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My son is a year and a half old. I want to enroll him in sports when he is 5-6 years old and I am already thinking about what activities to choose.
It’s important for me to choose a sports section that will allow my child to easily switch to another sport if, for example, my son loses interest in the current one, faces too much competition, or if we have to move to another city. Another parameter is money: I don’t want the cost of equipment to significantly impact our family budget.
My sports experience
Sambo became the primary sport in my life after friends introduced me to the section in fifth grade. I was immediately captivated and never regretted my choice.
Through the challenges of sambo, I discovered a passion for other sports as well. Functional training helped me improve my endurance, leading to my participation in running competitions. My interest in track and field and sports gymnastics grew as I developed my upper shoulder strength, enabling me to compete in floor exercises and be selected for my school’s gymnastics team.
While I continued to practice sambo, I dedicated more time to other sports and gained greater flexibility, endurance, and strength. Whenever sambo, gymnastics, or running competitions conflicted, I prioritized sambo.
During my studies at the institute and for one year after graduation, I pursued sambo professionally, earning a bronze medal in the Russian Championship, winning and medaling in international and all-Russian tournaments and championships in the Central Federal District.
Although I shifted my focus to family and work in 2011, I remained active in various sports such as hand-to-hand combat competitions, sports orienteering, obstacle races, and streetlifting.
Now, I’m considering which sports my child might enjoy.
Track and field: running short and long distances
What are the benefits? Running short distances – up to 400 meters – develops speed, strengthens the abs and legs. Long and medium distances teach how to properly distribute energy for a longer period. Additionally, any kind of running improves coordination and promotes proper foot placement on the ground – which helps prevent muscle strain and joint injuries.
Where to move to. Children who have running skills bypass other athletes precisely in speed. Therefore, those who ran short distances will be suitable for team sports such as football and basketball. For those who overcame long distances, the path to sports orientation and rogaining, triathlon, obstacle course racing, and summer pentathlon are suitable.
Weightlifting
What are the benefits? The body becomes strong and enduring: all muscle groups are developed, especially the back and legs. Bones, joints and ligaments are strengthened.
Where you can switch to. Weightlifting can easily be replaced with kettlebell sport, high-repetition bench press or standing press. And in adulthood, for those who engaged in weightlifting since childhood, it will be easier to participate in powerlifting or strength athletics competitions .
Sambo wrestling
What are the benefits? Sambo comprehensively develops all muscle groups, positively affects balance, coordination, endurance, and provides self-defense skills. Additionally, a child’s strategic thinking is formed: all opponents are individual, and it is impossible to win all matches using one worked out scheme – each time, a new approach must be taken to the opponent.
Where to go? The sports closest to sambo are combat sambo and hand-to-hand combat. You can also try rock climbing and obstacle course racing, as these sports rely heavily on grip strength which is highly developed in sambo athletes. Street lifting is also a good option, as push-ups and pull-ups with kettlebells are common exercises in sambo training. In adulthood, you can try mixed martial arts like UFC.
Cross-country skiing
What are the benefits. During the classes, all muscle groups are used, especially the arms, legs, and abs. Endurance and body coordination are developed, and the cardiovascular system is trained.
Where to turn? Any other type of skiing sport will suffice: biathlon, ski biathlon, downhill skiing, winter pentathlon, ski orienteering.
Athletes who focus specifically on cross-country skiing usually achieve good results in biathlon, pentathlon, and orienteering. Due to their honed running skills, they pull far ahead of their competitors as they cover the distance: experience shows that in a skiing biathlon, no matter how excellent a result a ski jumper shows, in the second part of the competition – the ski race – it will be cross-country skiers who are the favorites.
Artistic gymnastics
What are the benefits? Muscles and joints become flexible and elastic, the body becomes strong, spatial coordination and balance develop, and a beautiful, proper posture is formed.
Where one can go. The learned sets of exercises on the horizontal bar and parallel bars will come in handy for workouts – street gymnastics. The ability to maintain balance and perform elements of free exercises will facilitate training in sports acrobatics, and coordination will be useful for jumps into the water.
Swimming
What are the benefits? Swimming increases lung capacity, improves endurance, strengthens the upper shoulder girdle and promotes proper posture.
Where to switch. Technique and speed can help achieve good results in water polo. In triathlon, a swimmer has every chance of breaking away from competitors in the water, but may not have enough strength for cycling and running. You can try yourself in open water, but keep in mind that waves and current may interfere with an athlete who is used to ideal conditions in the pool.
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