Significance of graduation age in recruiting?

we're in the exact same boat and I think it is a disadvantage but there's nothing we can do about it now. he's a frosh in HS and can hold his own baseball wise and academically in a very large school but all his class mates are at least a year older-more mature, etc.

I was in that situation in HS. I actually started college at 17. September birthday. I hated it. Started driving a year after everyone. Started drinking (18 at the time) after everyone (not necessarily a bad thing). Athletically probably would have been better for me being back a year.

Fast forward to my son. He has a July birthday. Did kindergarten, but all year teachers were saying he should do kindergarten again, he was always a little behind. By the end of the year, he was caught up and school said it was basically up to us, but they recommended he do it again. He has always been a little small for his age as well, so we decided to keep him there. I do not regret it. He is at the older end, but it is giving him time to mature. He turned 16 in July before his sophmore year, but he is still not big. We were all late bloomers as well, so this may give him an edge in that he will be a year older when he graduates and may have been able to grow more in that year.

Nothing you can do about it now, but especially as a late bloomer that extra year would probably do him good.

This is a tough thing for kids and many fall by the wayside because they are just too young and too far behind physically. If the kid is a stud, it is an advantage in regard to pro baseball.

For college, they don't care except that they know that older kids are generally at an advantage. Good luck. I know there are plenty or reasons to do this -- it's just that in regard to baseball they are practically all a detriment. I think they grow up too fast anyway.

The only thing they consider is "can he play" and do you fit into our program needs. (and grades of course)

BTW the good news is he gets started on life a couple of years earlier so he will be ahead of everyone else by two years.

My son was in the same boat, he graduated at 17 and went to a Juco. He now in his second year, but, redshirted last year because of an injury and now is playing with his peers.
Advantage to being a 17 year old graduate, he was able to play 18u with a high level travel team for 3 years instead of 2 and got a ton of exposure until he was injured but he still has 4 years of play left. He is now far ahead of a lot of the players that were a year older because of the ability to practice and scrimmage against them last year and is far above the incoming Freshmen.
I'm not saying to have your sons redshirt, but, in my son's case it has work to his advantage. He could have played last year but would not have been 100% until about 1/2 way through the season.

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Interesting (sort of) side note...

...there is abook called "Outliers" by Malcome Gladwell that deals with the nature of high end success...

In it he has case studies, one is about the national Hockey program in Canada and how the ages of something like 90% of the kids on the national team have birthdays that put them on the very extreme high end of the curve...there is a lot of discussion there about the nature of that statistic...both at the time of selection and in the developmental process...well worth reading.

Had one very young one, one older one...there is a significant and very clear difference between their experiences, simply becasue of the age/grade difference. That young age will effect all areas of success...academic struggle and success, sports, social...particularly in an age where a great many kids are being held back for the express purpose of success...I am certain that the average age of every grade is increasing.

What many forget to factor in is that if a kid is ready emotionally it is really hard to hold him back simply for the purposes of academic or sports success. Looking back my younger would have gone nuts being in the class behind him, irregardless of the extra academic or sports success it might have engendered.

My oldest skipped 7th grade. He was a big rhp throwing 87-89 during the recruiting process at 16 years of age. We came to realize after all was said and done that no one knew he was 16 at the time. Looking back, I think he would have gotten more interest if he had been a junior that summer/fall...

If a player has big time talent then being younger is an advantage with pro scouts. If a player is above average but not a big time talent or not yet mature then being young is a disadvantage with college recruiters who tend to look for players who can help them quickly especially now that there are fewer roster spots at D1s due to NCAA rules and to lower budgets.

Talent is and always will be the #1 consideration but for a given level of talent there are advantages to being older.

There have been a few threads on this subject in the past.

If anyone has a subscription to PGxchecker and too much time on their hands they could compare the average age of the top 100 2010s, 100 of the high follows and 100 of the follows. My guess is that you'd see a month or so difference in the average age for each group.

Another thing to look at is the area of the country. Parts of the country where football is very big tend to hold kids back more often to try to get an edge in football. My guess is that the average HS senior baseball player in Florida is a bit older than in many other states.

