Red shirting for sports- Is this really a thing for older kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's redshirting when they are held back in K. It is reclassing when it is done in middle school.

I didn't reclass my son because he has a Jan birthday but if he were born in May/Jun and maybe even April I totally would have. Academically he didn't care about school until 10th grade.

Interesting point. My son is in 10th and is just barely caring about academics. He didn’t last year at all. Reclassing in 8th grade would have helped him academically but he would have hated it socially. It would have made a difference with HS sports. He’s much bigger and stronger than a year ago.

[Anonymous]

My cousin repeated 8th, he played D1 basketball. IDK if he would've gotten recruited without the redshirting, but it was advised by his AAU and coaches when they would recruit at his invitational games.

His mom didn't have the funds to pay for school outright and going to school for free was his only goal.

Repeating 8th is not uncommon for many boys going for basketball. IDK much about other sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why dont all youth sports teams place kids on teams based on age, then this wouldn't happen.

They do - largely - though for some sports it is common to have a 2 year spread - think little league baseball for example. Lots of youth sports with many participants are one year age groups. Soccer, for instance, goes by age as of 1/1. Kids can play “up”, and often do, so as to play with kids in their graduation year if they are young for their grade. But, they cannot play “down” to play with younger kids.

But, college sports are recruited based on when you graduate from high school. You can’t start college until you graduate high school. Many (all?) States have a max age limit for high school sports participation of 19 as of the start of the school year. However, College Coaches don’t care how old you are when you arrive on campus. So, for example, it is fairly common to have athletes from overseas showing up as 20 or 21 year old freshmen. For hockey it pretty much has always been a question of playing Juniors first, and if it looks like you aren’t getting signed to play pro, then you look at playing in college so there are lots of 20/21 year old freshmen.

There certainly is no age max to start college.

This sounds like a policy choice made by the NCAA. Seems like that could make a different choice that would discourage this practice, but they choose not to.

[Anonymous]

It is smarter to take a post grad year than reclass in middle school in my opinion. The middle schooler will continue to play against slightly older and bigger competition to improve and then can take an extra year if needed if they are close to the level of recruit they want to be. Making the decision before puberty doesn't make a lot of sense developmentally. If they end up being good enough, they don't lose a year and they don't lose a year if circumstances totally change.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Happens all the time in baseball--it's now called "reclassifying." Boys usually repeat 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, and thus are physically larger and stronger than their peers. Plus, the extra year of maturity doesn't hurt in the classroom, especially for high school!

One of our coaches asked us if we would consider having our son reclassify (i.e., repeat 8th grade at a private school). He did not, in large part because school always comes first, but given that he's a young 9th grader, sometimes I wonder if we should have done it for the executive function alone!

Nope, still called "held back". Kids that couldn't compete needed some help.

You sound petty and jealous.
I don't have a kid on this track but have seen it work countless times. Frankly, at least half the Ivy admits I know well are reclassed athletes.
These kids start as top local players but receive an extra boost for college with the extra year. It works like clockwork.

Nobody is jealous of held back kids who are too ild for the grade. They get picked on for being too old. Seen it happen.

How strange. Your kids must be high FARMs schools? It is so, so common at schools for middle and upper class kids that no one cares or even notices.

Nope, my kids go to a nice highly-rated public where academics can be cut-throat. There are a few redshirted and held back kids who are given the side eye. I'm sure their parents had their reasons, but it's not encouraged by the administration to redshirt kindergartners. You sound like you have lop-sided priorities. Sports are far less important than academics in the long run.

Your kids go to a highly rated public that doesn't have upper and middle class families?

Yes, this is very strange. The wealthier the school, the more redshirted kids. Wealthy people are savvy enough to give their kids every advantage they can.

The only thing that is strange is redshirting so your kid can be the biggest in his grade.

Its incredibly common. Hence, not strange.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's redshirting when they are held back in K. It is reclassing when it is done in middle school.

