I’ll admit, we are definitely those parents who sign Noah up for tons of activities. We do it so he has exposure to other kids. But, we also do it so he can try lots of things to see what he likes best. Chris and I each have our preferences for the sports and activities that we want him to participate in as a kid, but we want him to be able to experience things for himself and decide what he likes. Yeah, we’re the classic millennial parents. 🙂
Soccer was always the sport that I, personally, wanted Noah to play. I signed him up for Super Stars Soccer when he was 18 months old (keep in mind, Noah walked VERY early so by 18 months he was ready). He absolutely loved it! Unfortunately Super Stars Soccer now only offers classes on the North Shore and that’s just a little too far for us to drive. If you’re in that area, I’d recommend looking into their program.
Last summer we gave the YMCA sports class a try. They offer a class that is a sports sampler where you do two weeks of each sport: soccer, basketball and football. Needless to say, it was a major flop. It had kids between the ages of two and five all in one class. It was really hard for the teachers to keep any kids on task because of the huge age gap. I wouldn’t personally recommend that class.
This summer I was on a mission to find a club soccer program that was really focused on younger age groups and truly teaching the kids how to play. I didn’t want something where the kids were just running around the field and un-engaged with learning. Don’t get me wrong – they are three, so, of course, there is lots of just running around. But, I wanted to Noah to learn how to play, too.
That’s when I discovered Mikro Soccer through the Milwaukee Kickers. Mikro Soccer is for kids ages 3-6 and is the perfect introductory soccer program for toddlers and young kids. They offer 11 different locations to choose from throughout the Milwaukee area – Milwaukee, Brown Deer, Franklin, Germantown, Muskego, New Berlin, Nicolet, Oak Creek, Shorewood, St. Francis and Wauwatosa. The other nice thing about the program is that they offer three different evening time slots – 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30PM. Perfect for working parents! We found that the 6:30 time was fantastic because it was right after dinner and gave us some breathing room without having to rush. Plus, the sun was down a bit so it was fantastic for hotter summer days.
We enjoyed the summer program so much that we continued on and signed up for the fall, as well. The only downfall is that the fall class schedule only offers a 4:30 or 5:30PM class. It’s a tight squeeze to get there by 5:30 and we often eat a quick dinner on-the-go, but it’s totally worth it. Noah is learning so much and absolutely loves it! Last week was his first time dribbling the ball all the way down the field – while running! #proudmom
We haven’t decided yet if we will do the indoor winter session at Uhlein, but we’re leaning towards signing up. A friend of ours was recently telling me that their daughter did the indoor winter session last year and they would often have Milwaukee Wave players show up and start playing with the kids. That sounds pretty neat. ⚽