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My son is 13 and does soccer for 3rd and 4th graders (started as 7th grader), but around here he has to be 14 for bball, at least in the rec dept. Then I think he has an 8 hour day at the gym, trading table and floor duties, all for relatively low wages. Soccer has been great, because he gets done in a couple of hours, 10 bucks a game. He is a junior ref now. Next year he can be a full-fledged ref and get more league options and higher paying games. For about 5-6 hours a weekend I think he can pull down 100-140 bucks. This gives him a job with some serious responsibility, but also allows time for his athletics and his academics (he golfs and plays hoops).
For a kid, it sure beats working at Burger King, in terms of 1) pay, 2) what you put into it, and 3) what you get out of it. He is the captain of our bball team and not because I coach it. His ref experiences improve his composure under pressure, his ability to communicate to the rest of the team, leadership etc. No matter what he chooses to do in the future, these experiences will serve him well.
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