This age discrepancy due to "redshirting" is ridiculous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What kind of league does your son play in that allows kids to play by grade? Most youth sports go by age.

We are in Arlington.

What sport does Arlington have that goes by grade? That is highly unusual anywhere around here.

Soccer- I know a boy who stayed back a year and is now in 4th grade. My son played him this October. He turned 11 in November. They supposedly check birth certificates but who knows?

There's a kid on my son's basketball team who tuned 10 in June who is a 4th grader. My son turned 9 in July.

Basketball is the worst. Even rec leagues should go by age, not by grade. It's no help to those kids who are just trying to participate in a sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP, at my age, I know plenty of children who graduated (then) at 17. It was completely to their advantage.

Clearly, the redshirt parents are extremely shortsighted. Often times there are issues that need to be addressed with the redshirted child. The parent thinks "holding them back" (as we always called it) will help. Really, what the child needs instead is for the parent to step up and take measures for the childs behavior in lieu of redshirting.

Again, they are extremely short sighted.

huh? Maybe they don't want to send their 17 year old off to college.

People who don't want their kids to go to college at 17 should just have their kids take a gap year after high school rather than redshirt. Who says they have to go to college right after high school? Most of my friends didn't, and I wish I hadn't either. I don't understand why people feel obliged to start college at 17 just because they started Kindergarten at 4.

[Anonymous]

People who don't want their kids to go to college at 17 should just have their kids take a gap year after high school rather than redshirt. Who says they have to go to college right after high school? Most of my friends didn't, and I wish I hadn't either. I don't understand why people feel obliged to start college at 17 just because they started Kindergarten at 4.

Maybe they don't want their child to start Kindergarten at 4. I wouldn't. That doesn't mean that I am going to tell other parents what to do. If you want to send your kid at 4, fine, but lots of people don't.