When the age group is expanded to include ages 5-17, the number of American children participating in organized sports goes up to 22 million, with 14 million more taking part in less structured sports. Furthermore, says Ortega, kids today play with more intensity and competitiveness, and they start organized sports at earlier ages than past generations, so it is more important than ever to prepare children for each stage of athletic development. Keep any sort training sessions short and be sure you emphasize play, experimentation, and exploration. Their vision also tends to be farsighted, and they have difficulty tracking objects and judging speed. Recommended activities for this age group are walking, swimming, running, tumbling, throwing, and catching.
Eye movements become more efficient, and they are better at tracking and judging speed.
These children still have relatively short attention spans, and though they are getting better, they have a ways to go in their strategic skills. During this phase balance finally becomes automatic. Ortega says that most pediatric sports experts feel that only minimal competition is appropriate at this age, and children do best playing games that have flexible rules and lots of free play. Recommended activities are gymnastics, swimming, and entry level baseball and soccer. Often during puberty a temporary decline in balance is seen.