Originally posted on 11/08/2012:

opie i personally think 5 is a little bit to young for a trainer and travel ball. im sure she is good but at her young tender age do you really want her to be so competitive? i coach boys basketball i dont have a kid on a team so im looking at things from an objective perspective. i only coach cyo and we just travel around nassau county in long island they dont start playing until 3rd grade. there are other leagues that start younger but they are basically instructional. my daughter who is in 8th grade has been playing volleyball since 5th grade she is on her high school team, was on a cyo team, and a travel team. seeing her succeed has been great and you are right you will never get another feeling like that, but this year she is not playing her cyo team because they dont try as hard as she does which is good but all of her so called friends are on that team and she has alienated herself from them because of her competitive nature. im a very competitive man in my own right but to see her not want to enjoy playing a sport with her friends is a little bit disturbing to me yes you step on the court you want to win but enjoy what you are doing.

this will happen and you can take this to the bank if your daughter starts playing above her age she will get a big head no matter how hard you try to keep her grounded it will happen. i take pride and so does my daughter she is known as the 8th grader who is a really good volleyball player and it is very hard to bring her back to earth. so be very careful what you wish for the good times are very rewarding but just like everything else in life there is usually a downside to it.