Sports for Hoboken Toddlers
Kathy Zucker wants her urban toddlers to grow up playing sports to get in the habit of being healthy and fit
Toddler lesson at Hoboken Golf
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Raising a child in an urban environment to be an athlete is a challenge. Especially when your town lacks amenities like a soccer field. However, there are plenty of sports available in Hoboken. You just have to look for them.
I have already written about my passion for unusual sports like fencing and how Hoboken is the ideal place to raise a child fencer. Athletics are extremely important to me and my husband, for both physical and mental conditioning, and we want to pass those benefits on to our two children.
Hoboken has a strong softball tradition—It's the birthplace of baseball, remember—so I am looking forward to enrolling my kids in tee-ball when they turn seven. In the meantime, I am enrolling them in swim classes at Sky Club Fitness and taking them to Kidville gym classes to build their strength and coordination.
I have walked by Hoboken Golf on Grand Street between First and Second many times since I moved to South West Hoboken six years ago, but my first opportunity to check it out came when I won toddler golf lessons at the Jubilee Center Haiti fundraiser. The minimum age for toddler lessons is four, so this was perfect timing to introduce my daughter and her best friend to the sport as an early birthday present. The pro-shop boasts an impressive selection of toddler and beginner clubs at surprisingly affordable prices (I bought a set for my daughter). The store opens onto a very large back room where the lessons take place, equipped with simulator, driving range and miniature golf.
The 20-minute lessons cost $25 and can be scheduled Monday through Thursday starting at 2 p.m. There were a bunch of us present at the lessons; my daughter and her friend, their two younger siblings and the two moms.
The facility is really close to home, so I am planning to bring my daughter back for additional lessons, following her cue. I want to keep the sport fun and interesting, so when she asks to play golf again, that is when we will be back.
To read more about what makes Kathy Zucker tick, check out her blog at http://hobokenmomcondo.com/momblog and follow her at http://twitter.com/zhobokenmom
Ian Rintel
4:59 pm on Friday, May 14, 2010
I will take children as young as three - however golf lessons do not work well for all three year olds (or fours, or fives- or heck even some adults). If your child has seen golf because you play or because they watch golf with you on television - lessons are more likely to work. I have the most success with three year old children who have older siblings who already play golf. If your child runs away when you watch golf on television - they probably will not enjoy or benefit from golf lessons.
Kathy Zucker
6:49 pm on Friday, May 14, 2010
My daughter has been playing for a couple of years with a toy golf club set I picked up at Target, so I think that is where her fascination with golf comes from. I was pleasantly surprised that she was able to correct her hand position during her lesson with you and swing decently; I attribute it to the weight of real clubs and the expert instruction!
I think my 2 yo will probably be ready by age 3 to take lessons since he will be tagging along to his big sister's lessons, so yeah, it really depends on the kid. But thanks for a great lesson, we will be back sometime in the next few months!
Kathy Zucker
9:23 pm on Saturday, May 15, 2010
Great WSJ article on how toddler golf programs are exploding in popularity, but then has a huge dropoff once the kids become teenagers b/c of lack of access to nearby, affordable short golf courses. http://bit.ly/9ACnVq