@ReluctantO'sFan posted:Almost every kid that comes to mind (at least locally) that plays or has been given the opportunity to play at the next level follows a very similar blueprint. Start KN at 6, play 2 years at 12u, and/or repeat 8th grade. This isn't anything new in my area, and kids most definitely benefit from doing so. At least until the pack catches up with them. I would guess that for the really talented ones this happens at the major league level.
Granted, I don't have the stats in front of me, but I would venture to say that the vast majority of baseball players that play at some form of the "next level" are older, not younger when compared to their peers. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem so from my experiences.
This was not my experience. I started a travel team at 13u. The team was essentially some of the top all stars from out eighteen team LL district with a couple of outside players. I didn’t go just by who were the best all stars. The kids had to be projectable as high school players regardless of current size. I passed on big kids with short parents. I avoided kids with PITA parents. The 13u team had thirteen players. I swapped out three (for attitude) at 14u. I added three pitchers for 16u (kids were fifteen). Everyone moved on to quality 17u programs.
Four of the kids were 5’2” at thirteen. A majority of the team had January or later birthdays. No one started school late or repeated a year. Five went on to play major conference ball. All but one played college ball at some level. The one played college basketball. He could have played baseball.