How did your young for the grade kids do in grade level sports?

[Anonymous]

I’m talking about sports organized by grade not age (baseball/soccer are by age). How did your kids do in sports as they got older if they are in the bottom quarter of age for their grade?

[Anonymous]

It doesn’t matter. For many, they “play up” and are playing with kids a full year older anyway. For one of mine who is more athletically inclined, those few months don’t matter. By the time they get to HS they are all competing for the same spots.

For my other kid, those few months also don’t matter because all of the training in the world or even reclassing wouldn’t have helped.

Genetics, internal drive and natural ability and that overall combination are really what matters. Not a few months difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t matter. For many, they “play up” and are playing with kids a full year older anyway. For one of mine who is more athletically inclined, those few months don’t matter. By the time they get to HS they are all competing for the same spots.

For my other kid, those few months also don’t matter because all of the training in the world or even reclassing wouldn’t have helped.

Genetics, internal drive and natural ability and that overall combination are really what matters. Not a few months difference.

Strongly disagree. The year difference if you’re in a heavy redshirt area makes quite a bit of difference during youth sports.

[Anonymous]

My kid is the youngest in her grade, small for her age (<10th percentile), and a late bloomer re puberty so she doesn't really stand a chance. She plays rec soccer and swims for fun.

She loved basketball as a sport, but the cutoff for the more competitive league is literally the day after her birthday, making her the absolute youngest and smallest. At 11 yo, that makes her 50" tall playing against kids who are 5'9" or even taller. She's roughly the same size as a tall third grader and the other players are adult sized. It's just not fun. When she first tried out a few years ago, her birthday being two days later and playing down a league would have made all the difference. But the late puberty probably would have pushed her to drop it by now anyways.

Just for reference re young for her grade, she'll be 13 for the beginning of freshman year of highschool. And her pediatrician expects her to start puberty as a 13-14 yo. We're not a short family so she'll likely end up around 5'8" but not for a long while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t matter. For many, they “play up” and are playing with kids a full year older anyway. For one of mine who is more athletically inclined, those few months don’t matter. By the time they get to HS they are all competing for the same spots.

For my other kid, those few months also don’t matter because all of the training in the world or even reclassing wouldn’t have helped.

Genetics, internal drive and natural ability and that overall combination are really what matters. Not a few months difference.

Strongly disagree. The year difference if you’re in a heavy redshirt area makes quite a bit of difference during youth sports.

You are quoting me and the only place we hear about heavy redshirting of young kids is on DCUM. IRL,I seldom saw it happening. Reclassing when they got to HS absolutely happened and more often than people realized. We knew some who postponed 9th grade one year, went to private and repeated a grade in HS or a few who went to a prep school after HS before college. All boys to get a sports advantage.

[Anonymous]

I have a July birthday kid who is playing rec soccer (so it's done by grade, not age) and she is the best kid on her team.

[Anonymous]

I have a boy and a girl and there is a significant difference in high school sports. By high school, most girls have reached their adult height, but the boys are still going through puberty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m talking about sports organized by grade not age (baseball/soccer are by age). How did your kids do in sports as they got older if they are in the bottom quarter of age for their grade?

What sports are organized by grade and not age that are played at a competitive level?

Basketball and hockey are also age-based. I guess Football is the only sport left where it's by grade...but of course, many kids re-class in 8th grade to be older in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m talking about sports organized by grade not age (baseball/soccer are by age). How did your kids do in sports as they got older if they are in the bottom quarter of age for their grade?

What sports are organized by grade and not age that are played at a competitive level?

Basketball and hockey are also age-based. I guess Football is the only sport left where it's by grade...but of course, many kids re-class in 8th grade to be older in high school.

All school sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m talking about sports organized by grade not age (baseball/soccer are by age). How did your kids do in sports as they got older if they are in the bottom quarter of age for their grade?

What sports are organized by grade and not age that are played at a competitive level?

Basketball and hockey are also age-based. I guess Football is the only sport left where it's by grade...but of course, many kids re-class in 8th grade to be older in high school.

All school sports.

Well, if that's the case then baseball and soccer are not by age either.

I don't understand OP's distinction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m talking about sports organized by grade not age (baseball/soccer are by age). How did your kids do in sports as they got older if they are in the bottom quarter of age for their grade?

What sports are organized by grade and not age that are played at a competitive level?

Basketball and hockey are also age-based. I guess Football is the only sport left where it's by grade...but of course, many kids re-class in 8th grade to be older in high school.

In our area
basketball (even select)
pop football
flag football
lacrosse

All more popular than soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m talking about sports organized by grade not age (baseball/soccer are by age). How did your kids do in sports as they got older if they are in the bottom quarter of age for their grade?

What sports are organized by grade and not age that are played at a competitive level?

Basketball and hockey are also age-based. I guess Football is the only sport left where it's by grade...but of course, many kids re-class in 8th grade to be older in high school.

In our area
basketball (even select)
pop football
flag football
lacrosse

All more popular than soccer.

Other than actual football...once you decide to play competitively, LAX and basketball are organized by age. You don't play on a 9th grade AAU basketball team, you play on a 15U AAU basketball team.

[Anonymous]

In high school pretty much all sports are “by grade” not age.

For girls, the age generally doesn’t matter much by the time high school rolls around- nearly all have finished puberty. Some exceptions, sure.

For boys, timing of puberty is the big factor. Being old or young for age, or redshirted, can make a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

Baseball is May-April. My kid is April 3th so always the youngest on the team. They are a hard worker and get selected for the all star teams each year. Played from K to 7th so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m talking about sports organized by grade not age (baseball/soccer are by age). How did your kids do in sports as they got older if they are in the bottom quarter of age for their grade?

What sports are organized by grade and not age that are played at a competitive level?

Basketball and hockey are also age-based. I guess Football is the only sport left where it's by grade...but of course, many kids re-class in 8th grade to be older in high school.

Softball is age as of August 31 starting next year, and some softball organizations moved to that cut-off 2 years ago.