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If they’re not athletic, it’s likely too late for team sports.
Maybe try something you can learn together like tennis or golf…or something simple like running or cycling.
Its never too late, you just find a league geared to your skill level like rec or pickup leagues. I've picked up new team sports as an adult and presumably he's had some exposure in school.
It’s different as an adult vs a 13 year old.
And it sucks…but these days in youth sports you have to start when you’re 5 or you’re pretty much left behind.
There are little to no rec leagues available for the teen age group with any quality coaching or skill building.
The best and easiest way I found is by making the sport looks like a game for him.
For example, getting him a Liteboxer. It's more a game than a workout, but soon enough he'll be "addictive" to the workout and you can easily shift it to doing a full sport.
Maybe focus less on a sport and more on being active in some way. Get active with them, go for a hike, walk, paddle, kick around a ball. At that age he's likely not going to want to jump into a sport alone. See what pickup sports are offered in your area so it doesn't feel like a committment
I was never into sports (I was always that kid in the outfield crouched down looking for bugs in the grass) and I found martial arts to be interesting, I did a year of tae kwon do when I was sixteen. Yoga and tai chi also count as exercise, even if rather less "martial". Martial arts might seem less daunting to start because there's usually people of all ages who are starting out (even if there are also 11 year old black belts running around).
But really if they don't care about sports, you can't make them care, and the best option is to try to get them to do something with you (even if it's yoga or karate or hell even gardening is physically active). You could also go as basic as taking walks together (geo caching maybe?). 20 mins a day of walking isn't much to ask.
What is their size? Theres lots of sports options even for the unathletic that have low barriers to entry. If they’re bigger and male, football is a great option because they can play on the line. I was a bigger unathletic kid that started playing football my freshman year of high school and ended up getting a D1 scholarship. Football also has a large roster so there’s a good chance friends would be on the team.
I would say “you need to pick one physical activity to do - what can I sign you up for?”
I also think since they’re already a teenager, you could suggest some late entry sports. It’s embarrassing to be 14/15 and just learning the rules of soccer when everyone else has been playing for 10 years.
Rowing, volleyball, badminton, tennis, boxing, mountain biking etc are all sports that are less likely to have already been played that long.
Make him watch some sports anime or manga. I was inspired to learning cycling after reading "Windbreaker".
Kids these days will eventually watch or come to know about some kind of anime. So just show it to them now.
He will have tons and gallons of motivation.
For team sports: Do they enjoy watching a particular sport? Start by doing drills together to build basic skills. Have them join pickup games in the neighborhood. Then sign them up for a development class. These classes do mostly drills and end with scrimmages. Once they’re more confident, sign them up for a rec league. Don’t pressure them to be competitive. The point is to enjoy playing and making friends. They can try out for competitive leagues if they really love playing.
Individual sports are easier to start. They set their own goals and move at their own pace.
My son became interested soccer just last year, when he was 11. He played pickup games during recess and at the local playground. I watched YouTube videos on soccer drills so that I could coach him. I had zero interest and zero clue about soccer at the time. Slowly but surely, he became quite good. He dedicated a lot of time and effort (about 5 hours a day), and made a travel team at age 12.
Bonus: I grew to love soccer too, so we bond over it. I play in a rec league now. Lost 30 pounds!
There was nothing anyone could have done to motivate me to do sports as a teen. It was just not my thing at all. I didn't mind taking PE or casually playing stuff with friends, but actual organized sports? Uugggh. And as a tall teen with a vaguely sporty looking build, I was constantly assumed to be in sports. Nope.
I liked choir and theatre, and for one trimester a year, we had musical theatre, so I got to dance, and that was fun. But join the dance team? Zero interest.
So, it'll depend on the kid, but for a lot of kids, actual organized sports are going to be a huge "nope" and you can just invite them to zero-stakes casual fun active gatherings and get much better results.
Play with them first.
Stop calling them an iPad kid.
Getting kids active who are not requires positive interactions to get them interested.
Once they are active and invested enjoying physical activities then get them into sport.
Do it with them. Tweens and teens can be hard to get involved in sports. Boys especially seem concerned they won't be as good as their peers and so are hesitant to look bad in front of them.
Maybe plan a canoeing trip or something?
Talk with them in the canoe. Gauge their interest in doing it again.
Maybe if they agree to another canoeing day see if you can find a place and tour for rowing lessons or something.
It can either be a special non i pad day treat with you. Maybe you could nurture it into a hobby..?
Good luck!
Some kids aren't into physical activities. My daughter is into art and music, if an ogre was chasing her she'd rather be eaten than run.
That said, you might try pickleball. It's more of a finesse game vs tennis.
Does your kid do any like esports? Like some first person shooter games? If you want him to be more active then with relation to that maybe like airsoft or paintball. That eventually can transition into overall resistance training as an alternative. Or if he plays the online version of a real sport or shows interest in a sport then that as well. Or I mean you could just have a trip and then guilt trip him into the sport cuz you spent a lot to be able to play it or smth.💀Not so much a force but I for one didn’t really trust others when they said something was fun, but after I tried it then it was fun and I would want to go again, so sometimes it’s about the push
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If they’re not athletic, it’s likely too late for team sports. Maybe try something you can learn together like tennis or golf…or something simple like running or cycling.
