Post by privatecoachingdude on May 13, 2024 12:35:56 GMT -6
In community leagues, this is usually done by age, specifically DOB compared to a specific cutoff date. So if you are 12/13 by that date, you're "Varsity" lets say. 10/11 would then be JV. 8/9 would be Freshman. 7 might be Junior Freshman or flag football.
There would be outliers due to potential weight constraints. Too heavy to play JV? Perhaps move to Varsity if the kid can play at that level.
If a kid is 14 years old but still 8th grade and can't play HS ball, maybe he can play Varsity but perhaps at a lower weight restriction and teams are limited as to how many of these they can field.
Now, I'm curious. Does anyone just use "grade" without much consideration to age?
We are seeing more and more kids with late birthdays who started Kindergarten closer to 6 than 5, and are already on track to be well past 18 and close to 19 when they graduate High school, then they repeat 8th grade and they're 19 in their senior year of high school, being as old as their state organizational body will allow. I see HS Seniors who turn 20 just after the state cutoff date a lot.
Considering this dynamic, if youth leagues start using grade and not age to determine what level the kid plays at, you'll see kids aged 14 and turning 15 in 8th grade football. They'll be competing against 12/13 year old traditional track kids, and maybe a few 11 year old kids who's families entered them into kindergarten early.
Is anyone doing age cut offs by grade and not age these days?
I understand we should find a way to accommodate kids who are in 8th grade who perhaps repeated 8th grade. They shouldn't "not be allowed" to play. There are community leagues, and there are higher level "travel" leagues. Some leagues are more suited for these kids that others I suspect. There are probably ways to ensure these 14/15 kids can play without lining them up against 11/12 kids.
Thoughts?
There would be outliers due to potential weight constraints. Too heavy to play JV? Perhaps move to Varsity if the kid can play at that level.
If a kid is 14 years old but still 8th grade and can't play HS ball, maybe he can play Varsity but perhaps at a lower weight restriction and teams are limited as to how many of these they can field.
Now, I'm curious. Does anyone just use "grade" without much consideration to age?
We are seeing more and more kids with late birthdays who started Kindergarten closer to 6 than 5, and are already on track to be well past 18 and close to 19 when they graduate High school, then they repeat 8th grade and they're 19 in their senior year of high school, being as old as their state organizational body will allow. I see HS Seniors who turn 20 just after the state cutoff date a lot.
Considering this dynamic, if youth leagues start using grade and not age to determine what level the kid plays at, you'll see kids aged 14 and turning 15 in 8th grade football. They'll be competing against 12/13 year old traditional track kids, and maybe a few 11 year old kids who's families entered them into kindergarten early.
Is anyone doing age cut offs by grade and not age these days?
I understand we should find a way to accommodate kids who are in 8th grade who perhaps repeated 8th grade. They shouldn't "not be allowed" to play. There are community leagues, and there are higher level "travel" leagues. Some leagues are more suited for these kids that others I suspect. There are probably ways to ensure these 14/15 kids can play without lining them up against 11/12 kids.
Thoughts?
