Shard

No need to feel guilty, you're giving him great life experience, he's learning new things, and finding his feet. He'll be stronger for it, although I can imagine it is a hard trade off if he and you were really into his rugby. Hopefully he already has skates or at least has them on the list!

Hawk13

Haha, so true

MillieF

The guilt factor never goes away Tirytory, you just find more things to factor into it...

I am on the East Coast, and sport isn't the same here. My son, who was 11, when he arrived had been a keen basketball player and on the local village soccer team too. Basketball is the pits here, they don't score it for kids, it's all non competitive, maybe that's just here. Soccer they do play, in the playground, and on the school pitch, but it doesn't seem to be followed much, some kids from the Multicultural Association have a team it isn't the same.

My son can't skate. He went with some kids, and when he fell over they took the piss out of him, hurt his feelings and vowed never to try it again. He was quite good at it at a rink, before we came here, but Canadian kids seem to pop out of the womb wearing skates it seems. Air cadets has taught him to ski skate for bi-athlon, and he loves it and is good. He's never going to get to grips with hockey of any description. Canada likes sports and talks a lot about fitness...we have a Frisby league, but all their passion appears to be kept for Ice Hockey.

Do any of you lot in the Western bits where it isn't perpetual winter ever get together for cricket?

Tirytory

Thanks Millie....My son liked cricket too, none here..., and soccer is played non competitively and really isn't the same as the football leagues back home. My son got invited to a school party and that ended up backfiring as he got hurt during hockey and laughed at. Mean kids.

I would like him to get into cadets or Cubs but he's refusing at the moment and to be fair with swimming three times a week and soccer practice twice we don't really have the time.

My daughter loves ice skating and is doing well, that and her burgeoning canadian accent it will be hard to tell the difference soon!

It's not wrong to worry about your children so don't let anyone dismiss your thoughts out of hand. Either they don't have kids or they'll all grown up and their memories are short of what it's actually like.

Partially discharged

A quick google search came up with this

fdsa.org — Fredericton District Soccer Organization

MillieF

Couldn't agree more.

Your four year old will soon be in there and unrecognisable as anything but the 'genuine article'

I put myself through hell at the end of kindergaten when I moved my son to a Private School for the Primary years, he cried for two days solid, and I broke my heart....he's 13 now and can't even remember his kindergarten!

Oakvillian

You really do make me laugh sometimes, Colchar. You genuinely don't get it, do you?

I suppose it all depends where the immigrants are from, but it is overwhelmingly the case in my experience that immigrants don't gravitate towards hockey or baseball. I used to work for a company that had a large number of South Asian immigrants in the workforce. There, I think I could have counted on the fingers of a pair of mittens, the number of hockey players among employees and their children. And the baseball thing? It was not even a thing. Cricket was where it was at for summer games. At my current employer, which has an extraordinarily cosmopolitan employee base, we have unofficial groups of players of tennis, basketball, volleyball, golf, soccer, table tennis, and so on. A couple of people play recreational hockey, but they are in a tiny minority. A few more play baseball in the summer; several colleagues have children in hockey and baseball programs, but to my knowledge none - not a single one - of those are first-generation Canadians.

Considering you live in Brampton, which has a significant South Asian demographic, I'd have thought you would have been aware of the contrasting trends in baseball and cricket. It's been covered in the media. You'll know, for an example that I found following a 10-second Google, that the baseball league has had difficulty securing sponsorship - a sure sign that potential sponsors don't see a demographic that reflects the community. And that the cricket league has grown from 6 teams in 2009 to 34 teams in 2012. That is a reasonable indication of the relative attraction of baseball and cricket among immigrants.

Hockey has a number of other challenges for immigrant kids, beyond the whole ability-to-skate issue. I know many people, both cradle-Canadians and immigrants, who will not put their children in hockey (or who have actually withdrawn their kids from hockey programs) due to the intransigence of the senior leagues over on-ice violence, the cost of the program itself, the inconvenience of early morning and late evening ice time, and the ludicrous competitiveness of other hockey parents. But I suspect those concerns loom larger in the minds of immigrants who are not otherwise drawn to the game by tradition. I don't have figures to hand, but I'd challenge you to show that the proportion of immigrants actively participating in hockey leagues is anywhere near reflective of the proportion of immigrants in the country as a whole.

