Parents holding kids back a year in school

[Vertigo]

Big thing in the NE is reclassification. You can change their graduation year without holding them back. See it mostly with lacrosse in the NE. Kind of weird if you ask me but a lot of people do it for that. Doesn't happen so much in other sports up this way.

Yep - seeing it a lot in baseball right now. Will actually see some move to an elite private school and redo their senior year. Not sure if it’s more for the sport or to try and get the GPA up for better chances at a higher academic college. Just seems odd to me that a kid would want to repeat their senior year - but it is what it is, I guess.

If it is for athletic reasons alone then it kind of stinks - especially for boys being recruited right now. Not only do they have the kids who are already on the team staying on for a 5th year, but they also have kids a full year older (usually means bigger and stronger with boys) who they have to compete with for a roster spot.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Seen kids repeat 8th grade and attend an "Academy" for a year then start HS a year older. Mostly football/ basketball.
If your going to do this, IMO, kindergarten is the year to repeat. My DD repeated Kindergarten. We relocated and she went to a different school. She had no idea. She was smaller and we really couldn't fathom sending her off to college as a 17 year old. Our decision had nothing to do with sports.

 

[uncdrew]

My kids needed to go the other direction. Would have been amazingly bored in school if held back at all.

They have kids in their grades that are almost 2 years older. It's a bit odd.

 

[CoachJD]

I'm not gonna tell other people how to parent (though, based on what I've seen, there's not much I could say that would be worse than what parents already do), but all of this just seems really bad.

 

[Lance Steckler]

age groups for softball is based on birth year, doesn't equate to school grades.

 

[Mike-Coach Q]

Little Johnny ( real name) had to repeat the 8th grade. The summer after his freshman yr. We had summer basketball, no Johnny? He played his freshman yr. and dad was booster president. Dad shows up one day at the end of summer basketball, surprisingly asked where’s Johnny? I’ve been dropping him off everyday? Come to find out Johnny discovered some new moves and was jumping the back wall and spending all summer with the new girl friend.

 

[Mike-Coach Q]

age groups for softball is based on birth year, doesn't equate to school grades.

it can be a big difference being older in HS and entering college. A 15yr. old freshman is usually more mature than a just turned 14 yr. old. I’ve put freshman on varsity and their maturity is usually the deciding factor.

 

[Lance Steckler]

but the girl playing 14u is still on 14u regardless of 7th versus 8th grade.

 

[Strike2]

age groups for softball is based on birth year, doesn't equate to school grades.

That's true, but an older player in HS can have a development/experience advantage. While the difference it can make with softball is arguable, it can make a big difference in sports such as football.

My kid was close to the cutoff, and she was still 4 years old when she started Kindergarten and 17 when she graduated HS. There were softball players in the same grade who were born a year earlier...a couple 15-18 months older. As it worked out, DD really didn't fully mature physically until her senior year. In that last year, she went from being a line drive hitter who could get close to fence to hitting dingers off miss-hits.

In retrospect, from a softball standpoint, it would have made a difference for her had she been held back a year. Overall, it would have been a dumb move.

 

[Strike2]

but the girl playing 14u is still on 14u regardless of 7th versus 8th grade.

That older kid may be better developed and more capable than her peers in the same grade.

College recruiting, especially D1, is done by grade, not travel ball age level.