by Central Park Conservancy / NYC Parks
Photo: centralparknyc.org
Central Park has 26 ballfields for baseball and softball, including the Heckscher Ballfields and the Great Lawn, plus fall soccer and flag football on the North Meadow. Many Manhattan youth leagues play here, and families can use open fields for pickup games.
Ballfield season typically spring through fall
Free; organized games need NYC Parks permits
Pick a date to add it to your plans.
Ages 4–17.
Free; organized games need NYC Parks permits
Ballfield season typically spring through fall
Central Park (Heckscher Ballfields near W 63rd St; North Meadow at 97th St), 10024, Manhattan.
No. Central Park Ballfields is outdoors, so plan for weather, sunscreen and water.
Young children learn soccer, and also basketball, in playful classes held in parks, playgrounds and gyms around the city. SocRoc also organizes private groups, travel teams and soccer birthday parties.
Kids take martial arts classes that work on confidence, focus, gross motor skills and following directions, with kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu also on the schedule. The studio runs a summer martial arts camp and hosts birthday parties that include arcade and pinball machines.
Kids learn Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a grappling-only martial art with no striking, in three age groups: 3-5, 6-8 and 9-15. The youngest group has short play-based 30-minute sessions, while older kids build technique in 45-minute classes offered seven days a week.
An indoor baseball facility with batting cages where kids get private instruction, cage time and development programs. Younger children can attend summer camps, while teens can join combines and live at-bat training.
Play-based tennis classes built around games for the youngest players, roughly toddlers through early grade school. Kids learn to move, swing and rally in small groups, and families can book a trial class before joining a session.
Champions teaches kids martial arts in age-grouped classes, starting with a Little Tigers program for the youngest students and continuing through kids, teen and adult classes. Students work on kicks, forms and self-defense while building focus, and the school also offers after-school care, summer camp and a competition team.