When your kid has a "bad birthday" for a sport

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^i agree it evens out by high school, but most kids will have finished 3/4 of their under 18 competitive play time by the time the reach high school. That’s why it’s a hard thing. If a swimmer started at 5 and goes through 18, only 4 of those years are on an even playing field.

I agree with previous posters, though, that there's no birthday for swimming where you never get your moment. There's usually championship meets in December, March, and July. Higher level meets in April/August.

Yep, and for age groupers there are also high level invitational meets in November and January.

Kids in the 12 and under range sometimes qualify for big meets, much bigger than the local invitationals.

Goodness gracious. I am talking about “big meets.” For age groupers. Your 10 year old is not qualifying for junior nationals, sorry. What meets are you talking about, exactly?

I suspect they are talking about NCSA Age Groups. Such a racket. Pay a bunch of money to take your 10 year old to swim Florida . . . . I miss the days when the big meet for the age group kids was zones. They competed regionally as a team representing PVS. Now, no one even goes to zones they all have to fly to Florida to go to "nationals." Silly. . . but whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^i agree it evens out by high school, but most kids will have finished 3/4 of their under 18 competitive play time by the time the reach high school. That’s why it’s a hard thing. If a swimmer started at 5 and goes through 18, only 4 of those years are on an even playing field.

I agree with previous posters, though, that there's no birthday for swimming where you never get your moment. There's usually championship meets in December, March, and July. Higher level meets in April/August.

Yep, and for age groupers there are also high level invitational meets in November and January.

Kids in the 12 and under range sometimes qualify for big meets, much bigger than the local invitationals.

Goodness gracious. I am talking about “big meets.” For age groupers. Your 10 year old is not qualifying for junior nationals, sorry. What meets are you talking about, exactly?

I suspect they are talking about NCSA Age Groups. Such a racket. Pay a bunch of money to take your 10 year old to swim Florida . . . . I miss the days when the big meet for the age group kids was zones. They competed regionally as a team representing PVS. Now, no one even goes to zones they all have to fly to Florida to go to "nationals." Silly. . . but whatever.

Absolutely agree! I remember when NCSA announced age group champs (around 2015 maybe?) and there was so much negative reaction in the swim community. It’s just so obviously a huge money grab and so unnecessary for 12 &U swimmers. The cuts are not even much harder than most state championship cuts so it becomes a huge and very long meet just so parents can feel important flying their 10 year old to FL for a swim meet. Takes away from the purpose of age group swimming and such a racket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^i agree it evens out by high school, but most kids will have finished 3/4 of their under 18 competitive play time by the time the reach high school. That’s why it’s a hard thing. If a swimmer started at 5 and goes through 18, only 4 of those years are on an even playing field.

I agree with previous posters, though, that there's no birthday for swimming where you never get your moment. There's usually championship meets in December, March, and July. Higher level meets in April/August.

Yep, and for age groupers there are also high level invitational meets in November and January.

Kids in the 12 and under range sometimes qualify for big meets, much bigger than the local invitationals.

Goodness gracious. I am talking about “big meets.” For age groupers. Your 10 year old is not qualifying for junior nationals, sorry. What meets are you talking about, exactly?

I suspect they are talking about NCSA Age Groups. Such a racket. Pay a bunch of money to take your 10 year old to swim Florida . . . . I miss the days when the big meet for the age group kids was zones. They competed regionally as a team representing PVS. Now, no one even goes to zones they all have to fly to Florida to go to "nationals." Silly. . . but whatever.

Absolutely agree! I remember when NCSA announced age group champs (around 2015 maybe?) and there was so much negative reaction in the swim community. It’s just so obviously a huge money grab and so unnecessary for 12 &U swimmers. The cuts are not even much harder than most state championship cuts so it becomes a huge and very long meet just so parents can feel important flying their 10 year old to FL for a swim meet. Takes away from the purpose of age group swimming and such a racket.

YEP!

[Anonymous]

The simple solution for parents obsessed with "bad" birthdays - switch to a sport with a different cut off.

[Anonymous]

I’ve always thought USA Swimming should implement a “champs season” cutoff, maybe Jan 1 for SC and July 1 for LC. That way these kids who spend all season training with their age group and making cuts could actually compete in the champs.

[Anonymous]

My wife and I only have sex during April or May every year so that our children are born in January and February.

[Anonymous]

Every swim birthday has its moment. Late December/early January kids have the championship meets in December. Early spring kids have IMX. Late spring kids have SC champs. June 1 kids have the perfect summer swim birthdays. Late summer/early fall kids have LC champs and Zones. They're always missing out on something due to a birthday but they're also finding advantages due to that same birthday. It can be frustrating to age up just before a big qualifying meet like Eastern Zones or the one in Florida but if they're swimming that fast anyway they can always play with their NCAP Invitational medals.

[Anonymous]

OP just read this New Yorker article about how it's best for kids to be the youngest in their group because being with a cohort of slightly more advanced kids will push them to be better. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/youngest-kid-smartest-kid

But you and your kid need some perspective. Every birthday is good for one thing and bad for another.

[Anonymous]

The trade off is that a bad birthday for a club cutoff can mean a good birthday for school. A kid born on January 2 would be old for club sports that start their age determination on January 1. A kid born on October 1 of the same year will be 9 months younger and that makes a difference. The difference diminishes over time but still exists throughout the child years. But - that kid born on October 1 will be old for their high school sports. The October 1 birthday kid will be a school year behind the January 2 birthday kid. That also makes a difference for college sports. College coaches are looking at when a kid will show up on campus as a freshman. Their age does not matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The trade off is that a bad birthday for a club cutoff can mean a good birthday for school. A kid born on January 2 would be old for club sports that start their age determination on January 1. A kid born on October 1 of the same year will be 9 months younger and that makes a difference. The difference diminishes over time but still exists throughout the child years. But - that kid born on October 1 will be old for their high school sports. The October 1 birthday kid will be a school year behind the January 2 birthday kid. That also makes a difference for college sports. College coaches are looking at when a kid will show up on campus as a freshman. Their age does not matter.

That’s because in college- kids are fully grown. An 18 year old competing against a 22 year old is okay because their bodies are what their bodies will be.

[Anonymous]

The best kid on my son’s 13U basketball team is 12. He’s also the shortest by at least a foot.