[smoke1015]

If kids repeat a grade for whatever reason go for it. Holding back has been around for decades and is within the rules. I get that. My nephews coaches wanted him repeat a grade many years ago and he declined. This is an opinion based site and mine is all things being equal -- like stats -- as was that post -- I would give the edge to the non-holdback. Competing as the age of a Freshman in a league vs Eighth graders can give that player a huge advantage. Doesn't mean if the holdback was clearly better he would not have gotten the award. Again my opinion. Probably why I am not on a selection board! As I read some of the other threads on this site its clear I am not the only one who feels that it is a huge advantage, especially in middle school. We can discuss holdbacks and all that goes with it on a new thread if you like. Good luck to all the kids and schools this weekend.

Well, yeah in that case, for sure I agree with you. If you have a 13/14 year old 8th grader, non holdback that puts up the same stats as a 14/15 year old 8th grader, has the same speed, power, etc.. then that means he's probably got more potential. A year means a LOT, all the way up to 22 or so years old