My DD10's gymnastics experience involves a wide range of ages. She's one of the youngest in her tumbling class, but one of the oldest in her gymnastics class. She actually likes being one of the oldest, because the coach lets her and her friend lead warm-ups. The basic idea is that kids end up in the right group for their skill levels, and age isn't a factor.
Aha. Here we go. Here, preschool classes (up to age 6-8, depending on the place) are strictly by age, not skill or experience. I think it's supposed to make classes accessible, but it really just eliminates anyone who didn't start by 2.5.
I think there is a "g" (general) factor for sports, just as there is one for intelligence. An implication of this is that children with athletic talent should not be discouraged from starting a sport "late", because their talent may enable them to surpass children who started earlier.
A young woman from a middle class background that did not permit private tennis lessons gave lessons to our children. I asked her when she started playing, and she said she started tennis in middle school but had been playing other sports. She was on her high school tennis team and earned a tennis scholarship for college.