I didn't reclass my son because he has a Jan birthday but if he were born in May/Jun and maybe even April I totally would have. Academically he didn't care about school until 10th grade.

Interesting point. My son is in 10th and is just barely caring about academics. He didn’t last year at all. Reclassing in 8th grade would have helped him academically but he would have hated it socially. It would have made a difference with HS sports. He’s much bigger and stronger than a year ago.

It would not have helped with academics.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Happens all the time in baseball--it's now called "reclassifying." Boys usually repeat 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, and thus are physically larger and stronger than their peers. Plus, the extra year of maturity doesn't hurt in the classroom, especially for high school!

One of our coaches asked us if we would consider having our son reclassify (i.e., repeat 8th grade at a private school). He did not, in large part because school always comes first, but given that he's a young 9th grader, sometimes I wonder if we should have done it for the executive function alone!

Nope, still called "held back". Kids that couldn't compete needed some help.

You sound petty and jealous.
I don't have a kid on this track but have seen it work countless times. Frankly, at least half the Ivy admits I know well are reclassed athletes.
These kids start as top local players but receive an extra boost for college with the extra year. It works like clockwork.

Nobody is jealous of held back kids who are too ild for the grade. They get picked on for being too old. Seen it happen.

How strange. Your kids must be high FARMs schools? It is so, so common at schools for middle and upper class kids that no one cares or even notices.

Nope, my kids go to a nice highly-rated public where academics can be cut-throat. There are a few redshirted and held back kids who are given the side eye. I'm sure their parents had their reasons, but it's not encouraged by the administration to redshirt kindergartners. You sound like you have lop-sided priorities. Sports are far less important than academics in the long run.

Public school ES principals have bigger fish to fry than worrying about red-shirted kids. They come into school more mature, better at the unrealistic expectations K and 1st foist upon kids these days, and with superior emotional regulation. What's not to like?

They are less mature as you have a six year old behaving like a five year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Happens all the time in baseball--it's now called "reclassifying." Boys usually repeat 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, and thus are physically larger and stronger than their peers. Plus, the extra year of maturity doesn't hurt in the classroom, especially for high school!

One of our coaches asked us if we would consider having our son reclassify (i.e., repeat 8th grade at a private school). He did not, in large part because school always comes first, but given that he's a young 9th grader, sometimes I wonder if we should have done it for the executive function alone!

+1 it is very common in baseball and becoming more so as the transfer portal rules have changed HS recruiting. In many cases, HS kids are competing against transferring college kids for incoming spots, the extra year is appealing.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Happens all the time in baseball--it's now called "reclassifying." Boys usually repeat 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, and thus are physically larger and stronger than their peers. Plus, the extra year of maturity doesn't hurt in the classroom, especially for high school!

One of our coaches asked us if we would consider having our son reclassify (i.e., repeat 8th grade at a private school). He did not, in large part because school always comes first, but given that he's a young 9th grader, sometimes I wonder if we should have done it for the executive function alone!

Nope, still called "held back". Kids that couldn't compete needed some help.

You sound petty and jealous.
I don't have a kid on this track but have seen it work countless times. Frankly, at least half the Ivy admits I know well are reclassed athletes.
These kids start as top local players but receive an extra boost for college with the extra year. It works like clockwork.

Nobody is jealous of held back kids who are too ild for the grade. They get picked on for being too old. Seen it happen.

How strange. Your kids must be high FARMs schools? It is so, so common at schools for middle and upper class kids that no one cares or even notices.

Nope, my kids go to a nice highly-rated public where academics can be cut-throat. There are a few redshirted and held back kids who are given the side eye. I'm sure their parents had their reasons, but it's not encouraged by the administration to redshirt kindergartners. You sound like you have lop-sided priorities. Sports are far less important than academics in the long run.

Your kids go to a highly rated public that doesn't have upper and middle class families?

Yes, this is very strange. The wealthier the school, the more redshirted kids. Wealthy people are savvy enough to give their kids every advantage they can.

