[Mama Bear]

I think that some people do not understand how hard it is to play sports at Russell, if a kid has a D, they can not play that week. You may have straight A's in all your classes but have 1 D and not be able to play, you can practice but not play.. If you have an F, you can not practice that week at all. You must bring up your grade before game time or sit out a week. if you do not bring it up by the end of the week and the grade does not get in the computer then you sit another week......
This is why we never have an issue of playing HOLDBACKS... at Russell, no matter what you hear,, EDUCATION IS NUMBER 1 !!!!!

We have the same rules on grades for New Harlan. The whole "holdback" issue is controversial to say the least. If a child is "heldback" do to grades then that child can not participate in any sports.

Holding your child back is a tough decision for any parent to make. There are lots of reasons as to why parents would choose to do it. We've "heldback" two of our sons and have been very pleased with the outcome. Talking to other parents and relatives and getting a lot of different input from different sources helped us reach the decision. Our kids will just be turning 19 right before they graduate high school. I'll have to brag a little.... Our acadmic team at our elementary school has won the region the past two years and I have had the pleasure of taking 4 football players to the State Governors Cup competition in Louisville the past 2 years. Two of which were mine. They have academic team practice after school during football season and are sometimes a tad late for football practice. Our coach has never complained because he knows the importance of grades. He has also never said a word about leaving practice early to attend a Wed. night Bible study. I love our coaches and so do my kids. It's all about balance!

I think that coaches at this level of play can make a HUGE impact on a child's life and it's good to see GOOD people taking the time and dedication to teach our young men.