Starting kids early in school

[dshawfan]

Was reading an article on Rivals today regarding Colton Morrison (this is not a thread about his abilities) and it mentioned that he had graduated at 17.

I don't know how often it happens in SD, but I cannot count the number of athletes out here in Brawley who were started a year early in school and have graduated at 17 rather than 18. In almost every case the athlete would have benefited so much more from having one more year to develop his or her body and skills. With the cost of college these days, parents are pushing like never before for their kids to get a scholarship. It's really tough for most 17 year olds to compete with athletes that are a year older and a bit more developed.

As a teacher and coach all I can say to parents is think long and hard before starting your kids early in school. The pride you feel about your child being ready to start school early may bite you in the butt come time for them to graduate HS.

[aztecwin]

I could not agree more! Kids are also a little better prepared for school a year later.

[dshawfan]

Jul 8, 2010 17:38:40 GMT -8 aztecwin said:

I could not agree more! Kids are also a little better prepared for school a year later.

Got one just like this in our program right now. Gifted athletically and a year ahead, but is struggling with the academics.

Man if he would have been allowed to start on time rather than early perhaps his academics would be in better shape and he would be a stand out for his grade level instead of a good player for his grade level.

[monty]

I graduated at 17 and with a very late november birthday an early 17 at that. Genetically I was never going to get a D1 offer, but there is something about cutting your teeth playing against better competion; also in youth football I started as early as I could so I was acctually playing 2 years above because I started in the lowest level the earliest I could and about half the kids were a grade above anyways, I stayed moving up every year with them and when they went to frosh ball I was in 8th grade and played a second year in the jr. pee wees or whatever it was called level - I was never amazing in youth football maybe because of it but in high school I was fairly dominant and I think a lot of that was playing with kids a year 1/2 to 2 years older as a younger kid, and taking some of those lumps. There was no marked step up in talent as a 15 year old starting on varsity.

The other aspect, I think, is playing multiple sports - competitiveness is important as is coach-ability and coming into contact with different coaches and teamates/opponents and say the precision and repeatability of baseball or even playing golf helps with something like football, and playing sports you're bad at and really have to work to play at all. To use me as example, I was a really good baseball player as a kid, always the or one of the best on my team (though never the sport I liked playing the most, that was always football) and so I had to learn to be the leader, to get the clutch hit, to make the big play or we'd suffer, an average football player and a horrid basketball player (a lot because I was short). But the 3 years I played basketball likely made me a better player because I had to work so hard at it to sniff the court. So when I started to put on the strength and size to compete at football I had the leadership and willingness to work already there

One of the problems of the search for the scholly is the traveling team/camps/etc at such an early age that kids don't get to spend time suffering through some other sports and developing some of the other aspects of being a sportsman that make them better.

Of course the academic side is important, I was always miserably bored in most classes and if I was a year later it would have been unbearable or I would have been one of those social misfits in geometry in 7th grade or something.

[aztecwin]

Jul 8, 2010 22:41:37 GMT -8 monty said:

I graduated at 17 and with a very late november birthday an early 17 at that. Genetically I was never going to get a D1 offer, but there is something about cutting your teeth playing against better competion; also in youth football I started as early as I could so I was acctually playing 2 years above because I started in the lowest level the earliest I could and about half the kids were a grade above anyways, I stayed moving up every year with them and when they went to frosh ball I was in 8th grade and played a second year in the jr. pee wees or whatever it was called level - I was never amazing in youth football maybe because of it but in high school I was fairly dominant and I think a lot of that was playing with kids a year 1/2 to 2 years older as a younger kid, and taking some of those lumps. There was no marked step up in talent as a 15 year old starting on varsity.

The other aspect, I think, is playing multiple sports - competitiveness is important as is coach-ability and coming into contact with different coaches and teamates/opponents and say the precision and repeatability of baseball or even playing golf helps with something like football, and playing sports you're bad at and really have to work to play at all. To use me as example, I was a really good baseball player as a kid, always the or one of the best on my team (though never the sport I liked playing the most, that was always football) and so I had to learn to be the leader, to get the clutch hit, to make the big play or we'd suffer, an average football player and a horrid basketball player (a lot because I was short). But the 3 years I played basketball likely made me a better player because I had to work so hard at it to sniff the court. So when I started to put on the strength and size to compete at football I had the leadership and willingness to work already there

One of the problems of the search for the scholly is the traveling team/camps/etc at such an early age that kids don't get to spend time suffering through some other sports and developing some of the other aspects of being a sportsman that make them better.

Of course the academic side is important, I was always miserably bored in most classes and if I was a year later it would have been unbearable or I would have been one of those social misfits in geometry in 7th grade or something.

I think this discussion shows that one size does not fit all. In general, I side with holding a kid back if in doubt. I also graduated at age seventeen and was very ready all through school academically. I don't think that is the norm.

[gettough]

There are now a number of "redshirt" high school students: good athletes who have repeated 8th-grade, often at a private school, before entering high school. Most of the ones I know were fall birthdays, so they were 7th-grade 12-year-olds in Little League. The move has helped. Most are standouts in their various sports and are doing better academically.

But I think a trend has started.

[gettough]

As a high school teacher, I would recommend parents who are smaller and tended to be "late-bloomers" themselves to hold their boys back and start them is school late. It is very tough for smaller, just-turned-14's, especially if they are shy, to enter high school.

The extra year can make a huge difference.