- Dec 15, 2009
- 50
- 74
- Thread starter
- #16
Why is it most people have no qualms about their 7 year old competing on a youth 5 team but have an issue with them moving up for an individual?
Because the purpose of individual competition, aside from obvious reasons such as building confidence, is to see where an athlete stands with other individual athletes in his/her age group. The comparison loses meaning when the athlete is potentially competing against others that are four years older. Do I think there are mini aged athletes that could beat youth aged kids in individual competition? Without a doubt. But if they have exceptional skills for their age, they should be rewarded for that rather than being forced to compete with older participants, in my opinion.
On a youth team, even if an individual athlete is 7 or 8, there are others on the team that are within the traditional 9-11 age range. The younger athletes have qualities that contribute to their team without carrying the entire burden of competition. I think your comparison is more appropriate and accurate to ask if it asked if people would have qualms about their Mini TEAM competing against a youth TEAM. In that case, I think they would have an issue with it. :)