My son is also a young 2010 who will start college at 17. We have heard repeatedly in the recruiting process that coaches love his bat, but are waiting to see how much power develops (just in the last 6 months has he shown glimpses of what may be to come power wise; his body is still on the thin side). If he was a 2011, there's little doubt that it would help.

At the Tournament of Stars this summer I went through the rosters and noted the birthdays. There was no question that the vast majority of the players were older than the average age for their grade. Yordy Cabrerra was the most obvious example as he will be close to 20 when he finishes high school. But as others have noted, the real key is can you play regardless of your birth date. To be sure, Yordy can play.

All good input. As someone said, nothing can be done now, but was just curious. The way I see it, I hope to be done making tuition payments by the time he's 21...

A couple things brought this subject to my attention.
1) The High School Foot Locker National Championship Cross Country meet was last weekend in San Diego and a big deal was made of a 10th grader winning the event. During a post race interview, the athlete admitted he was an older 10th grader. Turns out, he's the age of many 12th graders. But, he will surely benefit being able to compete in HS for two more years.

2) A couple of big name private schools in my area like to "red shirt" 6th graders that are on athletic scholarship. The administration encourages incoming 7th graders to repeat 6th grade. These two schools are nationally recognized tough academic boarding schools and they use that as a reason to have their athletes repeat 6th grade, but by the time the "redshirted" athletes graduate, many are 19. That HAS to benefit their athletic programs. So, it really makes you wonder what the real motive is.

I wondered about this same issue when we were looking at the college recruiting process. My son finished HS at 17 as well. He always played up on summer teams (14 playing on 16u, 16 playing on 18u). He had pretty good size (height and weight). Where I think it mattered was in maturity. He struggled at the East Coast Pro showcase and lost some MLB draft interest from apparent maturity or what some would call make-up issues. I do not think it mattered much in the college recruiting process. As mentioned above, college recruiters are looking at current abilities and IMHO saw his younger age as increasing his potential down the road. I do believe it affected PG rankings because he was being ranked against kids 1 to 2 years older than he was. In fact I asked PG staff on a thread if they considered age in their ratings/rankings and the reply indicated “no, not really”. PG seems to rate/rank kids by their current ability and give higher potential “upside” to bigger/taller kids within their same HS class (i.e. sophomore or junior).
Upside to all this is that mid-sophomore year in college he has enough credits to be considered a junior as far as the number of college credits/hours and is only 19. Close to the same age as one of his friends who is finishing HS this year .

I think the biggest issue is maturity.

The talent is what the talent is. Whether your in 10th grade or 11th grade the talent is the same. It most likely will help in the recruiting process to break onto the scene as a sophomore rather than a junior but whether he is a 16 year sophomore or 16 year old junior he will be doing the same things on the field IMO.

The maturity issue is big. A kid who suddenly "gets it" in his sophomore year rather than junior year will have the extra year to work on grades and other issues that will effect him academically.

Having a 17 year-old senior is mostly a negative when it comes to athletics, and it always makes you wonder it would be like if he/she were older, but I knew some parents who held their child back and had a 19 year-old high school senior. That has its drawbacks for other reasons.

I think kids should deal with the hand they are dealt. I don't believe parents should rig the system unless circumstances dictate. For example, if the child seems immature when entering kindergarten, it makes sense to me that the parent might hold them back for learning/developmental reasons. To hold them back for future sports benefits seems imprudent to me.

My son has a July birthday and thus was younger than most of his classmates. He also had an older brother so he never seemed to mind competing with older kids. When he was in junior high, I believe his pitching career ended because most coaches seemed to prefer bigger/stronger players at that position. I am glad he is a position player however because I like seeing him play every game.

He was behind physically his first year in college as well when he was 18 and many of his teammates were 19 and older. I can certainly see the benefits a 19 year old might have competing against 18 year olds. I always felt my son had bigger upside however and feel being younger helped him to hone his comptetitive skills. I have seen advantages in both directions (younger kids playing up/older kids playing down). I am glad how it has turned out for my son however.

on the other hand if they do make it always having to play with and against older boys it must mean they're pretty good.

