Um, read my post. It was about basketball, not soccer. There are far fewer options for girls bball in this area.
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What did he switch to? |
Silly response. "not really" If size has no impact at the younger ages, why do the teams with the Early Bloomers, bigger, faster, stronger playing physical kickball winning vast majority of the games? |
Then based on your flawed narrative. The MLS Next league is filled with tiny fast kids. (since size has no effect) |
| Admittedly haven't looked into this issue specifically for soccer, so yes, yes, I am totally uninformed about this issue, but I am struggling, from a practical standpoint, to understand why soccer, and specifically the professional pathway, is special and requires biobanding, where other sports that are based on DOB rather than grade do not bioband. I get that this seems to be something that is done in Europe for their soccer Academies, but what is the point in cases where the late developer is just small due to genetics and is never going to be as big as their peers? Like, you can look at some parents and tell that their kid is never going to be big/tall. Isn't the average height of pro soccer players still somewhere close to 5'11"? Just trying to understand the point (without reading up on it, lol). |
sigh... But reading one study on Relative Age Effect (which impacts all youth sports, proven and documented) will answer all your questions. Many top level players in soccer, basketball, baseball, ice hockey were late developers. They only made it to the top professionally because their parents and they didn't quit when bigger kids were always getting chosen for the 'A' team. btw... the look at the parents method has proven flawed in many instances. |
| If these studies were actually persuasive, all sports would do this. Has to be a reason it's just soccer. I guess in the end I should probably just shut up and move on bc I don't have tiny kids who need this to stay competitive with their peers. carry on. |
Happens in baseball all the time. They just call it A, AA, and AAA minor league baseball. Notice how minor league baseball is broken down by ability not age. It doesn't matter how old or young your are skill is the only determiner of the level you play at before MLB. |
Yes anti-intellectual, it's best you shut up move on. Since you refuse to read articles and studies on the subject, but choose to comment and disagree. It's impossible to only be soccer, unless kids in other sports are robots. |
But the not quitting bc you don't make A team is NOT the same playing down because you're tiny. To me, sticking with it is playing on your age group on "B" team until you "grow" strong enough to compete with the "bigger kids." It's no different than being developmentally the average size for your age, but developing soccer skills at a different speed than others your age. Kids who aren't as strong from a technical standpoint at, say, age 11, but who bust their asses and put in the work so that they are better don't get to play down while they work on their technical skills. But if you just are small for your age, you do. I just don't get it. But, I guess I don't really have to! |
You're just awesome, amazing keyboard warrior. Go you! |
What you're not understanding is that in the Academy world there is no "b" team. Either you play on the top team or you don't play. This is why they allow a couple of players to play down. It challenges the younger players and gives a player with talent and size potential an opportunity to play. Also it makes it more difficult for parents to say my kids team is better than yours. This is because other Academy teams could always stack their team with ringers playing down. It forces parents, and players to look at development as the overall goal not wins per say |
If you chose to read any of the many published research, you would understand the multiple facets. When a kid is placed on a lower team because of size, it usually means they are condemned to lesser coaching and training while the 'A' team kids continue to receive the best of everything the club has to offer. This has a cumulative effect. It is not as Neanderthal as "tiny" kids. The research data shows majority of academy kids are born in the first half of the year. The least represented academy age group is from the 4th quarter of the year. These are indisputable facts. |
Kevin De Bruyne is a classic case of why Bio-banding works. |
My kid is on a top team and she was born in September. And that is an indisputable fact. |