[cougarmom54]

I have sat here reading these post now for awhile and thought I would put my two centys worth in here.

I am the parent of a hold back child that played football. First and formost football was not the reason. If any parent has a child that struggles they understand what I am saying.The best thing I ever done for my son was hold him back.He went from a kid that had a hard time reading to a kid that makes the honor roll all the time

Did holding my son help him with football? My answer would be no. He attends a very small school that does't even have a football program.He never even started playing until the end of his 5th grade year.So basically holding my son never helped one bit in sports.

I have seen people hold their valedictorians back to play one more year of middle school sports, Watched teachers hold their on children back to get that one more year in. Do I think that is wrong ,to me yes, but obviously to them it would be no.We are talking about middle school kids, lets get serious here for a minute.Anything can happen especially in football.One bad hit and that is all it takes for these kids not to play football again.I think alot of parents need to realise that little Johnny might not be in the NFL.Exactly how many scholarships r out there for these young kids? Very fewl Let these kids enjoy their moment because this may be all they ever have.

I think it is every parents decision, there are rules that govern these middle school sports and personally I am glad of it.Football has helped my son tremendously, for me it is not about the big W. (don't get me wrong we all want to win) It is more about the discipline, work ethic, being a team player etc.I want my son to be the best person he can be and holding him back was a hard decision. But, in our minds we did the best thing for our son.Every parent has to make that decision for themselves.