Here we go again, boys and sports teams
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I don't know about other sports but in club rugby you can apply for a dispensation for a player to play a year up or down. Reasons given for playing a year down are justified by level of physical maturity or inexperience. Reasons for playing up are also based around physical maturity and skill level.
At a recent regional rugby holiday camp I was surprised to see that DS's best friend (same year at school but much smaller / skinnier) was not in the same group as DS. I discovered that they had split them based on actual year rather than school year so the friend was put with the boys from the school year below because his birthday fell in Feb. DS is in Nov.
So I think that at least in rugby there are measures there to protect and encourage all players. It's just a matter of coaches / parents being aware of the possibilities and taking them up.
In New Zealand they group by height / weight because of all the South Sea Island rugby kids developing so early and being so big. I'm not so sure it would be a good idea in the UK though. I understand the frustrations of parents with tall, well developed kids who look to fit better with a team 2 years above them but lack the coordination / motor skills etc to compete / compare at that level.
There is a boy at DS's club who is 2 years younger than DS and is taller than him by a head! (DS not small for his age). The boy is a good player for his age and does play in his proper age group. he was once chosen, along with DS, to be club mascot for a senior match. The ref assumed the boy was the year 6 and my DS was the year 4 You can imagine what DS thought of that! You can easily tell who is the older boy on the pitch through and this boy would not shine in the slightest if he were played up.
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Tipsy - Big hugs to you missing your boys!
At a recent regional rugby holiday camp I was surprised to see that DS's best friend (same year at school but much smaller / skinnier) was not in the same group as DS. I discovered that they had split them based on actual year rather than school year so the friend was put with the boys from the school year below because his birthday fell in Feb. DS is in Nov.
So I think that at least in rugby there are measures there to protect and encourage all players. It's just a matter of coaches / parents being aware of the possibilities and taking them up.
In New Zealand they group by height / weight because of all the South Sea Island rugby kids developing so early and being so big. I'm not so sure it would be a good idea in the UK though. I understand the frustrations of parents with tall, well developed kids who look to fit better with a team 2 years above them but lack the coordination / motor skills etc to compete / compare at that level.
There is a boy at DS's club who is 2 years younger than DS and is taller than him by a head! (DS not small for his age). The boy is a good player for his age and does play in his proper age group. he was once chosen, along with DS, to be club mascot for a senior match. The ref assumed the boy was the year 6 and my DS was the year 4 You can imagine what DS thought of that! You can easily tell who is the older boy on the pitch through and this boy would not shine in the slightest if he were played up.
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Tipsy - Big hugs to you missing your boys!
Thanks Freya - come and tell us how your lad's week has been on the inde thread so I don't go OT on here!
I think if you have a large child and they are capable rugby players then they always have an advantage of choice - staying in own group or moving up. I feel sorry for the gifted titches who sometimes cannot even play with their own group because of the safety aspects. In saying that when DS2 started a prep school a year early he was not allowed to play Rugby due to insurance reasons. I found this strange as I assumed it was based on age and not year group and at one point he was the same age as the youngest boys who were a year group older.
I think if you have a large child and they are capable rugby players then they always have an advantage of choice - staying in own group or moving up. I feel sorry for the gifted titches who sometimes cannot even play with their own group because of the safety aspects. In saying that when DS2 started a prep school a year early he was not allowed to play Rugby due to insurance reasons. I found this strange as I assumed it was based on age and not year group and at one point he was the same age as the youngest boys who were a year group older.
That’s interesting, Freya. Club tennis is done by calendar year rather than school year so my two – who are both summer children – find themselves in the middle of the cohort rather than the youngest (as they are at school).I discovered that they had split them based on actual year rather than school year so the friend was put with the boys from the school year below because his birthday fell in Feb. DS is in Nov.
It definitely makes a difference, although it can be a bit confusing when people they play alongside in the school team aren’t eligible for the same club team.