re: How do you know when your kid has "it" in sports?

You just know. There's a different look to a D1 athlete than everyone else. They might not even stand out on the field until high school, but you can tell. For me, watching my nephew backhand balls and throw it from the 5-6 hole to 1st's chest over and over at 6-7. Then watching his spin move in 3rd grade. It's just something you see, no real way to explain it. That's why it's called "It".

My brother was playing t-ball a year early and he was making diving catches, scoops at first base, and had parents amazed.

He looked like a little man in a kid's body out there.

But really, post-puberty athleticism will be a huge factor in how far they can take their talent.

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Would love to hear from parents who have kids that went on to play sports at the collegiate or professional level. Not just baseball, and not just boys, but all sports-boys and girls. The thread implies that some kids just have "it" and it's easy to see early on, others say it's all about reps. How young do you guys know when your child is gifted? I'm guessing by 12 or 13?

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As a youth sports coach myself I can say that you recognize superstar level talent when they are around 10-12.

In my sport when you watch the best of that age level at a national event, you'd swear you are watching 16-17 year olds.

Scholarship level talent can certainly be earned by a lesser athlete but the kid must possess certain natural abilities such as speed and body coordination

Dont even think about it until the kid is 13-14 years old. Puberty is the great equalizer.

But honestly, the world needs to realize that the average college athletic scholarship outside of football, basketball and volleyball is around $3000 before they start spending $10,000 a summer on travel ball.

My daughters are competitive swimmers. They are both top eight in the state in their age group (confirmed by top eight finishes at state meets and top eight times in the season). A senior on their team is by far the No. 1 swimmer in the state. She's looking at a 33% scholarship at a shitty C-USA school or going somewhere and not swimming.

Personally, I was a really good baseball player until I was 13-14 or so. Then I couldn't hit a good high school curve ball. After being a starter at third base from age 7-14, the only game I started in high school baseball was the last home game of my senior year. Then I was pulled after my first AB for a 10th grader that ended up playing AA ball.

If he doesn't have a travel ball championship ring by age ten, better start a college fund.

when people tell you "looks like he'll be as good or better than you were"

Went to high school with a guy that played in the NBA... he had the poor upbringing which helped his desire, he had the school and support staff to ensure his path was clear and the talent to get it done.. it wasn't easy for him and he worked his arse off.. he wasn't the best player on the freshman team and we aren't talking a big school.. his vertical leap went from a 20 to 36 in 2 years.. incredible guy that deserved all his rewards..

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Which for a huge amount of athletes isn't until they're 16 years old or even older. And that's even more drastic for sports and positions that require skill and not mostly size/athletic ability.

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You see it more in kids at the ages 10-13 honestly. I don't know about baseball, but in basketball and football you always know the kids that are going to be beasts in that age range. They seem to run faster, jump higher, shoot better, tackle harder and just flat out dominate in every game. You see some fall off in high school simply because they were playing against inferior competition at younger ages and are now playing with a bunch of kids that can do the same as them. The truly elite ones generally are on another plane by then.

When he out performs for his age and you then get him to multiple coaches who have played at the college and pro level and they give you an assessment of his/her ability and then you have your kid professionally coached up and the kid starts to compete against other kids their age who have likewise been identified as being stellar in the sport and against these kids your kid ends up being ranked in the upper end of these performers......when all that happens, you kid MIGHT have the "it" factor.