At what age do you think you can tell whether a kid has potential to be an athlete?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Athletes - Like D1 or even pro level athleticism? I'd say around age 7 I can tell. It is hard to describe but you know when you see it.

High School athletes? Middle school or beyond. Most schools you can work hard and make a team and even be a starter. But the high level athletes that play on TV every weekend all have something the rest of us don't have.

If you've ever seen or played with someone that made it to the show (NFL, MLB, NBA) then you know how obvious it was when you look back on it.

I'm not saying their the best on every team at age 7, but you can tell by the way they move that their body control is light years better than everyone else.

NP. The ones who make it to the show usually were the best on every team at 7, though. Those who weren't are outliers. Making it to the show requires a combination of genes, natural talent, grit, passion, intestine work ethic, and coachability, and you can spot several of those traits at 7. Plenty of kids who show those traits at 7 don't make it to the show, but very few make it to the show who didn't shine at 7.

[Anonymous]

As a parent of multiple kids who love and benefit from sports, I find it depressing that conversations start with a definition of “good” or “an athlete” that is “can make their high school team” and then inevitably switches to “can play D1” or “will make the pros”.

How discouraging is it that we are judging 99% of kids as “not good” or “not athletes”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of multiple kids who love and benefit from sports, I find it depressing that conversations start with a definition of “good” or “an athlete” that is “can make their high school team” and then inevitably switches to “can play D1” or “will make the pros”.

How discouraging is it that we are judging 99% of kids as “not good” or “not athletes”?

It’s just such a small percentage! agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of multiple kids who love and benefit from sports, I find it depressing that conversations start with a definition of “good” or “an athlete” that is “can make their high school team” and then inevitably switches to “can play D1” or “will make the pros”.

How discouraging is it that we are judging 99% of kids as “not good” or “not athletes”?

It's helpful for delusional parents who are spending money they can't afford to spend on youth sports when they would be better served if they put that money into a 529 plan and have their kids play recreational sports. I know it's fun to think your child is the next Michael Jordan, but the odds are very much stacked against that, and the better approach is to let your kid play sports for enjoyment, health, and other suitable life lessons. If you've got the time, money, and passion for travel sports, have at it, provided you remain grounded in reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At first it's more about who obviously has NO chance.

That's clear by age 6 for many kids.

I agree with this. I have an 11 year old, and watching his rec basketball game this weekend was painful with some kids who are just so bad. It's why many kids go to travel, they have to in order to not play with kids who are absolutely horrible and cause the team to lose.

I’ve seen some of the “bad” kids who end up 6’5 play on the high school team. The glory days for many of the boys who end up short were middle school. Enjoy it while it lasts!

LOL. Middle school is not the time to judge a kid's height or sports trajectory. DH grew over a foot in his junior year of high school and another six inches senior year.

So he was about 5’ and grew to 6’6 in 2 years? that’s a huge amount to grow, 18 inches in 2 years. Is that even possible? My brother was about 5’3 and grew to 6’ by 22. Late bloomer.

My brother grew from 4’5” to 6’4 in 2 months from an August 27 to Nov 28.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Athletes - Like D1 or even pro level athleticism? I'd say around age 7 I can tell. It is hard to describe but you know when you see it.

High School athletes? Middle school or beyond. Most schools you can work hard and make a team and even be a starter. But the high level athletes that play on TV every weekend all have something the rest of us don't have.

If you've ever seen or played with someone that made it to the show (NFL, MLB, NBA) then you know how obvious it was when you look back on it.

I'm not saying their the best on every team at age 7, but you can tell by the way they move that their body control is light years better than everyone else.

You are really dumb

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At first it's more about who obviously has NO chance.

That's clear by age 6 for many kids.

I agree with this. I have an 11 year old, and watching his rec basketball game this weekend was painful with some kids who are just so bad. It's why many kids go to travel, they have to in order to not play with kids who are absolutely horrible and cause the team to lose.

I’ve seen some of the “bad” kids who end up 6’5 play on the high school team. The glory days for many of the boys who end up short were middle school. Enjoy it while it lasts!

LOL. Middle school is not the time to judge a kid's height or sports trajectory. DH grew over a foot in his junior year of high school and another six inches senior year.

I think that was pp’s point. Some MS super star kids don’t grow enough in HS to compete with the best ones that do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At first it's more about who obviously has NO chance.

That's clear by age 6 for many kids.

I agree with this. I have an 11 year old, and watching his rec basketball game this weekend was painful with some kids who are just so bad. It's why many kids go to travel, they have to in order to not play with kids who are absolutely horrible and cause the team to lose.

I’ve seen some of the “bad” kids who end up 6’5 play on the high school team. The glory days for many of the boys who end up short were middle school. Enjoy it while it lasts!

LOL. Middle school is not the time to judge a kid's height or sports trajectory. DH grew over a foot in his junior year of high school and another six inches senior year.

I think that was pp’s point. Some MS super star kids don’t grow enough in HS to compete with the best ones that do.

True. Late bloomers have to be resilient because they certainly experience setbacks when competing against peers with testosterone. Even if they don't have significant height, testosterone makes a huge difference in physical sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Athletes - Like D1 or even pro level athleticism? I'd say around age 7 I can tell. It is hard to describe but you know when you see it.

