Running and skiing are rough on your body. I know more than one person at age 40 that has had to have knee or hip replacement surgery due to injuries.Running is another one. My dad was a wildly successful track coach who also tells every runner he knows to find another, less impactful form of exercise once they're over 30.
My boys swam through college and I can guarantee there is a huge impact to the body in high level swimming. The amount of shoulder surgeries was enormous. Any sport that requires constant repetitive motions at a high level for a sustained amount of time is going to cause problems at some point.
Take a look around at one of your children's meets and notice all the tape on the shoulders and other joints under those suits.
My daughter has done competitive cheer since 1st grade, and she wanted to try swimming last winter so I signed her up for a "pre" team class, where all they did was swim laps with different strokes for an hour. She would come out EXHAUSTED and sore, and said swimming for an hour was about 100x harder than any tumbling class she has ever taken!
I whole heartedly agree.
I have 2 kids-one on the spectrum, one neuro-typ. neither were ones who wanted to do extracurriculars as kids and we never forced it. I've honestly never seen where being/not being in extracurriculars has had any major impact on a person in later life (I learned all the team building and participation skills I needed in college and excelled professionally well beyond many of my peers who spent every waking moment of their childhoods on team sports). sure, if someone has an interest in something then training/practicing/performing or competing in it can lead to improving their skills but if someone has no interest in any extracurricular then I can't see what benefit comes of making them miserable forcing participation in it (and often makes their teacher, trainer, coach, teammates, fellow performers miserable as well).
with my 2 we also waited for them to initiate-with dd it came a year or so into college. she tried several things, found her niche and it has helped to determine her career path. it's nothing that would have been available to her as a child nor would any extracurricular activities available to children have benefited it. with ds (on the spectrum), he's in a college program designed for asd adults held at a local college. it's been through his own initiative that he's become involved with 2 separate clubs on campus-and not only attends but volunteers for their activities. I never would have thought it would do something like this, but again-it had to be on his own time with something he was comfortable with.
My boys swam through college and I can guarantee there is a huge impact to the body in high level swimming. The amount of shoulder surgeries was enormous. Any sport that requires constant repetitive motions at a high level for a sustained amount of time is going to cause problems at some point.
Take a look around at one of your children's meets and notice all the tape on the shoulders and other joints under those suits.
Eh. I don't agree. My kids don't do any activities. They are 12 and 14. They don't want to. I could make them. It would probably "be good for them", but they are autistic and anything we have suggested has been met with a vehement NO. My oldest did adaptive Tae Kwon Do for almost two years until he got to the point he was crying through every class because he has such bad anxiety and was worried that he wasn't doing everything "the right way." Quitting that class was necessary, obviously. He has no desire to do anything social or team oriented where other kids are involved. My other son can't handle anyone bumping into him and has absolutely no stamina, so sports of most kinds are a hard no. Due to sensory issues, music of any kind is out as well.
I take them swimming every day in the summer. They swim laps, and one is probably good enough to be on a team, but he doesn't want to. Doesn't want the pressure to perform a certain way and prefers the solitude of swimming by himself. We also cycle together....long 10-15 mile rides on weekends on nearby bike trails. So they are active, just not outside of our family circle.
But I guess I already know my kids aren't getting into trouble. I mean, they are always home or at school. When (if) they are ready to join some activities, we will gladly sign them up, but I have stopped asking because I don't want them to get the message that something is wrong with NOT wanting to do activities. I do plan to have my kids get after school jobs when they are old enough. In my opinion, that's a far bigger life skill than anything a sport will impart. I played a ton of sports as a kid/teen: baseball, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming. I also worked in high school and value the work experience above all the sports experiences, to be honest.
Just a thought....what about Special Olympics?
My BFF's son has Aspergers. He would shoot around in their driveway, and seemed to have some natural skill. She got him involved with Special Olympics and it has been wonderful!! No pressure whatsoever, very loving and supportive environment. The family noticed that he had also developed into a great runner from all the Basketball games and went out for SO track. He made it to State in track! My BFF cried and cried when he earned a medal at state!! Her son had never been so well accepted, never earned "awards" ever before. It was a big bolster to his self worth!
As a side note...her son also swims. (An active boy for certain). The High School swim coach was very accepting of him practicing with the team, but with no strings attached. Simply let him come and swim laps. In fact, he swims so many laps and has such great endurance, the other boys on the team are kinda in awe!
I'm not doubting that is what you've witnessed I can only tell you what I've seen during the 15 years of competitive swimming with my own 3 kids (oldest being 28 years old). I've very rarely seen anyone with shoulder injuries and I texted my daughter this morning to ask her opinion (she's ranked nationally as is my son). Very little injuries that she's witnessed and there is no one with tape on their shoulders in her club. My kids have never had an injury from swimming.
https://www.livestrong.com/article/430379-the-effects-of-swimming-on-the-body/
"Injuries are incredibly rare"http://www.coachmag.co.uk/exercises/3828/5-key-benefits-of-swimming
Rotator cuff injuries are a very common swimming injury. I never got injured when I was younger BUT after years of swimming, I injured my rotator cuff just doing laps last year. I will be 40 this year. You start feeling the results of cumulative years of sports when you get older.
My best friend who was a competitive swimmer for over 20 years also has a "bad shoulder" and chronic lower back problems from swimming both butterfly and breast stroke. Her swimming put her through college.
The injuries and wear/tear will surface eventually. 28 years old is still young.
Not really sure what being "nationally ranked" has to do with it. Professional athletes suffer from injuries too.
Michael Phelps has even quit swimming due to the risk of further shoulder injury. He competed in the last Olympics injured. Maybe you've heard of him...he's nationally ranked too.
http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2017/02/24/michael-phelps-comeback-shoulder-congress-doping-hearing/