Son is a year in age behind his peers (9-12 months younger than other ballplayers in his grade; late June Bday(will grad when 17)...what are the advantages/disadvantages of this if he can keep pace with players in his grade?
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Philly,
Son (freshman RHP, D1), has a mid July birthday...we played the, "we should've held him back" game all through high school as we looked at others that were held back and excelling...UNTIL the recruiting process started...
All the coaches and pro scouts that we talked to just salivated when they heard he was "JUST" 16, or didn't have a birthday until July, and was throwing in the low 90s. Recruiting and scouting is heavily based on "projectibility" many times...and he was ranked VERY high there...
So, in the end, what we thought was a detriment or disadvantage, actually became our advantage in the end.
Hope this helps.
Son (freshman RHP, D1), has a mid July birthday...we played the, "we should've held him back" game all through high school as we looked at others that were held back and excelling...UNTIL the recruiting process started...
All the coaches and pro scouts that we talked to just salivated when they heard he was "JUST" 16, or didn't have a birthday until July, and was throwing in the low 90s. Recruiting and scouting is heavily based on "projectibility" many times...and he was ranked VERY high there...
So, in the end, what we thought was a detriment or disadvantage, actually became our advantage in the end.
Hope this helps.
The social and academic consequences are usually seen as a negative, especially in boys who develop a little later than girls in those areas. That is why many people are more open to holding their boys back a grade early on.
In terms of baseball, it can go both ways. One kid may develop a high motivation to improve because he is always at a slight disadvantage and wants to keep up with the older kids. This can have long-range benefits to work ethic and willingness to improve. However, another kid may give up early because of this age disadvantage. It really depends on the kid.
Another advantage if a kid develops into a high level pro prospect is that teams will see it as a way to get their hands on a prospect a year earlier than most kids. The path of Bryce Harper is an example. Of course, kids have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being in a "Bryce Harper" position so I wouldn't plan accordingly.
For high school and college, it may mean that as a late bloomer, he may be overlooked a bit in the tryout/recruiting process since other kids in his grade may be more physically advanced.
In short, there are pros and cons to both. You know your son best. There is no easy answer.
BaseballByTheYard.com
In terms of baseball, it can go both ways. One kid may develop a high motivation to improve because he is always at a slight disadvantage and wants to keep up with the older kids. This can have long-range benefits to work ethic and willingness to improve. However, another kid may give up early because of this age disadvantage. It really depends on the kid.
Another advantage if a kid develops into a high level pro prospect is that teams will see it as a way to get their hands on a prospect a year earlier than most kids. The path of Bryce Harper is an example. Of course, kids have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being in a "Bryce Harper" position so I wouldn't plan accordingly.
For high school and college, it may mean that as a late bloomer, he may be overlooked a bit in the tryout/recruiting process since other kids in his grade may be more physically advanced.
In short, there are pros and cons to both. You know your son best. There is no easy answer.
BaseballByTheYard.com
This is a double edge sword. Unless he is a early maturer he will be less physically developed than his peers. College coaches really don't care about age all they care about is performance. If a kid happens to be a high performer and young then as scdigger pointed out it may be a slight bonus. No D1 coach I have met is going to offer money for "the potential" development unless the players ceiling is off the charts. Just a fact of life in the 11.7 scholly world of college baseball.
He may end up having to go D3 where there is some time to allow for a players development, but the reality may be that he might not play much his first or second year, again depending on his physical development.
My son has a friend who just graduated who is in a similar circumstance, he is a 6'4" lefty pitcher who I think graduated either at 16 or just turned 14. He had D1's following him.....because he was a 6'4" lefty, but not much $$ so he ended up going D3.
Good news is that he will start his "life" at a younger age than his peers.
He may end up having to go D3 where there is some time to allow for a players development, but the reality may be that he might not play much his first or second year, again depending on his physical development.
My son has a friend who just graduated who is in a similar circumstance, he is a 6'4" lefty pitcher who I think graduated either at 16 or just turned 14. He had D1's following him.....because he was a 6'4" lefty, but not much $$ so he ended up going D3.
Good news is that he will start his "life" at a younger age than his peers.