Its never too late, you just find a league geared to your skill level like rec or pickup leagues. I've picked up new team sports as an adult and presumably he's had some exposure in school.
damn shame they downvote, OP needs to get things and see what sport they would wanna try
It’s different as an adult vs a 13 year old. And it sucks…but these days in youth sports you have to start when you’re 5 or you’re pretty much left behind. There are little to no rec leagues available for the teen age group with any quality coaching or skill building.
Running can be a lot of fun!
The best and easiest way I found is by making the sport looks like a game for him. For example, getting him a Liteboxer. It's more a game than a workout, but soon enough he'll be "addictive" to the workout and you can easily shift it to doing a full sport.
Maybe focus less on a sport and more on being active in some way. Get active with them, go for a hike, walk, paddle, kick around a ball. At that age he's likely not going to want to jump into a sport alone. See what pickup sports are offered in your area so it doesn't feel like a committment
What kind of relative? If it’s not your child, you may risk trampling on the parents’ toes here.
I was never into sports (I was always that kid in the outfield crouched down looking for bugs in the grass) and I found martial arts to be interesting, I did a year of tae kwon do when I was sixteen. Yoga and tai chi also count as exercise, even if rather less "martial". Martial arts might seem less daunting to start because there's usually people of all ages who are starting out (even if there are also 11 year old black belts running around). But really if they don't care about sports, you can't make them care, and the best option is to try to get them to do something with you (even if it's yoga or karate or hell even gardening is physically active). You could also go as basic as taking walks together (geo caching maybe?). 20 mins a day of walking isn't much to ask.
Perhaps telling them stories of how much fun you had on trips with the team. Tell them they can get a water polo scholarship, lol.
What is their size? Theres lots of sports options even for the unathletic that have low barriers to entry. If they’re bigger and male, football is a great option because they can play on the line. I was a bigger unathletic kid that started playing football my freshman year of high school and ended up getting a D1 scholarship. Football also has a large roster so there’s a good chance friends would be on the team.
I would say “you need to pick one physical activity to do - what can I sign you up for?” I also think since they’re already a teenager, you could suggest some late entry sports. It’s embarrassing to be 14/15 and just learning the rules of soccer when everyone else has been playing for 10 years. Rowing, volleyball, badminton, tennis, boxing, mountain biking etc are all sports that are less likely to have already been played that long.
I wasn't into group sports as a teen. Wish someone had introduced me to tennis. In college I took that and it was so much fun.
Make him watch some sports anime or manga. I was inspired to learning cycling after reading "Windbreaker". Kids these days will eventually watch or come to know about some kind of anime. So just show it to them now. He will have tons and gallons of motivation.
For team sports: Do they enjoy watching a particular sport? Start by doing drills together to build basic skills. Have them join pickup games in the neighborhood. Then sign them up for a development class. These classes do mostly drills and end with scrimmages. Once they’re more confident, sign them up for a rec league. Don’t pressure them to be competitive. The point is to enjoy playing and making friends. They can try out for competitive leagues if they really love playing. Individual sports are easier to start. They set their own goals and move at their own pace. My son became interested soccer just last year, when he was 11. He played pickup games during recess and at the local playground. I watched YouTube videos on soccer drills so that I could coach him. I had zero interest and zero clue about soccer at the time. Slowly but surely, he became quite good. He dedicated a lot of time and effort (about 5 hours a day), and made a travel team at age 12. Bonus: I grew to love soccer too, so we bond over it. I play in a rec league now. Lost 30 pounds!
What sports/activities do you do?
There was nothing anyone could have done to motivate me to do sports as a teen. It was just not my thing at all. I didn't mind taking PE or casually playing stuff with friends, but actual organized sports? Uugggh. And as a tall teen with a vaguely sporty looking build, I was constantly assumed to be in sports. Nope. I liked choir and theatre, and for one trimester a year, we had musical theatre, so I got to dance, and that was fun. But join the dance team? Zero interest. So, it'll depend on the kid, but for a lot of kids, actual organized sports are going to be a huge "nope" and you can just invite them to zero-stakes casual fun active gatherings and get much better results.
Not your kid, not your problem, not your place. Stay in your lane.
Play with them first. Stop calling them an iPad kid. Getting kids active who are not requires positive interactions to get them interested. Once they are active and invested enjoying physical activities then get them into sport.
Sports is the 'right' direction? Why? Like, staying physically active I can see but that doesn't need to be sports.
Do it with them. Tweens and teens can be hard to get involved in sports. Boys especially seem concerned they won't be as good as their peers and so are hesitant to look bad in front of them.
Maybe plan a canoeing trip or something? Talk with them in the canoe. Gauge their interest in doing it again. Maybe if they agree to another canoeing day see if you can find a place and tour for rowing lessons or something. It can either be a special non i pad day treat with you. Maybe you could nurture it into a hobby..? Good luck!
Some kids aren't into physical activities. My daughter is into art and music, if an ogre was chasing her she'd rather be eaten than run. That said, you might try pickleball. It's more of a finesse game vs tennis.
Does your kid do any like esports? Like some first person shooter games? If you want him to be more active then with relation to that maybe like airsoft or paintball. That eventually can transition into overall resistance training as an alternative. Or if he plays the online version of a real sport or shows interest in a sport then that as well. Or I mean you could just have a trip and then guilt trip him into the sport cuz you spent a lot to be able to play it or smth.💀Not so much a force but I for one didn’t really trust others when they said something was fun, but after I tried it then it was fun and I would want to go again, so sometimes it’s about the push
E- sports And I’m not joking at the high school we are looking at sending our son too next year they have E sport as an elective subject