This was a big thing in volleyball and recruiting. Now that the birth year thing has seemed to settle, you have to look at the recruiting side of it, assuming that is what you are interested in.

Most top colleges will notice a kid about 9th or 10th grade and hope to have them verbally commit in their junior year and be done with looking at that team. If you are a year younger, they probably won't be looking at that team much more for just 1 player unless they are amazing and if they are amazing, they would have been looked at when the entire team was looked at.

basically, a kid playing up is not on the same recruiting cycle as the rest of the team.

Anonymous wrote:you just have more time. college coaches care more about the ability level of your player than if they are playing up or not. A superstar kid who is not playing up a year is still a superstar. An average kid playing up a year is still average.

+100.

(although I think the poster wasn't asking about playing up, but parents have become so obsessed with playing up that they don't realize. It's like getting a Cs and Ds by skipping a year in school when the kid could have As at grade level).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I should have asked it this way.

On a 2003 birth year team - U16 team, the majority of kids will graduate in 2021. A small minority of kids will graduate in 2022.

The vast majority of kids graduating in 2022 will be on the 2004 (U15 team).

Question: Does the 2022 graduate on the U16 team have a recruting advantage over the 2022 graduate on the U15 team.

On the top girls u16 team in VA there is only a handful of 2021s, majority is 2022s

In other relevant answers to the question asked, it is currently cold outside and there is a full moon.

Sarcasm aside, I don’t get some of the people that post on this site.

Anonymous wrote:I guess I should have asked it this way.

On a 2003 birth year team - U16 team, the majority of kids will graduate in 2021. A small minority of kids will graduate in 2022.

The vast majority of kids graduating in 2022 will be on the 2004 (U15 team).

Question: Does the 2022 graduate on the U16 team have a recruting advantage over the 2022 graduate on the U15 team.

On the top girls u16 team in VA there is only a handful of 2021s, majority is 2022s

Anonymous wrote: Question: Does the 2022 graduate on the U16 team have a recruiting advantage over the 2022 graduate on the U15 team.

YES. The U16 player has an advantage. Right now, the 03/U16 player is doing showcases, with coaches looking mainly at 03/2021s, but the 03/2022s get on the radar. The 04/2022s aren't looked at at all, to be frank, unless they are a YNT player or in that pool. In addition, the U16 player will play against bigger, faster kids, and his/her own play will improve accordingly. Always play against the hardest competition the player can manage. Steel sharpens steel.

It’s not better or worse. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer...

Anonymous wrote:You just have the U19 year when 75% of your team goes off to college and you have to find a new group to play with. As far as recruiting is concerned, you have another additional year than teammates.

NP. I get your point, but recruiting is basically finished before your kid's senior year. It seems like the prior answers to this question are that there is a recruiting advantage to a boy/girl with a Sept - Dec 2004 birthdate (for example), as college coaches will be looking at players from his/her team a year before they would otherwise be looking at the kids with Jan-Aug 2004 birthdates, and that in turn gives the kid with a Sept - Dec 2004 birthdate an "early look" advantage. Granted, this assumes the kid has the talent to be recruited in the first place and that the kid is able to show out against players that are several months older than them.

You just have the U19 year when 75% of your team goes off to college and you have to find a new group to play with. As far as recruiting is concerned, you have another additional year than teammates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you just have more time. college coaches care more about the ability level of your player than if they are playing up or not. A superstar kid who is not playing up a year is still a superstar. An average kid playing up a year is still average.

It's not playing up. The later graduation year means they're the youngest kid on the team...ie: September -December birth month kids.

Same answer. You have more time to be seen by college coaches then the kids on your team who are graduating HS a year earlier.

Anonymous wrote:you just have more time. college coaches care more about the ability level of your player than if they are playing up or not. A superstar kid who is not playing up a year is still a superstar. An average kid playing up a year is still average.

It's not playing up. The later graduation year means they're the youngest kid on the team...ie: September -December birth month kids.

you just have more time. college coaches care more about the ability level of your player than if they are playing up or not. A superstar kid who is not playing up a year is still a superstar. An average kid playing up a year is still average.

I guess I should have asked it this way.

On a 2003 birth year team - U16 team, the majority of kids will graduate in 2021. A small minority of kids will graduate in 2022.

The vast majority of kids graduating in 2022 will be on the 2004 (U15 team).

Question: Does the 2022 graduate on the U16 team have a recruting advantage over the 2022 graduate on the U15 team.

High school team, club team or DA team?

Not necessarily. Older girls are still up to 12 months more developed physically and mentally. More musculature, speed, and size can make a difference. The advantage is having good players and a deep bench, no matter the graduation year. If the team plays well, wins games, and competes well in showcases, there will be plenty of recruiting opportunity. There are a number of 2022s and 2021s around here that are excellent players on very good teams.
If two players are equal in the example, however, the 2004 birth year player has an advantage as a 2022, if she's competing for YNT attention.

Example: 2022 graduation year on a team full of kids graduating in 2021

Advantage or disadvantage?