Is it an huge advantage to be born in January for Sport?

Started by From the Bunker, June 07, 2021, 10:45:07 AM

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From the Bunker

We have a lad in our club - Birthday is the 1st of January. To add to this he is a big lad also. He is every year playing with and against lads the guts of a year younger than him.

I have seen lads in our area thrive from Community Games Gaelic football - which has a August 1st start of point.

I have always thought that the GAA should have a competition where the cut off/Start off point that is the 1st July.

Taylor

The underage groupings are a cluster f**k.

July 1st makes much more sense and for the majority it means playing against people in their own year group at school

Fear Bun Na Sceilpe

Derry have gone that way this year. u7.5/u9.5/u11.5

Jan 05 playing a Dec 06 very hard on lads underage, especially u14-16

Armagh18

School years make far more sense. Think Armagh did it couple of years ago. 12.5, 14.5 etc.

From the Bunker

Not saying to get rid of 1st Jan.

More to have another competition for 1st July.

bigarsedkeeper

#5
Quote from: Armagh18 on June 07, 2021, 10:59:03 AM
School years make far more sense. Think Armagh did it couple of years ago. 12.5, 14.5 etc.
Did the Ulster GAA not stop them doing it? I think it should go by school years, Down have done it up to U11.5 now too. It makes an awful difference for lads to be able to play with their class mates at least to that age. I'd be up for it changing right through and the perfect opportunity was when the grades went to odd numbers. Could of reset the whole thing and held on to another few lads at 17s that maybe got lost in the switch over

6th sam

Quote from: From the Bunker on June 07, 2021, 11:05:35 AM
Not saying to get rid of 1st Jan.

More to have another competition for 1st July.

Surely that's the perfect answer . U11 April-June , u11.5 July-September

Milltown Row2

I was born the 2nd of January, so getting those extra years playing at juvenile level when you are the oldest certainly has its advantages, but there will always be a date that someone will be feeling left out, I much prefer the school years myself, but benefited hugely on the fact of my birthday being the 2nd of Jan.

I thought there was a ruling coming in or a thinktank looking at this ?
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

lurganblue

Armagh moved to U13, U15 and U17 last year as that is the push from GAA Headquarters I believe? For me it is awful to split lads who are friends and in the same year in school.

Armagh have continued with the 1st of July in the primary school ages running with the U11.5, U9.5 and the U7.5.

Of course some kids are going to gain an advantage no matter where the line is drawn.  I just feel that it is less pronounced when it runs along school year groups.

trueblue1234

School years make more sense when considering keeping kids together.

But reality is no matter what date is picked there'll be someone nearly a year older than someone else. Doesn't matter if it's Jan or July. Changing the date won't fix that.
Grammar: the difference between knowing your shit

thewobbler

One could make an argument that the big kid born on 1 Jan has an easier time finding his feet in the game than the small kid born on 31 December. But one could also argue that the 31 Dec child would benefit from laying at a higher level and having to adapt more quickly.

I think natural size and natural athleticism are more important than birth dates to be honest.

City Dweller

The Book, Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell looks into this question based on a couple of underage teams in different sports.  Bottom line wherever you start your "year" the older children will get the most benefit, because law of averages suggest the will be bigger, faster, more powerful than peers 6-12 months younger than them.

On which is the best model... School year for primary kids is a no brainer, kids want to play with their friends...

Jell 0 Biafra

If I recall correctly there's a chapter in Soccernomics on this issue, with the entry point being why so many top soccer players were born in the same month(s).  The authors' take was that being the older kid in your cohort meant you were (typically) bigger and stronger, which helped you stand out.  As the kids move up through the years, stand-out kids get better coaching, and even moved on to better teams.

Taylor

Quote from: City Dweller on June 07, 2021, 02:38:58 PM
The Book, Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell looks into this question based on a couple of underage teams in different sports.  Bottom line wherever you start your "year" the older children will get the most benefit, because law of averages suggest the will be bigger, faster, more powerful than peers 6-12 months younger than them.

On which is the best model... School year for primary kids is a no brainer, kids want to play with their friends...

It should also work better in essence for secondary school kids as well?

From the Bunker

Quote from: Jell 0 Biafra on June 07, 2021, 02:40:23 PM
If I recall correctly there's a chapter in Soccernomics on this issue, with the entry point being why so many top soccer players were born in the same month(s).  The authors' take was that being the older kid in your cohort meant you were (typically) bigger and stronger, which helped you stand out.  As the kids move up through the years, stand-out kids get better coaching, and even moved on to better teams.

The older lad gets more game time earlier. More game time earlier means getting familiar with match situations. Familiarity will bring on composure and confidence.