Hold you kid back or playing up his whole career

[Drill]

My son was born August 28, 1994 He is the youngest on his High School team.

14.11 months grin he is young for his age group and is always playing up and gets bored with the younger kids because they are not as in tune with the game/serious in one league he plays in. It will be interesting in High School next year for these kids coming up to deal with a very good coach who went 18 and 1 last year. Apparently this coach will run kids who are not serious about baseball or lack attention. And for the people who ask about the A.D.D kids who play ball, he knows who they are and helps them along.

My son will be catcher behind a really good first team regional catcher on varsity and a JV catcher about 11 months older with a good bat who will probably DH next year on Varsity, than my son who will be starting JV catcher next year. At least that is what I am hearing from coaches and parents of the catchers ahead of my son.


If there were red shirting in High School during the post puberty growth period my son would be a candidate. For example, he has grown from being 5'5" to 5'11" Since December 1 of last year. I am surprised he could even walk let alone hit the ball with consistency, with the growth he is going through.

He played in a wood bat league this summer with elite High School players, college players, passed college player and caught for some ex triple A players. One of the ex triple A pitcher from the blue J's said he has more knowledge from a catcher perspective than some of the catcher he pitched to in Triple A. Later on when chatting with my sons JV coach about how my son was doing playing ball this summer, the coach told me about this conversation that got back to him.

Oh he did get some limited pitching in against some older teams in American Legion this summer his team played up to play against more experienced players. (he can hold his own against upper level batting and he pitched pretty good, which surprised me, because the last time a saw him pitch was in LL. It scares me the things he learns behind my back.)

So for being 14 years and 11 months all he needs to do is bulk up, but that is a never ending process in the game of baseball.

The good thing about being 11 months behind everyone in his grade, he feels like he is playing up all the time. That's what he thrives on.

So looking back at what if I held my son back, he would of been bored to death and would not of been able to compete against some of the best catchers in his region.

He did play in 3 league this passed summer, where he played up in 2. LL all stars he was bored.

He was a hitting machine in all leagues, and was able to start learning outfield and pitching at the next level to make him a more rounded player for any team he is needed on.

This is our experience after looking back and realizing that we as parents inadvertently let our son play down. He is the same way in School. 3.9 gpa

I guess if he decides to play in college he could be a perfect candidate for red shirting and can get an extra year of baseball in on a college level if he wants to.


Fall ball is around the corner and he has been invited to play in a wood bat fall ball league with more experienced players.

As a parent I am proud and just sit back and keep my own personnel score book for him. All I really do for him now is take him to Fall Exposure Camp at University of Va. once a year to get an idea of what he needs to work on. You want to see some of the top players in the nation go to one of the top schools and watch, its an experience for me as a parent to listen to what some of the parent have gone through with there sons to get them to a higher level of ball.

After coming away from last years camp I feel blessed with the talents that God has given my son. Which gave me a whole new meaning about playing up.


IMHO,

drill


IN CONCLUSIONS: this is what worked for my son, my wife and I know other parents who held there son back to give him a size advantage. He is a good player, with a batting flaw of dropping his hands and a low batting average who was kept in a clean up spot. When he did get the ball down in the zone he could really hit the ball. What I am saying here is that it does no good to hold a child back in sports if you and your son are not willing to invest time and money in good instruction. This above young man has a college career in front of him if he learns to swing with out dropping his hands and not popping the ball up. Coach let me do slow mo video analyzes of the whole team, this is how I know some of the players faults. Hopefully he will take what he sees and learn from his mistakes.

So yes it a parent decision early on but later on in there career its up to the player to have the fire in him or her to improve. Instead of standing there and watching another pop up.

[metrotheme]

We don't even have that issue here in New York City, our cutoff date is December 31st, so if you were born in that year, you are going to school. We have quite a few kids that are 17 when graduating. When I moved out of the city for college, it surprised me that there were kids that were born the calendar year before me but in the same grade. I almost felt they had an unfair advantage having that extra year, although looking back I'm sure people can make the same statement for someone born in January and December of the same year.

[Ursa Major]

Drill, congrats on your son's success. I'm not sure exactly what point you were making in your lengthy piece, but what I take away from it is (because it reinforces my own prejudices ):

a. You can't predict in kindergarten how a kid is going to develop, so monkey with his starting date out of a hope that it will help his athletic career is very questionable planning, and

b. Kid athletes develop better when they play 'up' a little bit so that they're forced to pick up their game.

The flip side may be this -- if your kid is always the small frog in the big pond, he may not get selected to play on the all-star teams, or be given a chance to play shortstop or pitch or catch. Ursa Minor is finally getting that chance now that his growth is kicking in at page 14, but he's behind the kids who've played those positions all their careers.

That is one answer to those who claim that kids shouldn't play on more than one team at a time. A kid can benefit from playing on a lesser team where he can play the more prominent positions, while also -- if the scheduling permits (such as with all-star teams with spotty tournament schedules) -- playing on a more competitive team where he'll get more advanced learning and face tougher pitching....

[Indianapolis Indians]

I am happy this thread has started because i am in a somewhat similar situation. My son is only 3 but the cutoff to start Kindegarten is August 1 and he was born June 27th. Physically for a three year old he is big but he is incredibly shy for his age. He is a sports nut and loves anything ball related so I definitely see a future in sports for him. I am kicking around keeping him back a year but I am more inclined to keep him in his age group thinking that he will play up to the competition. If he was physically small then I could be very inclined to keep him back but that is not the case. I just don't know how one year can make that big of a difference in a kids development even though I am sure there are people out there who maintain it does.

