Pet peeve! Why do parents of holdback kids

[Anonymous]

Always say their kids are playing “up” in soccer and baseball, when it’s done by age. It drives me bonkers. I have a June 5 birthday child and my neighbor does as well. Same grade, mine is on time birthday and hers is a summer hold back.
They both fall at the end of the baseball calendar year and her son plays the division above but he’s a full year older. She kept insisting how unfair it was that her son was playing on this team being the youngest and I made the point that my son falls in the exact same spot and she can’t agree with me on this. She says it’s completely different. They are both at the end of the year of a Sep to August birth order. Why can’t parents understand the math on this?! It’s by age. It’s not unfair. It’s not playing up either.

[Anonymous]

If you’re talking about red shirters, I’d just tell them that they’re actually “playing down” all day at school and that playing according to their age in sports is making things finally fair.

[Anonymous]

A lot going on here, but a June 5th birthday is a lucky and very desired “golden birthday” for travel baseball. FYI.

I think my kid would hack off a finger to be born in May or June (just kidding…kind of?)

I’m not following the details but friend is delusional.

Put your kid in travel ball (at his u trip league age, whatever that is) and forget about this crap. Friend has no clue.

[Anonymous]

Travel cutoff is May 1 as I recall (opposite handling oc Summer birthdays as compared to most rec leagues)

[Anonymous]

The complaining about birthdays for sports is nuts.
My kid is also a June birthday. She is one of the youngest for everything done by grade.
Then she did summer swim and had an advantage because of the May age requirement, and now does travel soccer by birth year so is right in the middle of the age.

I’ve never once complained about her birthday. It is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always say their kids are playing “up” in soccer and baseball, when it’s done by age. It drives me bonkers. I have a June 5 birthday child and my neighbor does as well. Same grade, mine is on time birthday and hers is a summer hold back.
They both fall at the end of the baseball calendar year and her son plays the division above but he’s a full year older. She kept insisting how unfair it was that her son was playing on this team being the youngest and I made the point that my son falls in the exact same spot and she can’t agree with me on this. She says it’s completely different. They are both at the end of the year of a Sep to August birth order. Why can’t parents understand the math on this?! It’s by age. It’s not unfair. It’s not playing up either.

Wut

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The complaining about birthdays for sports is nuts.
My kid is also a June birthday. She is one of the youngest for everything done by grade.
Then she did summer swim and had an advantage because of the May age requirement, and now does travel soccer by birth year so is right in the middle of the age.

I’ve never once complained about her birthday. It is what it is.

Agree completely.

My favorites are people who say a kid has been “re-classed.” The word is redshirted.

[Anonymous]

Your kids sound young.

If any become strong in their sport you will see a ton of reclassing. Most common to hold the kid back a grade in middle school so they are older during HS. Colleges of course don’t care how old you are as a freshman…just that you are a great player.

I think basketball these days has a crazy high %age of reclassed kids.

[Anonymous]

Sports like lacrosse and basketball are based on school year (high school graduating class of 20xx) versus birth year like baseball or rugby. FWIW, soccer will be switching back to school year soon too.

So perhaps it is that lens that makes a parent of a redshirted child think it is unfair when their child has to play with their birth year?

[Anonymous]

It is annoying. That was one thing I liked about soccer. With the red card system in the leagues. They were very strict about kids' birthdays. I think swimming is pretty strict about this also.

For real talent it doesn't matter though. My DD is playing up a year legit in basketball. We decided it was better for her to play up a year, because she was going to be matching up against all the red shirts anyway. In girls' sports I don't think it matters as much, because often times the tournaments and leagues are a mix of two grades because there aren't as many teams.

I don't understand why school leagues tolerate this. We had a guy on my high school team that was dumb as a box of rocks and was held back the old-fashioned way. I don't think he should have been rewarded with playing on the sports teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sports like lacrosse and basketball are based on school year (high school graduating class of 20xx) versus birth year like baseball or rugby. FWIW, soccer will be switching back to school year soon too.

So perhaps it is that lens that makes a parent of a redshirted child think it is unfair when their child has to play with their birth year?

what does holding back have to do with sports ability? You aren’t behind peers who are the same age as you - that’s as fair as can be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always say their kids are playing “up” in soccer and baseball, when it’s done by age. It drives me bonkers. I have a June 5 birthday child and my neighbor does as well. Same grade, mine is on time birthday and hers is a summer hold back.
They both fall at the end of the baseball calendar year and her son plays the division above but he’s a full year older. She kept insisting how unfair it was that her son was playing on this team being the youngest and I made the point that my son falls in the exact same spot and she can’t agree with me on this. She says it’s completely different. They are both at the end of the year of a Sep to August birth order. Why can’t parents understand the math on this?! It’s by age. It’s not unfair. It’s not playing up either.

Because the amount of anxiety parents have about youth sports, especially at younger ages, is both palpable and unhealthy and also drives a fair amount of team drama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Travel cutoff is May 1 as I recall (opposite handling oc Summer birthdays as compared to most rec leagues)

Our program isn’t travel and most club programs, the good summer kids on time play up. Because later you are behind a year before HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kids sound young.

If any become strong in their sport you will see a ton of reclassing. Most common to hold the kid back a grade in middle school so they are older during HS. Colleges of course don’t care how old you are as a freshman…just that you are a great player.

I think basketball these days has a crazy high %age of reclassed kids.

So what do the kids who reclassed prek do? records again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sports like lacrosse and basketball are based on school year (high school graduating class of 20xx) versus birth year like baseball or rugby. FWIW, soccer will be switching back to school year soon too.

So perhaps it is that lens that makes a parent of a redshirted child think it is unfair when their child has to play with their birth year?

No, that's not what the change is in soccer. It's by birth year, not graduation year, so if your kid is in the wrong grade for their age that's on you. They just moved the cutoff date from January 1.