High School athletes? Middle school or beyond. Most schools you can work hard and make a team and even be a starter. But the high level athletes that play on TV every weekend all have something the rest of us don't have.

If you've ever seen or played with someone that made it to the show (NFL, MLB, NBA) then you know how obvious it was when you look back on it.

I'm not saying their the best on every team at age 7, but you can tell by the way they move that their body control is light years better than everyone else.

NP. The ones who make it to the show usually were the best on every team at 7, though. Those who weren't are outliers. Making it to the show requires a combination of genes, natural talent, grit, passion, intestine work ethic, and coachability, and you can spot several of those traits at 7. Plenty of kids who show those traits at 7 don't make it to the show, but very few make it to the show who didn't shine at 7.

NP, but unless you want to show your research this is all just your opinion. Based, I assume, on a very narrow set of observations.

[Anonymous]

Truthfully my 2nd son in K was asked to play with 3rd graders because it wasn’t fair to the other kids .

It sounds insane but that is when I sort of had an inkling.


My older son in 4th grade really could not find a team where he wasn’t the absolute best until college,

Doesn’t mean we “wrote off” others as being athletic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At first it's more about who obviously has NO chance.

That's clear by age 6 for many kids.

I agree with this. I have an 11 year old, and watching his rec basketball game this weekend was painful with some kids who are just so bad. It's why many kids go to travel, they have to in order to not play with kids who are absolutely horrible and cause the team to lose.

I’ve seen some of the “bad” kids who end up 6’5 play on the high school team. The glory days for many of the boys who end up short were middle school. Enjoy it while it lasts!

LOL. Middle school is not the time to judge a kid's height or sports trajectory. DH grew over a foot in his junior year of high school and another six inches senior year.

I’m not saying that your husband is exaggerating, or that you misunderstood, but surely you understand that height growth of 18 inches in two years is an EXTREME outlier. Right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Athletes - Like D1 or even pro level athleticism? I'd say around age 7 I can tell. It is hard to describe but you know when you see it.

High School athletes? Middle school or beyond. Most schools you can work hard and make a team and even be a starter. But the high level athletes that play on TV every weekend all have something the rest of us don't have.

If you've ever seen or played with someone that made it to the show (NFL, MLB, NBA) then you know how obvious it was when you look back on it.

I'm not saying their the best on every team at age 7, but you can tell by the way they move that their body control is light years better than everyone else.

You are really dumb

https://www.amazon.com/Sports-Gene-Extraordinary-Athletic-Performance/dp/161723012X

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At first it's more about who obviously has NO chance.

That's clear by age 6 for many kids.

I agree with this. I have an 11 year old, and watching his rec basketball game this weekend was painful with some kids who are just so bad. It's why many kids go to travel, they have to in order to not play with kids who are absolutely horrible and cause the team to lose.

I’ve seen some of the “bad” kids who end up 6’5 play on the high school team. The glory days for many of the boys who end up short were middle school. Enjoy it while it lasts!

LOL. Middle school is not the time to judge a kid's height or sports trajectory. DH grew over a foot in his junior year of high school and another six inches senior year.

I think that was pp’s point. Some MS super star kids don’t grow enough in HS to compete with the best ones that do.

True. Late bloomers have to be resilient because they certainly experience setbacks when competing against peers with testosterone. Even if they don't have significant height, testosterone makes a huge difference in physical sports.

It can be a problem for early bloomers too. 5’7 6th grade star can turn into 5’7 sophomore cut from JV. Sometimes even when they are very coordinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At first it's more about who obviously has NO chance.

That's clear by age 6 for many kids.

I agree with this. I have an 11 year old, and watching his rec basketball game this weekend was painful with some kids who are just so bad. It's why many kids go to travel, they have to in order to not play with kids who are absolutely horrible and cause the team to lose.

I’ve seen some of the “bad” kids who end up 6’5 play on the high school team. The glory days for many of the boys who end up short were middle school. Enjoy it while it lasts!

LOL. Middle school is not the time to judge a kid's height or sports trajectory. DH grew over a foot in his junior year of high school and another six inches senior year.

I think that was pp’s point. Some MS super star kids don’t grow enough in HS to compete with the best ones that do.

True. Late bloomers have to be resilient because they certainly experience setbacks when competing against peers with testosterone. Even if they don't have significant height, testosterone makes a huge difference in physical sports.

It can be a problem for early bloomers too. 5’7 6th grade star can turn into 5’7 sophomore cut from JV. Sometimes even when they are very coordinated.

This happens all the time in basketball. The big kid gets labeled a big and taught how to play down low. The get really good in the post, but they never learn how to play small. Come puberty, they aren't big enough to play the post and they have never developed guard skills

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully my 2nd son in K was asked to play with 3rd graders because it wasn’t fair to the other kids .

It sounds insane but that is when I sort of had an inkling.


My older son in 4th grade really could not find a team where he wasn’t the absolute best until college,

Doesn’t mean we “wrote off” others as being athletic.

What? how old was he in Kinder? redshirted?