By Catherine Hudgins
Family friendly describes San Antonio as a place to call home. In the Alamo City, kids discover plenty of activities and opportunities to pursue, explore, and expand their knowledge, understanding, and skills. From bowling to Boy Scouts, from ice hockey to music, and from motocross to ballet, children in the Alamo City can have fun and learn as they sample the options available for their free time.
Sports and Recreation
San Antonio’s mild climate is a big plus for everyone wanting to stay active; participation in such outdoor sports as golf, tennis, soccer, cycling, and skateboarding is year-round. A multitude of public and private programs encourage children to develop lifelong habits of healthy recreational activity.
Every organized youth team sport imaginable—soccer, baseball, football, T-ball, cheerleading, volleyball, and more—is played in the Alamo City. In addition, local professional athletes, including members of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs frequently host instructional camps and workshops, many of which are free or offer scholarships to local youth.
Tennis can be played year-round at private clubs and public facilities such as the McFarlin Tennis Center in San Pedro Park; young golfers can play on an ever-growing number of golf courses throughout San Antonio.
A very active San Antonio Junior Golf Association is based at the historic Brackenridge Course; the Central Texas Junior Golf Association headquarters are at the Sundance Executive Course in New Braunfels. Both organizations provide great opportunities for children interested in developing their golf skills.
Skaters will find plenty of options in the Alamo City, too. In addition to a nice variety of unauthorized facilities, there’s the Skylark Skate Park at Pearsall Park. Meanwhile, mountain bikers and road cyclists take advantage of the expanding Howard W. Peak Greenway Trail System, which offers over 100 miles of paved trails connecting the city’s beautiful creekways.
Mountain biking and road racing cyclists will love the hills in the north central and northwest parts of town, as well as numerous bike trails in parks and on many streets.
Figure skaters can receive professional instruction at the Crystal Palace ice rink or at a number of local roller skating centers. San Antonio kids (and adults) can also indulge their interest in hockey—ice or roller—with league play at various skill levels.
Excellent tumbling and gymnastics schools, camps, and private instructors abound, with programs tailored to all ages and goals, whether it be simply to learn the tricks required for cheerleader tryouts or to compete with an eye toward an Olympic medal.
Young swimmers can join neighborhood swim clubs for lessons and competition under the aegis of the Lone Star Summer Swim League. High schoolers can compete for their school or simply exercise at year-round facilities such as the San Antonio Natatorium, the Virgil T. Blossom Aquatic Center, the YMCA, and the Barshop Jewish Community Center.
San Antonio kids can partake of “typical” Texas activities—such as hunting, shooting, fishing and riding—as well. Hunter education classes for youths are held locally. Shooting ranges offer skeet, trap, and target classes and practice facilities for pistols and rifles. Equestrian facilities provide lessons and training for showing, performance, and pleasure riding. A number of local youth rodeos will give Ty Murray wannabes some experience. The San Antonio area also boasts a number of lakes well-stocked for fishing—not to mention the Gulf of Mexico only hours away.
The Alamo City has plenty of just-plain-fun things to do, too.
Youngsters have a ball riding the San Antonio Zoo Eagle, a miniature train in Brackenridge Park, home of the San Antonio Zoo, whose interactive Lory Landing exhibit, is a favorite with kids, who love the excitement of tropical birds landing on their shoulders or head to eat from their hand.
Kiddie Park’s amusement rides in the San Antonio Zoo delight the very young year-round; kids of all ages enjoy indoor fun palaces, like Gatti Land, that are chock full of games, video fun and food.
For summer and holiday fun, San Antonio boasts the big two for families: Sea World and Six Flags Fiesta Texas. The nearby Hill Country is home to a vast array of summer camps and resorts that cater to kids and create lifelong memories.
Intellectual & Aesthetic Interests
The Alamo City heartily embraces its broad diversity of cultural and ethnic groups, so there are a number of cultural associations and community centers, such as Centro Cultural Aztlan and the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, that work to preserve their heritage and share it with others, including kids.
Interested children can learn—and perform—Greek, Cajun, Mexican folkloric, or even belly dancing. The International Folk Culture Center is an excellent place to begin exploring the traditions of the world.
More than twenty-five dance companies, ranging from classical ballet troupes like the San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet to Mexican folkloric groups to the Fire On The Mountain cloggers, offer young dancers training and performance experience.
In addition, dozens of studios offer instruction in a variety of dance forms, from tap and ballet to hip hop to country western; many provide instruction and preparation for cheerleading, dance and drill team tryouts. The city’s parks and recreation department also sponsors not only low-cost dance classes and performance groups, but an annual, city-wide talent show.
The Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, now celebrating 40 years of summer camps, YOSA provides orchestral levels for musicians ages 7 to 18, with performances often held at the world-class Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.
Children’s Chorus of San Antonio (CCSA) ): Offers choral education for ages 0–18, including a “Neighborhood Choir Collaborative” that brings tuition-free music programs directly into local communities.
Workshops ranging from magic to playwriting to acting in TV and radio commercials are offered by several organizations, including the historic San Pedro Playhouse, home to The Public Theater of San Antonio, remains a cornerstone for young actors, while schools and private studios offer everything from hip-hop to classical ballet.
For children interested in science, history or the visual arts, many local museums offer workshops and classes. In addition, several private art studios encourage kids to explore the creative arts as a means of self-expression. The Coppini Academy of Fine Arts, for example, offers individual and group instruction to interested youth, as do a number of renowned local artists.
From beading classes to cartooning and printmaking courses at the Southwest School of Arts & Craft, children interested in arts, crafts or the cultures and history of many different peoples will find a more than adequate supply of local resources.
One of the most popular places for kids—because it’s so much fun—is the HEB BodyWorks, located at the Witte Museum. The enticingly designed multi-story building is full of hands-on educational activities that entertain and inform children of all ages (and their parents) about basic science principles.
Trinity University’s Saturday Morning Experience is a half-day, twice-monthly enrichment program for gifted and talented children in grades one through eight, providing experiential, hands-on intellectual and social learning opportunities. Kids accepted into the program work in small groups with a specially selected Trinity student who serves as a mentor while they explore language arts, math, science, social studies, and the fine arts.
For the Harry Potter fan or any youngster who enjoys the written word, many local booksellers and the San Antonio Library System’s 30 branches offer extensive storytelling, fan club meetings, and interactive programs for young readers and would-be writers. Barnes & Noble Fiesta Trails, for example, welcomes all ages to a poetry venue that meets on the first and third Wednesday evenings of every month to share their slams.
The school districts serving the San Antonio metropolitan area offer a number of magnet high schools that deliver specialized instruction and practical, hands-on experience focused on particular areas of interest, as well as a full, traditional secondary education. Examples of magnet schools are the International School of the Americas, designed to prepare San Antonians to take advantage of business opportunities in Latin America; the Communication Arts High School, which trains students in video, graphic arts, television, radio and print journalism; and the Health Careers High School, located only blocks from the South Texas Medical Center, which serves as an interactive resource for the school’s students. Fox Tech High School has also evolved into a premier standalone magnet for those pursuing careers in law and health sciences.
No matter what a kid’s interests may be, with a little effort, children, like their parents, will quickly discover that San Antonio is a great place to live, play and grow.