Oakvillian

to the OP: don't sweat it. You say you're moving to TOronto or Ottawa. I can't speak for Ottawa as I don't know it well, but in Toronto and the surrounding areas you will be able to find any number of sports either as a competitive or recreational pursuit for your kids. In my neck of the woods, soccer is the default playground game at school (and the local club is one of the largest, in terms of youth membership, anywhere in North America for any sport...), there's a thriving rugby club, every other house has a basketball net in the driveway, and so on.

And for "normal" immigrants who remain blissfully (willfully?) ignorant about the delights of hockey, it's still perfectly possible to join in the street hockey games that go on on residential streets, between shouts of "CAR" and scrambles to remove the goalposts. No great skill is required or, usually, demonstrated

anglaisfrancais

Our son was 8 when we arrived out here 3 years ago. I also was worried about him settling in, most parents would, also knowing his character/age I knew he would find it difficult. I was right, he had a tough first year. However the BEST thing I did with him was sign him up for competitive (rep) soccer out here as soon as we arrived. Three years down the line, he still plays for the same team and his best mates are the ones from soccer and not school. He has now branched out into skiing, street hockey and basketball, as well as continuing with tennis and swimming, but soccer is still his favourite. It helped him settle immensely, it was his stability. Where we are, in the GTA soccer is very popular - large Italian community probably helps - played often in the playground, along with basketball. Rugby and cricket virtually non existent. So depends on the area you live in.

dbd33

In this office there are three or four cradles, amid a hundred or so people. They talk about iced hockey (they call it "ice hockey" as their other pastime is "ball hockey"). No one else plays or watches, it is as white a game as basketball is black. There are half a dozen keen followers of cricket here, two of whom play (immigrants from all over), and about as many keen fans of college football (immigrants from the US).

It could, of course, be that this office is exception but I don't think so. The one sporting event that everyone takes an interest in is the World Cup; either people are from footballing nations or they're not but their children play. I think the zone of footballing children goes west from Toronto to, at least, K-W, although not as far north as Tirytory's house.

NeilEB

Thanks all - so it sounds like in the major cities on the East 'side' it shouldn't be a problem getting him to play soccer, which is very good to know.

:-)

Geordie Lass

My son was a mad football fan on coming over (he was 6 at the time).

At school there are a huge group of boys that play soccer/football every recess (oh man did I just say recess) when the weather is nice. Then in the snow they all build forts.

I wouldn't worry too much about this to be honest.

He was a novelty at school as he was the only one with a British accent (and a thick Yorkshire one at that). He used to get asked for his autograph. I am sure he will fit in just fine.

Partially discharged

That 'zone of footballing children' has an outpost in the Ottawa/Montreal corridor as well.

itsasmallworld

You will find soccer teams for him to play in throughout most of Canada and certainly in major Ontario cities. Just get involved in a local club; they probably have leagues for all ages including adults. The thing that is missing is the knockabout spontaneous soccer/football that takes place in the UK and the endless boy talk about the Premier league. My son has played every year since we left the UK in 2005 when he was 6. He played in the USA and now in Canada. Once he got to age 12 he has also played for his school. He still misses chatting to others who know the sport the way he does and the kick-arounds at the park. You may have more luck than we had with that (See Geordie Lass above)

By the way swimming is common in Canada and also JuJitsu (although they do like to "mix" their martial arts where we are). My son had to give up his Tang Soo Do form of karate as there are next to no schools in Canada but he is taking TaeKwondo instead. My soccer mad son is doing "curling" through school - who would have guessed that. Kids adapt!!

Simon Legree

Even in the backwater of Truro, NS there is a kids soccer league. There are several pitches on the Tim Horton's Soccer Field and on any day during the season there are lots of kids, girls and boys of all ages, playing.