Joe Bruzzese (14 page)

Activities vary from school to school, but most middle schools will offer a healthy menu of both athletic and nonathletic options
for kids. Here are a few of the more common activities as well as a short description of each. Give the following list to your child to peruse.

Language Clubs:
These clubs are great for meeting new people. Whether it's your first time learning to speak a new language or the third, language clubs give kids a time and place to talk and build friendships. Language clubs are focused on talking and learning more about the culture that surrounds the language. This type of club is likely to host field trips to local restaurants and community centers, both great opportunities for gaining cultural awareness.

Yearbook:
The end of a school year signals the arrival of yearbooks. Most people don't know about the year-long commitment required of a dedicated group of kids who work to collect the pictures and stories that fill its pages. Although many schools send their yearbooks to a printing company when it comes time to assemble and print the books, the majority of the year is spent by students attending school events, gathering photos, and designing the pages. Kids interested in writing, drawing, or photography will enjoy this high-energy club.

School Newspaper:
If writing, reporting, or even reading the news sounds exciting, the school newspaper would be an ideal group to join. Newspapers need a lot of students to fill a variety of different positions. Editors, reporters, photographers, and comic writers are among the many jobs on a newspaper's staff. Meeting new friends will come easily in this fast-paced club.

Live News Reporting:
In place of printed newspapers, some schools now offer live TV news. The school news comes to students directly from an on-campus recording studio. Video cameras, microphones, and sound editing tools provide additional opportunities for students to join this activity. The focus on computers and
movie-making software programs makes this a natural fit for kids interested in technology.

Chess Club:
Board games and checkers may have sparked interest during the elementary years, but in chess club strategy takes game-playing to a new level. Chess clubs invite participation from all player levels—novice through advanced. Often chess club members are few in number, but grow to become great friends as well as competitors. Traveling to local tournaments or hosting a tournament can add to the commitment level for club members and inspire camaraderie and excitement as well.

Drama Club:
Actors, singers, and dancers will find the drama club is a natural fit for their passion in the arts. Most drama clubs schedule one or two performances each year. Kids experience all areas of theater, from acting on stage to creating sets and choreographing dance moves. Trips to local theater performances as well as meeting actors and actresses may also be a part of the drama club experience. As opening night approaches, club members should be prepared for an extensive time commitment. Evening and weekend rehearsals will be added to the after-school schedule in the weeks leading up to the performance. Participation in this extracurricular club generally lasts all year; some acting roles require auditions.

National Junior Honor Society:
Like its high school counterpart, participation in the junior honor society is based on academic grades, citizenship, community service, and participation in additional school activities. The general requirements for admission to this organization can be found at
www.nhs.us.
Schools have some flexibility in the structure of their National Junior Honor Society program, so review the school handbook for a more specific description and detailed membership requirements. Although membership in the junior level organization doesn't guarantee admittance at the high school level, most kids enjoy the challenge
of excelling in a variety of areas and consequently receive invitations to the National Honor Society.

Band:
Music lovers who enjoy sharing their talent will find a group of lifelong friends in the school band program. In addition to after-school performances, band members also add another class to their daily schedule, which adds more time to what could already be a busy school day. Band classes are typically slotted either early in the morning or as the last class of the day. Tryouts for the school band may happen as often as twice a year; however, incoming middle school students typically participate in spring tryouts for the coming year. Fall band classes are typically limited to students who have either been admitted through a tryout or demonstrated prior musical experience.

Academic Teams:
Math and science wizards are often drawn to competitions like the school science fair and math super bowl. Middle school offers a host of new opportunities to challenge a student's academic knowledge. Connecting with those who have similar interests never hurts, either.

Sports Teams:
The range of athletics offered by your middle school will vary depending on the season, climate, and size of the school population. Densely populated areas in the more temperate climate zones have the luxury of offering sports activities to their students nearly year-round. In contrast, schools with a smaller number of students may field a single team in a limited number of sports. If you already participate on an athletic team outside of school, review your practice and game schedules before trying out for the school team. Players and coaches from both teams will want to know when you have scheduling conflicts. Stretching yourself to meet the expectations of two teams inevitably means a scheduling conflict, forcing you to decide which team activity to miss. Making your priorities known to both teams is an important part of taking responsibility for your participation. You can also
consider taking a break from your off-campus team to play for the school team. A temporary break from the routine of regular competition can give you a chance to reconnect with school friends.