My son will also be a 17 year old 2010 high school graduate. He is an honor student. He has played both up and down on teams throughout his baseball "career" and we never second guessed sending him to school at age 4 until the recruiting process started.I do think it put him at somewhat of a disadvantage because physically he is not as mature as those he is competing for positions with. In many showcases, we found he was competing with class of 2010 baseball players who are up to 2 years older than my son. In our state, it is becoming commonplace for students to leave public school and enter private school in either their junior or just prior to their senior year to "re-grade" themselves. This was not an option for us financially...and I think my son would have been bored academically. In my son's case, everything has worked out. He signed in November with a mid-major D-I school who realized his upside and was not simply looking at current size. Like many have said before, if your son has talent, he will get noticed...sometimes he will just have to work a little harder! The stud players get noticed for their size and power and the younger kids usually have to prove themselves on the field. In my son's case, this worked out. Good luck to others with young players.

I skipped a grade so I'm graduating at 17. I'm a 16 y.o. Junior right now. Theres some Sophomores that are older than me.

I have always been against skipping grades.
My one brother was 15 as a freshman. He is in his 60s now and says he always regretted it. He felt he was out of place in college. It was hard to fit in with the older guys.
They have stopped doing this in our area.

Folks, you cannot undo what was done some 10 or 12 years ago---it is what it is --you just have to deal with it

Great reads here on a topic it seems spans all parts of the map.

We have a small local private school that is notorious (parents & school) for having their kids repeat 6th grade again for the alleged advantage of the 19 YO SR athlete. My problem in 2 cases where this was done where I know the families, is that both boys were very bright in their "regular original" class. This was not an academic decision but purely for sports. One specifically for baseball.

I admit it bothered me a bit when the local paper was calling him a "freshman phenom" when in fact, they would have made no such distinction with him as a regular sophomore pitching on Varsity. As I knew would happen as the playing field and ages leveled, this same kid had mediocre SOPH and less than mediocre JR seasons and may not even go out now in his "extra" senior year. Only 1 BB example I know but IMO the parents did this kid no favors.

BTW, the other kid was a wrestler who ended up going back to the public school where he never wrestled again and was a big troublemaker!

Sometimes parents need to let nature take its course

This is another one of those things where you play by the rules, you lose. My son is an August birthday and a late bloomer as well. All through high school, kids that were over a year older than him that were held back to get an advantage were getting the starting spots on the basketball team. To make matters worse, you have to read about how great they are in the papers. You think to yourself, "Of course they are great. They should be in college."

You have to plan when you want to have a son. Best time is in Oct or Nov. Most cut off dates for kindergarten are Sept 30th. So if your child is born in Oct or Nov they will be the oldest in there class. It's funny cause I never thought of it but in our high school the best athletes for boys and girls were born in Oct. And most are bigger and stronger than the rest.

The two most talented players I ever coached in hs both graduated as 17 year old kids. Both were drafted and one is in the ML.

We are only talking about one year here. If a kid is a Sr at 17 and he is talented so what? If he is 17 and a Sr and not talented do we really believe he is going to blossom into a very talented player in just one year? He can improve in one year.

If you have an average arm as a 17 year old. If you are weak and physically under developed as a 17 year old. If you are not an outstanding hitter at 17 years old. Is all that going to change in one year?

Those players are not way more talented because they are one year older. They are way more talented because they are just way more talented.

The best Jr's in a state are sometimes just as good and sometimes better than some of the best Sr's in a state. If a kid is a young Sr and is just as good as the best Jr's in a state then he is in great shape. If not then that year means nothing. Right?

Mine gained 10lbs, dropped his 60 time from 7.2 to 6.8, significantly improved his change and added a couple mph between being a 17yo senior and being an 18yo. It can make a big difference. His offers from mid level D1s were limited to walk on and we'll get you into the school type things. I think he'd get a lot more interest now.

