| It can. Look at the enormous difference in boys' puberty timing. Add in the large number of parents holding boys back in Kindergarten, which can make the size/strength imbalance even more pronounced. While coaches can see body frame & try to make guesses about how big & strong a kid can become, most coaches would refer to recruit a sure thing.
My own son is the shortest & youngest in his 6th grade class. Many boys are a year and a half older & have sprouted. He's athletic, but certainly not headed for recruitability. But if he were, he'd be exactly the type of kid who would benefit from a 13th year. (Plenty of height/strength among the men in our family. But all have grown quite late.) I doubt we'd ever go down that path, but that's easy to say when his natural athletic gifts are not tempting us with that possibility. |