<p>I could very well be overreacting – I am not athletic. I was awkward in middle and high school and I now just walk, hike, kayak, swim. My husband is the same – not athletic, no team sports. </p>
<p>I see so many articles on injuries, it can be overwhelming! Plus – for many sports, the equipment needed to make it safer or less harmful can be very expensive. We are very limited on money, so that is a factor. We did take our son to get some shoes for track (he has the flattest feet you have ever seen) and they were $100! quite a shock for our budge. Plus – if our son was ever injured, I am not sure how good the medical care would be. both our kids are on the state medical plan and I don’t think they pay for special sport orthopedic treatment.</p>
<p>I will keep the comments in mind. My younger son definitely enjoys competitive team sports (unlike the rest of the family – although we like to cheer).</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to degrade football – although I did not participate in team sports, I do think that the lessons they teach are very valuable. I encouraged both my kids to do team sports (actually required it for my oldest – hence the horrible baseball experience). I am just a little overwhelmed by the competitiveness, the injuries and the costs. I think our best solution is to just look at each sport carefully for a good fit. as far as one of the reasons for playing football is to be cool – I didn’t mean that being cool was a major reason for playing football – that is why my son wanted to play! he said that the uniform looked neat and kids would think he was cool. Another reason I don’t think he was all that serious. His school may add a football team next year and I will rethinking my decision to allow him to play – depending on the coaching and equipment and stuff.</p>
<p>As far as my older son’s baseball team experience – I know that was out of the norm. I loved little league and my younger son had a great experience. My older son just ended up on two teams with horrible coaches, kids and parents. I could tell when we attended the games that our team had problems – especially when the parents of the kids on the other team were cheering for my son because his team was treating him so badly!</p>