[Ursa Major]

I am happy this thread has started because i am in a somewhat similar situation. My son is only 3 but the cutoff to start Kindegarten is August 1 and he was born June 27th. Physically for a three year old he is big but he is incredibly shy for his age. He is a sports nut and loves anything ball related so I definitely see a future in sports for him. I am kicking around keeping him back a year but I am more inclined to keep him in his age group thinking that he will play up to the competition. If he was physically small then I could be very inclined to keep him back but that is not the case. I just don't know how one year can make that big of a difference in a kids development even though I am sure there are people out there who maintain it does.

Think about the back end, dude. For those who have raised or are raising teenagers, the idea of having one around for an extra year -- as opposed to shipping 'em off to college as soon as possible -- is terrifying. The real questions are probably these:

a. Take a development "snapshot" of him in March of his fourth year (i.e., three months before he turns 5) -- is he developed enough intellectually and emotionally to handle the change? (Shyness is not in and of itself a problem -- many kids are and grow out of it.)

b. What kind of development pattern did you and his mother exhibit? Both my wife and I graduated high school early because we were bumped ahead earlier. (We were precocious little squirts, but she stayed smarter than everyone.) Ursa Minor has an even later (July 28th) birthday, but we didn't even consider holding off his entry into kindergarten, because he'd be almost 19 when he graduated from high school.

[Cannonball]

Daughter recently turned 16. Can play another year of 16U ball. We're moving her up to 18U. Will always wonder if it is the right thing. She has played in her age group 2 times in 6 years.

[Rajun Cajun]

We have a son who was born on September first 1998.

When it was time for him to go to Kindergarten we went to a local christian school and they declined as they felt he was too immature despite the fact he could read, add and subtract. Mentally he was smart enough for the K grade. I was pretty good at coloring and nap time in my day but things have changed a bit.

Anyway, the first school we went to told me to put him in Pre-K. My wife thought she was nuts. If we had done this he would be "physically" with his peer group and maybe emotionally too.

He has matured well and is now nearly 11 in a few weeks going into the 6th grade. He is small, very small, only 63 pounds now. He will always be small, that is until he hits a growth spurt. His friends in school are giants compared to him.

While academically "playing up" he is mandated to play his actual birth certificate age as an 11U player. It has worked for him. He has always played as a starting SS or 2B player, done his fair share of pitching and hasn't batted any lower than 2nd in the line up.

I say this only to say that you put your kid in school at the right age you feel he can handle the academics and then adjust if needed, but only for academics. It might be pretty cool to graduate HS at age 17 and realize you've got a head start on the rest of the crowd entering college and the potential job market. A college coach, junior college coach, or a semi-pro league can consider what you do after HS as far as "red shirting" and those types of things for increased development or timing within a program, but always put academics first.

BTW, our son makes excellent grades so that to me seems to justify our decision. We can always find an appropriate place for him to play ball, but finding the right academic fit is our priority.

[dolphindan1]

I am moving my almost 9 year old to play 10u travel ball this fall...He is a big fast kid with a good glove. I dont expect him to star or even play alot of infield and I expect him to struggle initially at the plate but its the only option, no 9u teams in the area....lack of choice for me

[JRH11]

The one thing I keep hearing in all sports is that you want your child to play at the highest level possible where he/she can still have success.

I think I'd have to agree with that.

[Slapper23]

Indianapolis Indians, IMO if I were you I would hold him back another year. He will be better able to handle the socialization and will have matured another year...and one more year of development at his age is huge, IMO.

Although I don't have the study in front of me, and it has been a long while since I saw it, kids who were the oldest in their high school class had higher grades and more varsity letters than younger kids in the same class. Of course not every kid will perform better, but in the study I remember over a long time period, the older kids outperformed the younger. As I recall, the study broke down the kids by the calendar quarter of the year in which they were born...and the oldest kids were clearly the winner both academically and athletically.

Mike

[Blackhat]

My son is a good, but not spectacular player. He's the type of kid that will play baseball in high school, not even be considered for a sports scholarship, and may play in college if he goes to a non-competitive school and his desire is still there. I'm fine with that, and I think he is too.

Maybe we could have moved him up at a younger age to build his skills. Maybe private coaches could have improved his technique. Maybe he could have practiced longer and harder and have more opportunities on the field. Who knows? But I don't have any regrets and I don't think he does either.

For me the idea of youth sports has always been about comraderie, team spirit, exercise and socialization. I've tried to get him on the teams that have the best group of kids, where he'll be comfortable and make friends.

I've talked to a lot of people that say they push their kids, spend hours practicing, and hire private instructors so that their kid has the best opportunity to get a scholarship and go to college or even sign a pro contract. The payoff is a free college education, then even if the kid doesn't become a sports pro they still have a bright future. It really pisses them off when I ask if they believe the kid would be more likely to get a full ride acedemic scholarship if they spent the same amount of time, money and energy on homework and tutors.

I guess my long winded point is that for the vast majority of kids keeping them back or pushing them to higher levels will have very little impact on their success in life. Start kids in school at the age where they are mentally and emotionally compatible with the other kids. Have them play on teams where they have fun and build relationships. This will help a kid become successful even if he doesn't get endorsement deals from Gatorade.