If your child doesn’t want to play competitive sports, there are still plenty of after-school activities they can participate in.

Here’s what you should do:

First, talk with your teen to understand better why sports do not appeal to them. It could be that they’re not interested in the competition, or they don’t like the team environment. There could be other after-school activities that they’re more interested in and might enjoy more, like band or theater.

Second, understanding that physical activity hugely benefits everyone, do encourage your teen child to be active in some way. They don’t have to play sports, but they should still live a healthy lifestyle. There are plenty of other ways to be active, like playing outside, walking the dog, or riding a bike.

Third, talk to your child’s school counselor about other after-school activities that they can participate in. There are often many activities available, and the counselor can help your child find one that they’re interested in.

Continue reading to find out more about after-school activities for your child.

Parents use the spotivity mobile app to find local and online after-school programs for their students. With over 10,000 extracurricular activities to choose from, your student will easily find programs personalized to them. Download the mobile app by clicking here.

Why It’s Okay That Your Child Doesn’t Play Sports (Stats)

It’s okay if your child doesn’t want to play competitive sports.

A few stats to note:

  • Only 3% of high school athletes go on to play college sports, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
  • Only 1% of high school athletes go on to play professional sports, according to the National Basketball Association.
  • Students who don’t play sports are just as likely to be physically active as those who do, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health.

So don’t worry if your child doesn’t want to play sports. There are plenty of other activities they can participate in, and they can still live a healthy lifestyle.

Famous people like Rianna, Jack Dorsey, and Mark Zuckerberg didn’t play sports in school, and they still went on to be successful.

Introduce Your Child to These Favorite Non-Athletic After-School Activities

There are many after-school activities your child can participate in if they don’t want to play sports.

Here are a few of our favorites:

  1. Band
  2. Theater
  3. Art club
  4. Chess club
  5. Robotics club (our favorite)
  6. Yearbook club
  7. Modern money management
  8. Cooking club
  9. Knitting club
  10. Photography club
  11. Film club
  12. Cooking
  13. Debate
  14. Repairing mobile devices
  15. Creating content on Youtube
  16. Competitive online gaming
  17. Model UN

Let’s dive into a few of our favorites.

Robotics Club

A robotics club is a hands-on way for them to learn about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts.

FIRST Robotics is a great organization that hosts robotics competitions for students of all ages. Most high schools have a robotics team, and many middle schools do as well. But your child can also join a FIRST Robotics team outside of school too.

Competitive Online Gaming

This might sound like a waste of time, but hear us out.

There are many online games that require teamwork, strategy, and critical thinking. These are all skills that your child can use in the future.

Competitive online gaming is when players play against one another via any game. Two-player games are often competitive, with a distinct win-or-lose outcome.

These skills that your child develops can be transferred to other areas of their life. For example, if they’re competing in an online game, they might be more likely to take on leadership roles in the future.

Teen Peer Mentorship

This is all about building a relationship with a peer who is about your age or a little younger, checking in with them regularly, and supporting them through their individual challenges and obstacles.

Peer mentoring doesn’t have to be time-consuming or stressful. It can be as simple as being a friend to someone who needs one.

If your child is interested in peer mentoring, they can talk to their school counselor about finding a program or starting their own.

Model UN

This is a student activity that mimics real-life roles that UN ambassadors play. Students research global issues, write speeches, and debate with one another in order to find resolutions to real-world problems.

Model UN is a great way for your child to learn about other cultures, hone their public speaking skills, and develop their research skills.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many after-school activities your child can participate in if they don’t want to play sports.

How to Expose Teens to Career-Centered Activities

Here are some steps you can take to ensure your child is prepared for their future:

  1. Talk to their school counselor about after-school activities that are available at their school.
  2. Attend a community event, such as a festival or fair, and check out the different booths and organizations that are there.
  3. Research after-school activities online and make a list of ones that interest your child.
  4. Encourage your child to try new things and get out of their comfort zone. They might surprise themselves with how much they enjoy an activity that they never thought they would.

It can be challenging to get your teens to do something constructive. The school takes up roughly 20% or more of your teens’ time each week. Add that up, and it equates to a little over one-third of their waking hours.

It’s essential that the other 80% of their time outside of school isn’t spent scrolling through their phones and listening to music.

With the spotivity mobile app, teens can take part in over 10,000 online and local extracurricular activities personalized to them. It’s as easy as downloading the app, taking the survey, and searching for local and online activities.

Download the spotivity app for free on the app store. Hundreds of kids are using it to find after-school activities they love.

Summary

It shouldn’t alarm you if your child doesn’t want to play sports. There are many other after-school activities your child can participate in that will benefit them in the long run.

Bottom line: Don’t sweat it if your child doesn’t want to play sports. There are plenty of other after-school activities out there that are just as beneficial, if not more so.

Use the spotivity mobile app to easily find after-school activities personalized to your teen.

Try spotivity for 6 months, 100% free by clicking here.

Similar Posts

After-School Program Ideas That Are Extremely Effective (For School Administrators and Counselors)
After-school programs | Latest | Schools

After-School Program Ideas That Are Extremely Effective (For School Administrators and Counselors)

ByMontana Butsch

As a school administrator or counselor, you know that after-school programming is important for the overall development of your students. But what kind of after-school activities are most effective for student engagement and development that don’t fall under the all-encompassing sports catch-all? Not everything ought to be physical. We’ve broken them down into two categories…

Use Expert Guidance and Support the Teenage Years with a Structured Mentorship Program
Mentoring | Outreach

Use Expert Guidance and Support the Teenage Years with a Structured Mentorship Program

ByCatherine Heming

To be a teenager is to struggle through seven years of pressure while building a structure to manage overwhelming responsibilities. Mentorship programs are the perfect extracurricular activities to offer the necessary support for teen development.