Age exemption thoughts

[Orange Socks]

Those kids that work at it rather then rely on genetics will pass up the big girls. My DD ended up being tall. 5'10", but bloomed very late so she had to work at it.

 

[_MIA_]

Those kids that work at it rather then rely on genetics will pass up the big girls. My DD ended up being tall. 5'10", but bloomed very late so she had to work at it.

and then if you get far enough you will run into the "big girls" who worked at it too..

 

[Orange Socks]

and then if you get far enough you will run into the "big girls" who worked at it too..

I know you can't listen to my thoughts, but I was thinking 8U-12U. But yeah, the big girls who work at it...end up at Oklahoma, Miss State, Alabama and A&M.

 

[_MIA_]

I know you can't listen to my thoughts, but I was thinking 8U-12U. But yeah, the big girls who work at it...end up at Oklahoma, Miss State, Alabama and A&M.

I know I was just giving you a tough time..

 

[Long Baller]

Why would being undersized be an advantage when slapping? Why would she probably be speedy? How would it "shake out" in favor of the younger girl when put on a team of more mature players? This is complete nonsense. Each child is an individual with her own strengths and weaknesses. Being younger and smaller is rarely a physical advantage at any time before reaching adulthood.

You're right. This type of thinking is how players get typecast (for lack of a better word) at younger ages and can affect the rest of their career. It drives me crazy when "coaches" get some preconceived notion on what they think a player should be based on a couple of attributes and don't let the player develop into what they can be.

 

[CMMom1740]

Why would being undersized be an advantage when slapping? Why would she probably be speedy? How would it "shake out" in favor of the younger girl when put on a team of more mature players? This is complete nonsense. Each child is an individual with her own strengths and weaknesses. Being younger and smaller is rarely a physical advantage at any time before reaching adulthood.

For all the reasons I said. Have you not seen small stature slappers who are speed demons? I surely have. And they make great leadoff batters who get on base. One of DD's previous teams had four slappers who were the first four to bat and, more often than not, at least two got on base every time. And they didn't look intimidating, so the other team always thought they were going to be easy outs. Nope.

 

[PDM]

It won't but I don't think travel sports are designed to be a level playing field.

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There should be a level playing field to some extent, but I agree that travel sports are more survival of the fittest than anything else.

 

[PDM]

For all the reasons I said. Have you not seen small stature slappers who are speed demons? I surely have. And they make great leadoff batters who get on base. One of DD's previous teams had four slappers who were the first four to bat and, more often than not, at least two got on base every time. And they didn't look intimidating, so the other team always thought they were going to be easy outs. Nope.

I've seen small fast players and small slow players. I've seen big fast players and big slow players. There is no correlation between being small and being fast. The fastest runners are generally average in size, and they generally hit the ball harder than smaller players, full swing or slapping. The only reason you might see more small players slapping is because they often struggle to do anything else. it's just silly to think that a small player has any real advantage over an average sized player. That isn't to say that a small player can't excel. They just have a tougher row to hoe to get there.

 

[PDM]

You're right. This type of thinking is how players get typecast (for lack of a better word) at younger ages and can affect the rest of their career. It drives me crazy when "coaches" get some preconceived notion on what they think a player should be based on a couple of attributes and don't let the player develop into what they can be.

Absolutely right! I've seen it more times than I can count.

 

[JOHNN]

Kids born in December vs kids born in January. There has to be a cut off somewhere. Whether its grad year, age, what have you. Rec leagues will often allow a kiddo with a true disadvantage to play down but travel ball is what it is and it is not for everyone nor should it be.

That is what happened to my 11yo. She was supposed to be born in early Jan but the doc wanted to go on vacation so he induced my wife on Dec 30th instead. For her first time playing, our rec league director would allow her to play down in the fall bc she was so behind but during spring she had to play with her correct age group.