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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What sports have travel at those ages? [/quote]

“Travel” is probably a misnomer. “Academy” is a better term for programs that focus on the development of skills over a multi year arc, and have a mission of preparing kids for higher levels of competition, as opposed to a 1-3 month recreational program that is more about fun and community, and less about skill development.

I once saw a scatter plot of when kids typically start sports.  Gymnasts and figure skaters start young (4-6/7), soccer players are a bit later (6-9), rowers and squash players are much older (12-15).

Almost always, kids will learn more skills in an academy setting due to better coaching, lower coach:kid ratios, peers are more focused and more skilled, higher attendance, longer program, etc.

But that doesn’t mean that other kids can’t catch up. It’s like trying to teach a 4 year old to read vs a 6 year old. Usually the 6 year old will learn more quickly and can catch up easily. You have to take the specific sport into consideration - starting an 11 year old in lax is a different thing than starting an 11 year old in gymnastics. [/quote]

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