How old is "too old" if holding back student athletes

I have several friends considering holding their kids back and repeating 8th grade. They are saying it’s due to covid educational gaps but it is not. Having played and coaches div 1 athletics and then worked for colleges I gently try to tell them that it really won’t matter. The top 1% of kids getting scholarships are just better. A year won’t matter. The time to maybe take a year would be at the end of high school, if you don’t like the opportunities available to you or feel like X area of your game/body could develop. Gap years after high school are common and are a better use of that extra year. Take 2 classes at a JC, train with a high level u19 club team and hone in on what you want. As long as you don’t enroll full time anywhere you maintain your 4 year eligibility.
But the extra year of 8th grade won’t matter. I’ve known lots of families do it and it “worked” for 2 of them. Would they have gone div 1 on lots of money anyways? Probably. Maybe it the kid is all for it and doesn’t mind it’s whatever. If it is what you think it best for your kid, have at it. It’s like everything else with sports: a gamble with pros and cons.
 
Everyone's journey is unique. Doesn't make sense to generalize. So many reasons why it might make sense to have a kid repeat a year, at any time. Do what you think is best for your kid and your specific circumstances. One of my kid's repeated in HS and it was exactly what he needed for academics and soccer.
 
RocketFile said:
Everyone's journey is unique. Doesn't make sense to generalize. So many reasons why it might make sense to have a kid repeat a year, at any time. Do what you think is best for your kid and your specific circumstances. One of my kid's repeated in HS and it was exactly what he needed for academics and soccer.
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Can you elaborate on the reason and how exactly did this help?
 
Eagle33 said:
Can you elaborate on the reason and how exactly did this help?
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My buddies kid was small and born in July. Plus, his reading skills were poor at best. Because he sucked at reading, he also sucked at taking those stupid tests to see how stupid you really are. His old man saw right away that his only hope for his son was sports or construction. He held him back a year and his son got a D1 full ride in football. Played three years and then went to NFL and the rest is history. I have a another friend who had a son too. Pierre thought his son would also be a pro football player. Fast and scored all the TDs in Mr Pops Football League. He called me for advice and wanted to know if he should hold his son Sabastian back as Jr since he only made JV. I told him it wont matter because your son is JC at best and that's me being nice.
 
RocketFile said:
Everyone's journey is unique. Doesn't make sense to generalize. So many reasons why it might make sense to have a kid repeat a year, at any time. Do what you think is best for your kid and your specific circumstances. One of my kid's repeated in HS and it was exactly what he needed for academics and soccer.
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The trouble comes when the varsity sports slots go mostly to college aged kids. That doesn't leave much opportunity for kids who are at a normal grade level.

Put another way, if red shirting gave your kid the chance to play HS soccer, that chance was taken away from a younger player who did not red shirt.
 
Stop. This is a manufactured problem to complain about. My kid didn't even play HS. So few kids repeat a year and if your kid is borderline varsity then maybe he/she is just as well suited on JV.

From an academic standpoint my kid has ADHD and the extra year of maturity helped him to get a handle on his academics and it has done wonders on every level.

The improved academics also help with soccer recruiting.

From a soccer perspective he is a bigger, faster, stronger, more mature, more confident version of himself and you better believe that has an impact on DI coaches interest. There is a reason (actually many) why many kids "red shirt" their 1st year of college.

It was the right thing to do for my kid to prepare him to succeed at college - academically and athletically.
 
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