2021 Recruiting: 2002 v. 2003 evaluation

[Unregistered]

How can a college coach tell who is better?

-A 2002 born 2021 is playing with and against other sophomores(older sophomores) and juniors - often mostly juniors.

-A 2003 born 2021 is playing with and against other sophomores (younger sophomores) and 9th graders.

Obviously the advantage goes to the superstar 2021 who can stand out in 2002 age group against all those 2020s. However, what about the 2021 that seems like a star playing in 2003 against younger 10th and many 9th graders but would be a sub if they played on the 2002 team? Or what about the sub on the 2002 team that would be a solid starter on the 2003 team?

How can anyone know for sure when the same graduation year players are playing with and against very different competition? This goes for every age group now since the birth year change messed up recruiting.

[Unregistered]

I would think the advantage goes to the player playing up as long as they show that they belong on the field and aren't one of the weaker players. Demonstrates ability to step up in speed of play. That's a big question to answer because it speaks to how soon the kid might be able to play and impact playing with older and more mature players. Not every kid can do that, especially in this era of watered down leagues.

[Unregistered]

How can a college coach tell who is better?

-A 2002 born 2021 is playing with and against other sophomores(older sophomores) and juniors - often mostly juniors.

-A 2003 born 2021 is playing with and against other sophomores (younger sophomores) and 9th graders.

Obviously the advantage goes to the superstar 2021 who can stand out in 2002 age group against all those 2020s. However, what about the 2021 that seems like a star playing in 2003 against younger 10th and many 9th graders but would be a sub if they played on the 2002 team? Or what about the sub on the 2002 team that would be a solid starter on the 2003 team?

How can anyone know for sure when the same graduation year players are playing with and against very different competition? This goes for every age group now since the birth year change messed up recruiting.

It's a mess. This is why everyone is going to move to the ECNL when they go back to organizing teams by graduation year.

[Unregistered]

The exact same way a scout will evaluate a 2002 player on a strong team vs a 2002 player on a slightly less strong team: by watching and evaluating the player as an individual - technical skills, movement, physical traits, decision making, etc.

[Unregistered]

True talent will stand out regardless of age.

[Unregistered]

True talent will stand out regardless of age.

Amen. People need to realize this and get over it. one of the biggest flaws in youth sports is on age teams. Every tea should be talent based. Period.

[Unregistered]

It's a mess. This is why everyone is going to move to the ECNL when they go back to organizing teams by graduation year.

nope. they will go back to any team in any league that allows them to do whatever they want to do irrespective of the development consequences. Enough parents will fall for the latest gimmick, whatever it is, because thats what most of this is. finding the hook that attracts parents.

[Unregistered]

How can a college coach tell who is better?

-A 2002 born 2021 is playing with and against other sophomores(older sophomores) and juniors - often mostly juniors.

-A 2003 born 2021 is playing with and against other sophomores (younger sophomores) and 9th graders.

Obviously the advantage goes to the superstar 2021 who can stand out in 2002 age group against all those 2020s. However, what about the 2021 that seems like a star playing in 2003 against younger 10th and many 9th graders but would be a sub if they played on the 2002 team? Or what about the sub on the 2002 team that would be a solid starter on the 2003 team?

How can anyone know for sure when the same graduation year players are playing with and against very different competition? This goes for every age group now since the birth year change messed up recruiting.

you need a life

[Unregistered]

Will the recruiter know, or even care who the player is playing with or against? I think they have limited time , and have to be focused on what’s most important, ie the skill of the individual player. When the player is in college, they will be playing amongst several ages of players, no?

[Unregistered]

True talent will stand out regardless of age.

This is where ID Camps are valuable vs club team showcases. When a Freshmen comes and sticks out against all the older HS kids, then you know you have a strong player likely to be ID’d. If you are junior and get lost in the crowd, well the you know you better shoot lower.

[Unregistered]

What about a 03 born 2022

[Unregistered]

Went to an event with 2 college coaches last night and they were very unphased by this issue. They are looking at the player and easily have the ability to know their graduation year by the profiles set up for recruiting by players. They aren’t randomly watching games. They are targeting specific players. If in that process they stumble across someone of interest it takes then 2 seconds to find out the grad yr. They did indicate that the player should reference numeric grad yr when communicating with them so that there is no confusion such as a situation if a player says I’m a junior in June ... Are they a rising junior or finishing their junior yr.

[Unregistered]

What about a 03 born 2022

Its the same as the 2002 born 2021

[Unregistered]

Its the same as the 2002 born 2021

god i hope coaches stop looking at all the stupid stuff by the time the kids are recruitable and focus on how they do on the field .... great technical skills, unbelievable quickness/speed, 360 vision ...... oh, that kid has all of those things but hes a 2000 senior .... i guess i will take the 2001 senior with half the skills and hope it works itself out ... gimme a break people ..... if you are worrying about nickles and dimes, the kid aint worth it!!

[Unregistered]

True talent will stand out regardless of age.

This is definitely a true statement and sometimes it is better to stick out while that college coach is watching whether or not you are playing with juniors or freshmen. Most clubs have a balance of their 2021 sophomore class already recruited. The 2021's recruited as of now are the clubs top players.