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The best Jr's in a state are sometimes just as good and sometimes better than some of the best Sr's in a state. If a kid is a young Sr and is just as good as the best Jr's in a state then he is in great shape. If not then that year means nothing. Right?

I think that year means a lot to quite a few players who aren't the best in their state but are still pretty darn good.

We've had several kids from our school who went the JC route and ended up playing pro ball after transferring to a D1. They weren't necessarily the best in the state at that point. But they were later.

Coach, I agree with you that the difference might not be that big of a deal when the kid is 17, but it is huge when the kid is 14 and still a kid playing against 15 year olds who are already men. At the lower level is where many schools are already deciding who their key players are and giving them the opportunity to develop. This is especially true in basketball and football.

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Originally posted by fivehole:
You have to plan when you want to have a son. Best time is in Oct or Nov. Most cut off dates for kindergarten are Sept 30th. So if your child is born in Oct or Nov they will be the oldest in there class. It's funny cause I never thought of it but in our high school the best athletes for boys and girls were born in Oct. And most are bigger and stronger than the rest.

or they could be the youngest in their class.. my son just had his 18th birthday 3 weeks ago in late November as a college freshman. He is the youngest guy on the college squad. He did well competing both in HS and travel ball and will still be eligible to play 18u this summer if he wants

Dont the older kids (one year older) continue to improve as well? I see what you guys are saying. But what do you propose if anything to being a solution to this?

The question was if there was an advantage or disadvantage. There is a disadvantage and the only solution is to work harder and be patient.

Glad you asked Coach. In my opinion high school should have 15u, 16U and varsity teams. That will keep the parents from trying to gain an advantage by holding their kids back as they would not want their Freshman son or daughter playing on a 16u team.
They break out travel teams by age, don't they? No one gets an unfair advantage there.

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Originally posted by Brickhouse:
Glad you asked Coach. In my opinion high school should have 15u, 16U and varsity teams. That will keep the parents from trying to gain an advantage by holding their kids back as they would not want their Freshman son or daughter playing on a 16u team.
They break out travel teams by age, don't they? No one gets an unfair advantage there.

Not sure about Illinois. But in CA they'll be lucky to be able to water the grass.

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They break out travel teams by age, don't they?

Yes 15U, to 18U. U stands for under.

My son has a spring birthday. If he gets to his senior year and I feel an extra year would a make a significant difference of what level of college ball he plays I would consider a PG year. This makes more sense to me than holding back a good student at an early age. On the freshman basketball team most of his teammates were a year to a year and a half older. One kid was twenty months older. Not that physical development and height matters in basketball.

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Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:

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They break out travel teams by age, don't they?

Yes 15U, to 18U. U stands for under.

Not trying to be funny, here. What does the whole thing stand for? 18 and under, or under 18?

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Originally posted by AntzDad:

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Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:

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They break out travel teams by age, don't they?

Yes 15U, to 18U. U stands for under.

Not trying to be funny, here. What does the whole thing stand for? 18 and under, or under 18?

In baseball 15U means 15 and under. In s0ccer U15 means under 15. In AAU basketball 15U means borrow your younger brother's birth certificate and answer to a nickname.

Don't forget that all these May, June, July and August birthday kids can also play with a younger travel team. If this is where all the recruiting action is then they are at an advantage there.

It all works out in the end and kids will get to the level their talent equates to.

It doesn't help to play on a younger travel/showcase team with a bunch of juniors when you already completed your senior season. It's typically too late then.

You certainly don't want want to play on a sophomore travel team after your junior year because no recruiters are watching those games.

Our travel team goes by HS Class

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Originally posted by Brickhouse:
Coach, I agree with you that the difference might not be that big of a deal when the kid is 17, but it is huge when the kid is 14 and still a kid playing against 15 year olds who are already men. At the lower level is where many schools are already deciding who their key players are and giving them the opportunity to develop. This is especially true in basketball and football.

Brickhouse, 14U travel would be a good time for the kid to play with age appropriate players if he's not developed enough to move up or play against older kids. In a year or two when the recruiting starts you see where he stacks up then.