If the list of available options doesn't spark your child's interest, suggest that he band together with a group of friends and create a club of his own. New clubs crop up every year, often in response to the shared interest of a small group of excited kids. Many of the recent additions to your school's slate of activities were most likely created by students. Here are a few examples of student-created clubs and activities: ping pong club, readers and writers club, builder's club, tech club, and anime club. You can support your child's effort and interests by contacting the school to inquire about the rules for starting a new extracurricular activity.

Handling the regular routine of classes and assignments can quickly deplete a child of the energy needed to participate in any additional on-campus activities. Yet your child may find that venturing out into the community in search of volunteer opportunities provides a good break from the rigor of a challenging academic day. Volunteering often spawns mentoring relationships that benefit kids who respond to personal attention from caring adults. Talking with the elderly, serving food at the homeless shelter, or bagging groceries at the local farmers' market are a few of the many community service activities available to middle school students. Volunteering time at most community organizations or events qualifies as
community service
—a requirement at many middle schools and high schools. Interning at a local business is another way to lend a helping hand while gaining valuable experience in a niche your child may truly enjoy. Members of the National Junior Honor Society spend a healthy number of hours volunteering in the community. So consult the National Junior Honor Society school advisor if your quest for quality volunteering
opportunities comes up short. Better yet, point your child in the direction of the school advisor, who may be more inspirational in her pitch for the benefits of volunteering. Building a habit of volunteering can ease the transition into the high school years when kids are typically required to fulfill a minimum commitment of sixty community service hours over the course of a school year.

Beyond fulfilling a school or club requirement, volunteering brings people closer together in the community. Check the newspaper for a calendar of local events. Most community events depend on volunteers and would be happy to have a group of energetic students for an afternoon. Consider encouraging your child to invite a group of friends to share an afternoon together volunteering. The lure of spending more time with friends may be enough to spur the group to action.

The time commitment required by most extracurricular activities will claim a significant part of your child's afternoon hours; club sports, on the other hand, have been known to consume an entire family's availability. Before leaving the comfort of your child's recreational sports team for a club sports program, take time to thoroughly investigate the environment and commitment that club sports often require. Parents new to the notion of competitive youth athletics will find answers to commonly asked questions in the sections that follow, and veteran club parents can use these same ideas to reaffirm why their child joined a club sports program.

Club sports exist to provide a higher level of competition for children with natural athletic ability and a strong desire to compete. Soccer, basketball, and swimming are among the most popular youth club sports. However, clubs are also springing up in a variety of other sports, including baseball, hockey, water polo, and volleyball. Although some sports have a national organization
that governs new club development, many of the current clubs exist because of the growing interest among parents to see their kids excel in sports.

Many kids arrive in middle school already having participated in club sports. Although the entry-level age varies from sport to sport, it's not uncommon to see kids joining developmental teams (the precursor to full-fledged club teams) as early as age five. Kids who have trouble blowing their noses and tying their shoes can now be seen traveling to compete in weekend tournaments. Often by middle school these athletic prodigies have lost interest in what was once considered a fun time with friends. In contrast, kids who wait until the middle school years to enter the realm of competitive athletics often enjoy the opportunity to bring together their talent and passion at a time when their will to compete is strongest.

Passionate and talented kids who can't be separated from the soccer ball can quickly become a challenge for the parent who wants to ensure a more balanced childhood. Club teams bring together athletes who share a common love for their sport. Watching a group of these kids engage in their passion is truly invigorating. But you need to be careful not to overload your child with additional training opportunities beyond what the team has already scheduled. Too much structure can quickly diminish a child's passion. Recent research also suggests that overtraining has become the primary cause of joint injuries and stress fractures among young athletes. Maintaining physical health and enthusiasm for sports happens naturally when kids have the opportunity to simply play in the absence of coaching or instruction. Athletes of any age delight in being able to explore their talent through unstructured play. As kids near high school age, their physical growth and continued passion for competition can trigger the desire to train on their own. Wait until your child expresses a desire to build more intensity into her training before seeking out additional practice opportunities.