up, but especially soccer and basketball. He gave up soccer a few years ago but just gave up basketball this year (he is in high school). He still plays baketball just for fun every day during breaks, or in our backyard, or with his tennis friends at tournaments. Our challenge was finding time for everything as he became more and more competitive in tennis. But his tennis coaches all agree that soccer and basketball were the best things we could have ever done for his tennis, especially for his footwork and his conditioning. Let your son enjoy it and focus instead on how it will help his tennis game -- and he will be far less likely to burn out!

[ga tennis]

Originally Posted by strike1

My son was exactly the same. He wanted to play every sport growing up, but especially soccer and basketball. He gave up soccer a few years ago but just gave up basketball this year (he is in high school). He still plays baketball just for fun every day during breaks, or in our backyard, or with his tennis friends at tournaments. Our challenge was finding time for everything as he became more and more competitive in tennis. But his tennis coaches all agree that soccer and basketball were the best things we could have ever done for his tennis, especially for his footwork and his conditioning. Let your son enjoy it and focus instead on how it will help his tennis game -- and he will be far less likely to burn out!

Thanks STRIKE!!!!

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

Thanks STRIKE!!!!

Yeah the footwork and teamwork aspects of soccer and basketball are terrific. Baseball was good for learning how to throw accurately. I'm not sure hitting the ball helps and it is a lot less exercise.

[TCF]

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[tennis5]

The bottom line is you want your kid happy and healthy...

If basketball fills those shoes today, let him play it with a smile from you.

[NLBwell]

No better preparation for a lifetime of tennis than playing basketball at a young age. He will become a better athlete playing basketball at this age than tennis.

[lstewart]

I can give you a view of what things might be in 10 years. My son is a 17 year old high school junior attending a school that competes in the highest classification in our state. He splits his time between basketball and tennis, and has for the past few years. Tennis is the sport he will play in college, but I think basketball is his favorite. Of course that is probably because he has all his school buddies on the team, and has 1,500 people in the stands screaming at the games he plays in. Tennis is training with dad (who he still can't beat), and playing many many many usta tournaments with maybe 5 or 6 people watching his match. As others have said, basketball is a great supplement to tennis. We train for tennis at night after high school basketball practice, and weekends. We get to hit 5 days per week, only skipping game days. at 5ft 10, he is an average athlete on his basketball team, with 6ft 5 crazy quick kids going in for slams. But when he takes the tennis court, he seldom faces someone as quick as himself. The downside is that he spends less time on tennis that most of the top regional tennis talent, and less time on basketball than the same from that sport. Injuries can also cause problems, such as a missed tennis training session Monday while he was being taken to the hospital to have his eye sewn up from a practice injury. I suspect he would have more interest in tennis if he had good friends to train with, but he is the only serious tennis player at his school. He is enjoying both sports now, and if he does get good enough to play college tennis, all his basketball training will help him as an athlete, toughness, training hard, and in other ways. If a kid wants to play another sport along with tennis, basketball would be high on the list of options. I can also tell you as a former college tennis player, and someone who played most sports growing up, those tennis players that just played tennis were not hard to spot. They had tennis skill, but were not very athletic when we did other activites for fun.