The only thing that is strange is redshirting so your kid can be the biggest in his grade.

Its incredibly common. Hence, not strange.

The majority of public school kids whose birthday is right before the K cut-off, whatever that happens to be in any given public school district, are not held back. Most public schools will not even give you the option to redshirt your kid unless you have a valid medical reason (ex: preemie). Hence, it is indeed an oddity to encounter a kid who was enrolled in public K a year late simply because their parents were terrified of having their kid be the youngest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's redshirting when they are held back in K. It is reclassing when it is done in middle school.

I didn't reclass my son because he has a Jan birthday but if he were born in May/Jun and maybe even April I totally would have. Academically he didn't care about school until 10th grade.

Interesting point. My son is in 10th and is just barely caring about academics. He didn’t last year at all. Reclassing in 8th grade would have helped him academically but he would have hated it socially. It would have made a difference with HS sports. He’s much bigger and stronger than a year ago.

It would not have helped with academics.

My son at 13 and 14 and in 8th and 9th grade talked about buying a van and traveling around the country when he turned 16. He said he wasn’t going to college and what was the point of school. At 15 3/4 and in 10th grade he started wanting to go to college and started studying/caring about school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not uncommon at local privates and at boarding schools. I know of several kids who play basketball, plus a few football and a few lacrosse players who've done this.

A lot of them take a fifth year in high school. My uncle did that at a boarding school Lacrosse scholarship, and eventually played professional Lacrosse. Professional Lacrosse never went anywhere though.

But I can’t imagine repeating middle school grades just for baseball or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve known boys in the northeast personally who are clearly on track for D1 who have repeated their freshman year at a private in order to redshirt.

Connecticut and New Hampshire have boarding schools with post graduate programs for athletes who want to get better I guess. I know one guy I dated who went 5th year boarding school and only made it to a Division 3 team.

Wouldn’t that be better than at a young when it’s not even clear in 8th or 9th graders have hit their peak or might not grow enough? The 5th year student athletes played varsity, they were ranked, there’s more to work with. Avon Old Farms only take about 20 athletes. That’s were my old friend went. He didn’t make it but several played professionally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve known boys in the northeast personally who are clearly on track for D1 who have repeated their freshman year at a private in order to redshirt.

Which schools? Because I just wrote how they usually do a fifth year post graduate instead of holding them back academically. I don’t know the ones who have kids repeat a grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Happens all the time in baseball--it's now called "reclassifying." Boys usually repeat 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, and thus are physically larger and stronger than their peers. Plus, the extra year of maturity doesn't hurt in the classroom, especially for high school!

One of our coaches asked us if we would consider having our son reclassify (i.e., repeat 8th grade at a private school). He did not, in large part because school always comes first, but given that he's a young 9th grader, sometimes I wonder if we should have done it for the executive function alone!

Nope, still called "held back". Kids that couldn't compete needed some help.

You sound petty and jealous.
I don't have a kid on this track but have seen it work countless times. Frankly, at least half the Ivy admits I know well are reclassed athletes.
These kids start as top local players but receive an extra boost for college with the extra year. It works like clockwork.

I don’t think she’s being petty. It’s kind of amusing they came up with a new word for repeating a year.

Ivy Leagues don’t don’t usually get the top elite athletes. They usually head South or Midwest.
Do you work in admissions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve known boys in the northeast personally who are clearly on track for D1 who have repeated their freshman year at a private in order to redshirt.

Which schools? Because I just wrote how they usually do a fifth year post graduate instead of holding them back academically. I don’t know the ones who have kids repeat a grade.

Multiple privates in the tristate area, IMG, boarding. Usually this happens when a recruited athlete transfers to the school and they repeat the grade they just finished, they aren’t repeating once enrolled if that makes sense. They are starting the school one grade down purposefully. This can be freshman, sophomore or a junior and these are athletes already being scouted (ie high high level of play).