Does this look like a U14 basketball team to you?

[[FnG] Torgo 3000]

My son was recruited to a summer basketball team, and they played their first tourney over the weekend. This was one of the teams they faced. Note that #44, sitting on the bench, was over 6'6". Note all the other kids about that same height. Consider that this team was playing in a U14 bracket. All these kids are from the Sheboygan, WI area, so they are chosen from a total community population of around 50k. If so many of those families are growing children this size .... Makes you kind of wonder.



Anyway, I told Kril I'd post a pic of this team. I don't actually suspect foul play. I'm just kind of amazed.

[[FnG] Da Kril]

Wow! Under 14, huh?

Well, the man seated on the far right is clearly 19 years of age, probably second year in college.
The skinny kid standing by his knees might be 14, but just as easily 15 or 16.
The next one (seated) is also shaving and driving — 17-18-ish.
Can't really tell about #37, but the youngest I'd guess for him is 16.
(all in my humble estimation)

Of course, that's just my opinion — I could be wrong.
--kril out--

[[FnG] Nihilist]

They sure don't look like any 14 year olds I ever saw...

[[FnG] Torgo 3000]

I'm still amazed. The biggest guy (the one sitting down), I would have pegged at 25, actually, except he had a really bad case of acne, indicating that these are maybe just growth hormones run tragically amok. Perhaps artificially administered.

But really ... if you were a coach, parent or athlete who took the time to get into a serious "elite" basketball program, would you drive across the state to stomp on a bunch of actual 12-14 year-olds? That that would be a huge waste of time makes me believe that they are just freakishly large 14-year-olds.

Furthermore, our guys, mostly raised playing ball on the rough streets of hyper-segregated Milwaukee (excepting my comfortable suburban son as the exception that proves the rule), literally ran circles around them with their athleticism. But with such a huge size differential, there's only so much you can do. I believe the final score was around 70-something to 30-something, though I have blocked that memory from my consciousness.

[[FnG] Sphinx]

I remember at school, we had 2 brothers who were aged 13, and they were 6'2" and 6'3" ish. They were built like men, they were not skinny and lanky as you may expect. The other schools we played matches against, asked that they not be allowed to play in the rugby matches, as all that happened was they were passed the ball, and then ran through all the other kids and scored ... Shame for the 2 huge boys, but it did make the matches kind of pointless.

Triple jump was amusing, most of us made it into the sandpit, and the 2 brothers made it past the sandpit

[[FnG] Hanno]

Although I agree some of those in the photo's look suspect - it could also be a diet/generational thing.

For some reason of diet the current school generation Born in mid 90's seems to be growing a lot taller than our generation born in
the 1970's. I am of what I thought was average height 5'10 - I never felt short or little in school
BUT I have to walk my daughter to school opposing the flow of the current school kids and I feel intimidated
as if I'm surrounded by giants on somedays.

I can't really understand as our generation had pretty good diets (compared to the previous post war diets)
but something is making these kids taller - must be more calories.

Erin (my daughter) is already tall for her age - she is 7 1/2 and we are buying age 9-10 clothes for her.
She has a pretty well balanced diet - she must be the only child who says no thank you to chocolate
-"I already some earlier in the day Daddy"
Shame as I end up eating all of her easter eggs