My personal opinion about this topic is that it's much to do about nothing. Regardless if a kid is 15 or 16 he has to have the talent to compete. If he doesn't have it at 15 he probably won't have it at 16 either. Even if his body is less mature than a kid 8 months older in the same grade, if your son has more talent that will show through.
Once a kid gets to high school he's competing with players 2-3 years older for the rest of his school years so he better have the talent to compete. By the time he's a junior any player can lose his spot to a freshman or sophomore. So it's more about baseball ability than age.
Regarding maturity, I thinks it's more about emotional than physical maturity. Is he mature enough to understand what he has to do off the field to stay on the field?
Just have him work hard to improve year to year and the rest will take care of itself.
Once a kid gets to high school he's competing with players 2-3 years older for the rest of his school years so he better have the talent to compete. By the time he's a junior any player can lose his spot to a freshman or sophomore. So it's more about baseball ability than age.
Regarding maturity, I thinks it's more about emotional than physical maturity. Is he mature enough to understand what he has to do off the field to stay on the field?
Just have him work hard to improve year to year and the rest will take care of itself.
Each person has to do what's best for their own kid. I know two kids who believe are in major D1 conferences because the stayed back a year heading into high school. My approach would be to post grad for a year after high school, if needed than stay back.
Here's a view of the world on staying back not working out. Friend's son graduated for high school at nineteen (April). He went to a ranked D1 program. He got red shirted his first year. With some injuries and the way e draft went for him he came out of college a 23 year old rookie in short season. He had an ok low A season the following year. He got off to a slow start as a 25yo in high A and was released. I've heard from people in most cases you better clear AA by 26. Coming out of highh school at 19 was one factor in possibly costing him an extra year to prove himself.
scdigger,
Did your boy play travel with his peers(school grade) or his age.
Did your boy play travel with his peers(school grade) or his age.
I would say it could be more social/maturity that might be in effect if you have a June/July B-day. Skills are skills and if a kid has to work harder to keep up with peers he will be all the better for it. The whole game changes @ 60/90 anyway, everyone has seen the kid thats older, or more mature for his grade and throws gas and hit bombs until 13-14 U and then real baseball takes effect and the stud as just average.
Projection comes into it certainly but a baseball doesn't know how old a player is when you get to a certain level anyway.
Projection comes into it certainly but a baseball doesn't know how old a player is when you get to a certain level anyway.
Hi Philly - there is actually a tread on this topic "young freshman" in the Texas forum about eight topics in.
No sure if this link will work:
http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...6002781/m/7387004726
Its a good discussion - and no one right answer. It worked out well for my son who is an August birthday, and will graduate HS at 17.
No sure if this link will work:
http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...6002781/m/7387004726
Its a good discussion - and no one right answer. It worked out well for my son who is an August birthday, and will graduate HS at 17.
My son has a Sept birthday. When going through the showcases last summer, nobody seemed to realize this. When we pointed it out, coaches only seemed to give it a little consideration at best. He will be going to a D3 that is a good fitforhim.
Being young for your grad year can be a benefit when it comes to professional baseball, not so much for college.
My son has an August birthday and graduated at 17. He had a good HS career and played for one of the top showcase teams in the area which was very hard to get a place on and was their top catcher but had no offers from D1's upon graduating except two "well he can try out in the fall but I don't know how good his chances are." He was about 6 ft, 175 lbs. He decided to go to a D1 Jr College where he grew 3 inches, added 15 pounds of muscle mostly, was tied for 11th in the nation in JC D1 HR's and was chosen first team all region catcher. One week after the end of year conference tournament he had offers from the SEC, Acc, Big South, Caa and MEAC including a full ride offer from one of the schools who had offered him a "walk on opportunity." He's now a Jr. in his second year at a very good D1 school and doing very well, it looks like he may get drafted. If he had another year in school and had a year like he had in JC he may have been drafted then, but it all worked out well for him in the end. He also was a 3 year starter on the HS football team and there he really could have used that extra year to get bigger and stronger. Bottom line is it worked out well for us and being younger is appealing to the pros, but he really needed that one year in JC to grow.
