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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The majority of this thread is about boy athletes. I’m curious about girls.

My sense is- and I include the previously mentioned gymnastics and ice skating- that opportunities beyond rec for girls are still rather limited compared to all boys’ sports, and the initial general ability level of girls is a bit lower which frustrates slightly talented girls and pushes them into more selective leagues and sports. That waters down opportunity for girls who aren’t massively talented at age 8-9 and a lot of them disappear from sports altogether.

As a coach of two very different sports and a mom who has been through almost every sport but football, I think a lot of girls actually show their true talent and ability closer to 11-12 and closer to 16-17 as their body composition and hormones change, but don’t have the opportunity because it’s “too late.” I had one child in gymnastics and although they were hand-picking talent at ages 4-7, the amount of girls who came in out of seemingly nowhere at age 9-10 and went straight to the team and testing out of competitive levels suggests that team slots and the metrics being used to spot talent are the limit, not age.[/quote]

Young girls with a background in competitive gymnastics often excel in other sports as they grow out of gymnastics. This has been evident with my daughter's friends. The ones who were doing back handsprings and back tucks at seven years old are now really good at various sports like soccer, track, and even lacrosse. They have a strong base of athleticism that serves them well after gymnastics.[/quote]

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