13 yr old becomes youngest ever to verbal to UCLA

[PDad]

I believe that most students are 13 entering the 8th grade and not 12 as she would have been. Although not completely uncommon she would be uncharacteristically young for her grade and so it's understandable that Mark H would have assumed she was in the 7th grade as she could easily have been and could still be held back without penalty.

Your OP indicated a September-ish birthday, so I would expect her to be in 8th grade if she started school in Cal...

Although this certainly does occur, it's been my experience that students this young for their grade, especially those in competitive sports, start the next year.

Preschoolers in competitive sports? lol Cal had a Dec 1 cutoff for kindergarten until a recent change. Some kids with a fall birthdate are/were held back due to not being mature enough to start school. Boys were far more likely to be held back for this reason and because their parent(s) wanted them to be one of the biggest/oldest in their class. I don't know of any girls that were held back in kindergarten or Jr high for competitive sports.

If not for UCLA's unusually late Fall start date at the beginning of October she would be entering college at 17 which I'm pretty sure is not the norm.

EDIT: After research it looks like the late Fall start dates are pretty standard for UC's.

No mystery there - schools on the quarter system start later than those on semesters.

I still feel that it is unusual, but certainly not unheard of, for a student to be that young entering college, especially a student-athlete.

No for students and yes on athletes for a different reason. It's only unusual when you look at them compared to the entire class. Looking at it by individual birth month for Cal girls, I'd say majority of Nov are held back, a split on Oct and fewer Sept are held back. Regarding athletes, she bucked the odds that favor those born early in the year and that is independent of grade.

[a.n.t.farm]

CONGRATULATIONS ! AWESOME , HAPPY FOR HER AND THE FAMILY!

[newkid]

A lot can change from now until an actual signing or getting through the first year of academics, but it's a stepping stone that many girls don't achieve so CONGRATULATIONS Lexi!!! Anybody would be proud to say they received scouting attention but no matter what age, most don't know or are unwilling to put in the work it takes to become that player. If she's getting looks, she's probably the type of kid that would practice on a parking lot in the dark. Good Luck Sosa Family, there's going to be a lot of extra pressure, but stay strong & keep focused.

[fastpitchdad05]

I believe that most students are 13 entering the 8th grade and not 12 as she would have been. Although not completely uncommon she would be uncharacteristically young for her grade and so it's understandable that Mark H would have assumed she was in the 7th grade as she could easily have been and could still be held back without penalty.

Your OP indicated a September-ish birthday, so I would expect her to be in 8th grade if she started school in Cal...

Although this certainly does occur, it's been my experience that students this young for their grade, especially those in competitive sports, start the next year.

Preschoolers in competitive sports? lol Cal had a Dec 1 cutoff for kindergarten until a recent change. Some kids with a fall birthdate are/were held back due to not being mature enough to start school. Boys were far more likely to be held back for this reason and because their parent(s) wanted them to be one of the biggest/oldest in their class. I don't know of any girls that were held back in kindergarten or Jr high for competitive sports.

If not for UCLA's unusually late Fall start date at the beginning of October she would be entering college at 17 which I'm pretty sure is not the norm.

EDIT: After research it looks like the late Fall start dates are pretty standard for UC's.

No mystery there - schools on the quarter system start later than those on semesters.

I still feel that it is unusual, but certainly not unheard of, for a student to be that young entering college, especially a student-athlete.

No for students and yes on athletes for a different reason. It's only unusual when you look at them compared to the entire class. Looking at it by individual birth month for Cal girls, I'd say majority of Nov are held back, a split on Oct and fewer Sept are held back. Regarding athletes, she bucked the odds that favor those born early in the year and that is independent of grade.

PDad I agree with your point about her bucking the trend and she is obviously a great athlete.

As for the first point about age, it doesn't matter if they were held back from entering kindergarten until the following year or repeated kindergarten or some other grade for whatever reason (sports, academics, etc), it is still my observation that the kids that are 12 entering 8th grade (birthdays in late August - November) are in the minority because most of the kids that would have been 12 entering 8th grade were held back at one point or another.

Generally I suspect that kids are held back in the later grades (who knows, maybe her parents will decide to hold her back although I would doubt it), but I know of parents that have held their kids out of kindergarten for an extra year or repeated kindergarten because they wanted them to have a competitive advantage in sports when they got to HS and college.

[firecrackers619]

Amazing, great job SoS !

[PDad]

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I sent a PM so we can continue this offline.

[Safebyahare]

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I sent a PM so we can continue this offline.

The woodshed!

[as the world turns]

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I sent a PM so we can continue this offline.

a little rendezvous

[PDad]

a little rendezvous

Nope, that's what turns your world,

[Mark H]

I told a coach a few years ago they were going to be verballing sixth graders before long. He said he'd quit if that happened. We are now one grade away from my kidding comment becoming reality.

So you turned this post into all about you and your friend the coach? I know early verbals is one of the most discussed recruiting topics on the Bucket, but how about, wow! Wonderful for her and her family!?!?

It IS an impressive accomplishment. Is it good for her? Is it good for most kids? Is it good for the sport? Time will tell. No. No.