My son is 12-years old, and he has never been into traditional competitive sports. I'm fine with this - not all kids are. He played baseball for a short period when he was 8, but he didn't really care to continue. He's into things like comic books, reading, drawing, video games (...Minecraft), and recently, computer programming! Total nerd over here ;)
He isn't overweight, and has always been a skinny child, but recently I noticed he is getting a little chubby around his waist and he actually referred to himself as getting 'man boobs and a muffin top' the other day. I am getting concerned with the onset of puberty and him possibly beginning to gain weight when his body starts to change.
He wanted to learn how to skateboard, so I bought him a very nice skateboard and gear from a local skateshop (not the cheap Walmart kind, but a really nice deck around $200) - it lasted about a week. He's actually pretty good, or doesn't fall at least ;), but I'm struggling to get him out there and riding the thing.
I guess I feel like he doesn't really have any motivation to try something new. Would it be pretty much impossible to try to get him into a sport like baseball or soccer if he were willing? I mean, in his age group, all the other kids will know all of the rules and be pretty good, while he would be a beginner. If that isn't really possible, I would love suggestions on other things that he can do that are physically active, that he might be interested in as a nerdy kid - karate? Fencing? Those are the only 2 things that I can think of. I thought about maybe just getting a gym membership and taking him with me and see if he likes any of the kids' activities there. Boy scouts?
What kinds of things does your sort of nerdy, different kid like to do?