I am confused as to why a freshman would want to play up at this level unless they were just completely out of everyone else's league. I can understand maybe why a junior would want to play up with seniors to get exposure since the majority of the scouts watch the going-to-be seniors at tournaments. I just don't see the benefit of a freshman playing up unless they will be a complete standout on the sophomore team. Maybe I am missing something so if I am, someone help me out.

 

 

Just an opinion/guess but some things I would consider:

 

- You get better by pushing yourself, which you do when you play the best competition

- Possibly age/holdback issues

- More time to identify weaknesses/areas for improvement while the rest of your class is trying to catch up to you

 

There was an article awhile back (actually the Summer of 2011) in ESPN the Magazine or Sports Illustrated (can't remember which) where a researcher tested the "holdback"/"older brother" theory about playing up. This was an actual statistically significant hypothesis (if I remember correctly) were research showed that most of the successful hockey players (the sport studied in the sample because of the structure of Canadian youth hockey) were the ones who had birthdays which made them the youngest players in their division growing up in youth leagues. The theory they were testing in this was that these kids were more successful in reaching the professional level because they had more time to mature and develop while some type of behavioralist conditioning that made them emulate/adapt to playing at a higher level when they were younger. Interestingly enough, the split was skewed toward these younger players having more of a presence in the higher ranks than would be expected if you were to simply take the expected number based on birth dates and control for some variation.

Just an opinion/guess but some things I would consider:

 

- You get better by pushing yourself, which you do when you play the best competition

- Possibly age/holdback issues

- More time to identify weaknesses/areas for improvement while the rest of your class is trying to catch up to you

 

There was an article awhile back (actually the Summer of 2011) in ESPN the Magazine or Sports Illustrated (can't remember which) where a researcher tested the "holdback"/"older brother" theory about playing up. This was an actual statistically significant hypothesis (if I remember correctly) were research showed that most of the successful hockey players (the sport studied in the sample because of the structure of Canadian youth hockey) were the ones who had birthdays which made them the youngest players in their division growing up in youth leagues. The theory they were testing in this was that these kids were more successful in reaching the professional level because they had more time to mature and develop while some type of behavioralist conditioning that made them emulate/adapt to playing at a higher level when they were younger. Interestingly enough, the split was skewed toward these younger players having more of a presence in the higher ranks than would be expected if you were to simply take the expected number based on birth dates and control for some variation.

 

Thank you. That makes sense!

My only concern with this is with this many older players, all at the upper level of their class, that the younger ones dont get enough playing time to really get the benefits of playing against older, tougher competition. Not saying that is the case with this team because I don't know enough about the players to make that judgement. Just a concern in general. Hopefully that won't be the case with these guys!

Loaded. Very interested to see how Beverly will do against some of the best (bigger/stronger) players in the nation. Kid can certainly play.

I know Johnson can shoot it, and has the IQ to compete. How do you think he'll stack up with the strength, speed, and athleticism of some of the upper tier players in the country?

16U team will play in the AAU state tourney..

The Travelers 16u team will be playing in the 17u AAU state tournament.

The Travelers 16u team will be playing in the 17u AAU state tournament.

 

Good to know. We'll get a good chance to check out their skills against some of the best seniors in the state.

I would say 6'6" to 6'7" at the most, played against him at Montgomery County...6'9" not even close.

Shelby is 6'8" and that's a fact...Jack!

Just an opinion/guess but some things I would consider:

 

- You get better by pushing yourself, which you do when you play the best competition

- Possibly age/holdback issues

- More time to identify weaknesses/areas for improvement while the rest of your class is trying to catch up to you

 

There was an article awhile back (actually the Summer of 2011) in ESPN the Magazine or Sports Illustrated (can't remember which) where a researcher tested the "holdback"/"older brother" theory about playing up. This was an actual statistically significant hypothesis (if I remember correctly) were research showed that most of the successful hockey players (the sport studied in the sample because of the structure of Canadian youth hockey) were the ones who had birthdays which made them the youngest players in their division growing up in youth leagues. The theory they were testing in this was that these kids were more successful in reaching the professional level because they had more time to mature and develop while some type of behavioralist conditioning that made them emulate/adapt to playing at a higher level when they were younger. Interestingly enough, the split was skewed toward these younger players having more of a presence in the higher ranks than would be expected if you were to simply take the expected number based on birth dates and control for some variation.

 

I saw that article as well. And I would definitely agree if you are talking about school ball or perhaps even local type all star teams. Especially at younger ages - that was the focus of those studies. However, if you're talking about playing at an elite level, in high school, I would echo Romeo's concerns. For example, look at the Shabaz Muhammad (spelling?) news that came out the last couple of days. It talked about how his father falsified his age (said he was a year younger) and how that enabled him to dominate. I'm not condoning that, but it does speak to the idea of whether its a good idea to play up (or not) against major competition.

Now for why I think it makes some sense for these guys to play up. Goodin and Beverly are very talented freshmen. They are also very mature physically, much more so than most of their freshmen peers. By playing up, they are playing against kids with bodies that are more similar to theirs - something that will happen with their own age group over the next 12-18 months. Their degree of success while playing up should give them a clearer picture of where they will likely stand by the time they reach their junior and senior years. I realize they do this already at the high school level (play against older pmayers), but that's a different world as compared to top level national competition.

Heard Drew McDonald of Newcath looked really good in their workout/practice on Saturday.