Thanks for all the replies...what route has everyone took concerning their boy playing travel...was it with his age elgibility or did he play up with his classmates and their age elgibility.
My son played down (with his age group) thru AAU ball, 9-13 because he had a great group of players and really great coaching done by some fathers who were also coaches and who treated everyone fairly. At 14 he was recruited for showcase teams in his graduation year and played for them till graduation. Worked out well for us.
phillyinNJ
My son is also like yours with a summer birthday, so he's younger than almost all his classmates. Since we are from a relatively small town, he has played age appropriate (so we can field a team) for a team I coached. Once in awhile he would play up for tournaments if needed.
Last year at 13U we had a few families decide that they wanted to take summer off...so we made all the boys eligible to play 14U if they wanted to try-out. My son was the only one that took advantage, and played with a lot of his friends. He actually excelled on this team; I think the pressure to be the best player (he pressured himself) was off. This fall he played some with a 16U team; while the experience was less than expected (for a variety of reasons), he still played well and excelled.
My point is this...it all comes down to your player, and you. My only concern when he played at age appropriate level was the jump to HS (speed of game, etc.) - I think playing up this summer and fall did a lot to ease my concerns. He is working hard 4-5 days a week on hitting throughout the winter (while playing HS hoops) and can't wait to get on the field this spring.
Good luck!
My son is also like yours with a summer birthday, so he's younger than almost all his classmates. Since we are from a relatively small town, he has played age appropriate (so we can field a team) for a team I coached. Once in awhile he would play up for tournaments if needed.
Last year at 13U we had a few families decide that they wanted to take summer off...so we made all the boys eligible to play 14U if they wanted to try-out. My son was the only one that took advantage, and played with a lot of his friends. He actually excelled on this team; I think the pressure to be the best player (he pressured himself) was off. This fall he played some with a 16U team; while the experience was less than expected (for a variety of reasons), he still played well and excelled.
My point is this...it all comes down to your player, and you. My only concern when he played at age appropriate level was the jump to HS (speed of game, etc.) - I think playing up this summer and fall did a lot to ease my concerns. He is working hard 4-5 days a week on hitting throughout the winter (while playing HS hoops) and can't wait to get on the field this spring.
Good luck!
Our son is a mid-July kid and will also be 17 when he graduates. We have often regreted the choice of starting him in school early, but that is the past. The advantage is that he has played against kids physically more mature through high school... which has forced him to work harder. And that has been a huge plus!
As can-o-corn pointed out, JUCO offers the opportunity to get bigger and develop. Our son chose that route.
As can-o-corn pointed out, JUCO offers the opportunity to get bigger and develop. Our son chose that route.
"Being young for your grad year can be a benefit when it comes to professional baseball, not so much for college."
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Just curious about why this is so, PG?
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Just curious about why this is so, PG?
The age change occurred when my son was twelve. Since the baseball date was 8/1 and our school date was 9/1 he was playing mostly with his grade through LL and preteen travel. With the date change he could have done a stayback year in LL. He didn't want to play LL anymore. His friends were moving on to 13U and "the big field." At age fifteen he started playing up two years. Once a kid can compete on the 60/90 field he should play at the level he can compete.quote:Originally posted by phillyinNJ:
Thanks for all the replies...what route has everyone took concerning their boy playing travel...was it with his age elgibility or did he play up with his classmates and their age elgibility.
Son is a sophomore and just turned 19 a couple months ago. Still younger than all incoming freshman this year.. We brought up his age to a few schools that were recruiting him. Some coaches said we want to bring kids in that can play now. Not concerned with the age.....others said good opportunity to red shirt the first year.
On another note this year Heisman winner Johnny Manziel is a 20 year old freshman..
On another note this year Heisman winner Johnny Manziel is a 20 year old freshman..
At 20 I don't consider Manzel a true freshman since he should be a sophomore or junior in cllege
quote:Originally posted by BaseballmomandCEP:
"Being young for your grad year can be a benefit when it comes to professional baseball, not so much for college."
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Just curious about why this is so, PG?
because colleges want you ready to play right away and the pros like to see you have more years to develop.