Girls Rock!

There are some things you instinctively know about your child, and others you and your child have to learn the hard way. That's how it was with our daughter, Julia, and sports.

I still remember the day when Dave and I dragged Julia to a soccer field for her first soccer practice. Dave and I were so excited to finally become the quintessential "soccer mom and dad" that we practically ran to the field.

We both tried to hide our anxiety when Julia was more interested in the butterflies that flew through the clover than her soccer ball. It took several seasons of watching Julia do everything BUT play soccer for us to clue in that she had absolutely no interest in the sport.

"I don't think we have a Mia Hamm here," Dave said with a smile and a nudge as we left the soccer field. I had to agree. It had been a banner day for Julia — she'd discovered both a monarch butterfly and a red cardinal near the goal on the soccer field.

Over time, we realized that Julia had no interest in any sports that involved a ball or stick. When I voiced my concerns about finding a sport that Julia liked, my pediatrician spoke with the wisdom of a father of two.

"I encourage my patients to participate in a sport that they can do alone or with one other person," he explained. "That way they have a sport they can continue to enjoy as an adult. Encourage her to try out lots of sports. Just don't make her sign up again for anything she doesn't like."

With that advice in mind, over the next five years we tried any sport Julia was interested in — dance, ice skating, karate, even roller skating. Looking back, I never would have predicted that the first sport she would completely love and excel at would be rock climbing. We found a nearby gym that offered a parent/child rock-climbing course and she was hooked.

Now a fit third-grader, Julia has discovered several other sports she enjoys — swimming, biking, and her first team (and stick-and-ball!) sport, softball.

And although our garage is scattered with a lot of sporting equipment that will never be touched again, our young girl now enjoys sports and has the confidence to try out new ones — all qualities we hope will lead to a lasting healthy lifestyle.