Age Difference

[MsDinosaur]

The size differences can be huge at the 10U and 12U ages. It evens out quickly after that.

DD's team is all 00's except for one 99. They're starting to play against teams of 16 and 18 year olds. We still have a few who are slightly smaller, but it's no longer a big deal. Playing against these same girls a year or two ago would have been like being on the field with GIANTS!

 

[Alsmygal]

I was amazed at the difference between the first year 12u and the second year 12u girls. My dd's team is split with 01's and 02's. DD's bday is January 02, so she's very close to the age cut-off and is a bigger girl in 12u, but there's another girl on her team that is 6'1" and she looks like a giant when we play some of the younger 12u teams.

 

[1bucketmom]

The 1/1 age cutoff is the issue. There should be two cutoff dates.

^^^ this. The social, mental and physical differences are extremely noticeable - especially for the girls who just turned 9 due to the cutoff.

 

[Sparky Guy]

The 1/1 age cutoff is the issue. There should be two cutoff dates.

It's 12/31 for the cutoff.

Please explain the reasoning for two? And how should it work?

 

[coachbob]

So far, the biggest gap I've seen is 12u 1st and 2nd. The conversations alone are enough to make you cringe. Those younger kids are shell shocked when they get thrown into the dugout with the 7th graders. Physically, it's a mixed bag, but the 13 year olds are emotionally way different.

 

[NVfishing]

We played a 10U team the other day and I'm pretty sure they drove there by themselves! They were all 40lbs heavier and some were developed. The fun thing is we beat them!

 

[GunnerShotgun]

It's 12/31 for the cutoff.

Please explain the reasoning for two? And how should it work?

Consider, for instance, those hockey stars. Relying on the work of a Canadian psychologist who noticed that a disproportionate number of elite hockey players in his country were born in the first half of the year, Malcom Gladwell explains what academics call the relative-age effect, by which an initial advantage attributable to age gets turned into a more profound advantage over time. Because Canada’s eligibility cutoff for junior hockey is January 1, Gladwell writes, “a boy who turns 10 on January 2, then, could be playing alongside someone who doesn’t turn 10 until the end of the year.” You can guess at that age, when the differences in physical maturity are so great, which one of those kids is going to make the league all-star team. Once on that all-star team, the January 2 kid starts practicing more, getting better coaching, and playing against tougher competition—so much so that by the time he’s, say, 14, he’s not just older than the kid with the December 30 birthday, he’s better. The solution? Double the number of junior hockey leagues—some for kids born in the first half of the year, others for kids born in the second half. Or, to apply the principle to something a bit more consequential (to non-Canadians, at least), Gladwell suggests that elementary and middle schools put students with January through April birthdays in one class, the May through August birthdays in another, and those with September through December in a third, in order “to level the playing field for those who—through no fault of their own—have been dealt a big disadvantage.”

 

[Cowdogz]

Cutoff date definitely makes a difference. DD turned 13 before she ever played as a "12-y/o" in her league.

 

[cmustangsfp]

Oh yeah 10U is pretty bad ... 12U is much, much worse. Our first year '02 12U team plays against a couple of teams that are full of grown woman (all legitimately 01's - they just matured early)

Then it evens out once they all hit high school - though you still see a lot of late maturers in 14U

My DD is proof of this. She is an 01 and at she just turned 13. She stands at 5' 8" and we are looking for size 13 shoes.

 

[JAD]

There will be a size and maturity disparity between first year and second year teams, but it seems to level out by 16U. We are a first year 16U team and we can hold our own against most second year teams.