[undercoverwildcat]

I have a son that is interested in being held back due to educational, maturity, and athletic reasons. So I have a few questions to be answered.

He is in the 8th grade.
He has never played any high school sports.

Questions?
1. Can he just repeat the grade? Or if he is promoted to 9th and then retained, does that mean his 4 year clock has started?

2. Does a time table start in the 7th grade?

3. Can the retained student participate in high school level sports? (Freshman football and basketball)

4. what would the eligibility of the athlete in varsity basketball?

Anything else to be considerred on the sports front?

Thanks for the help. Please no critisism.

[Bobcat_Dad]

I have a son that is interested in being held back due to educational, maturity, and athletic reasons. So I have a few questions to be answered.

He is in the 8th grade.
He has never played any high school sports.

Questions?
1. Can he just repeat the grade? Or if he is promoted to 9th and then retained, does that mean his 4 year clock has started?

2. Does a time table start in the 7th grade?

3. Can the retained student participate in high school level sports? (Freshman football and basketball)

4. what would the eligibility of the athlete in varsity basketball?

Anything else to be considerred on the sports front?

Thanks for the help. Please no critisism.

1. You must move him back to the 7th grade before his final day of 8th grade. Once he is promoted to 9th the 4 year clock begins.

2. No

3. In everything except football and soccer. As long as he did not this year. You can't compete as an 8th grader twice to my knowledge

4. Not sure what you are asking? Could he play Varsity basketball? Yes as long as he did not this year as an 8th grader as far as I know. May want to check with local AD to be sure.

[laker20]

I have a son that is interested in being held back due to educational, maturity, and athletic reasons. So I have a few questions to be answered.

He is in the 8th grade.
He has never played any high school sports.

Questions?
1. Can he just repeat the grade? Or if he is promoted to 9th and then retained, does that mean his 4 year clock has started?

2. Does a time table start in the 7th grade?

3. Can the retained student participate in high school level sports? (Freshman football and basketball)

4. what would the eligibility of the athlete in varsity basketball?

Anything else to be considerred on the sports front?

Thanks for the help. Please no critisism.

Can't answer all your questions, but others will chime in. If you are going to hold him back then it can, and must be done this year. He is only promoted to 9th grade if you choose not to hold him back.

I would think that he could still participate in high school sports, but there are others who can be more specific on this.

[Stardust]

How do the educators feel about this? Have they recommended or deemed that he cannot perform his education minimum requirements?

[cart man]

As far as question 3, no he can participate in high schools sports if he is repeating a grade regardless if he played or not in the first year in that grade.
Now, if he is not considered repeating 8th grade if moves back to 7th then he can. I would put him back in 7th grade now while it is early. If he has already played high school sports this year then I would say going back to 7th is not an option because he would be in 2nd year in that grade and participated in high school sport he would lose a year of high school eligibility.

[sherman14]

I have a son that is interested in being held back due to educational, maturity, and athletic reasons. So I have a few questions to be answered.

He is in the 8th grade.
He has never played any high school sports.

Questions?
1. Can he just repeat the grade? Or if he is promoted to 9th and then retained, does that mean his 4 year clock has started?

2. Does a time table start in the 7th grade?

3. Can the retained student participate in high school level sports? (Freshman football and basketball)

4. what would the eligibility of the athlete in varsity basketball?

Anything else to be considerred on the sports front?

Thanks for the help. Please no critisism.

1. He can repeat the grade.
2.No he can not.
3. He could not play next year. But he could come his Freshman Year.
4. He could not play on a Varsity team.

[undercoverwildcat]

So he can't repeat the 8th grade?

Why would he have to be put in the 7th grade at any point?

Shouldn't his 8th grade report say reatained instead of promoted?

[rustyankle]

Dont hold kids back because of sports it always ends up hurting the kids confidence around sophmore junior year and they will struggle seen it happen time and time again. If the kids good he good no matter if held back or not and if he not that good then its not going help him as much as you think.

[BADCAT74]

That's an interesting question to me too Undercoverwildcat... I've been approached by some varsity coaches about possibility of holding my son back in 8th grade as well, I'm not totally for or against just weighing options that would be best for my son. As far as his age he is actually one of the youngest in his class an THE youngest on his football an basketball team but he is bigger than most of them an competes at a high level? My thoughts are would this holdback help him as far as possibly helping him enough to get a good scholarship or would this make that much of a difference? He will graduate at 17 as it goes now. I've thought about this for sometime, if it's best thing for him an his future that's what's important to me. IF? sports can provide him with an education an holding them back a year will help increase his chances of a good education then seems like a good thing to me..

[tradition]

Also, he has to be 18 before the end of August of his senior year. If he turns 18 after August of his senior year, he will not be eligable.

[Bobcat_Dad]

Also, he has to be 18 before the end of August of his senior year. If he turns 18 after August of his senior year, he will not be eligable.

You mean 19 correct?


As long as he is not 19 before August 1st of his Sr. year he is fine.

Seen many, many kids hold back for various reasons. I have never, never seen it as a negative!!!!!

[rustyankle]

You mean 19 correct?


As long as he is not 19 before August 1st of his Sr. year he is fine.

Seen many, many kids hold back for various reasons. I have never, never seen it as a negative!!!!!

I will have to disagree it hurts a kids maturity levels, if your worried bout sports scholarship well I was told by a recruiter that i know that colleges would rather have kid graduate younger because once they in their 4 year program they be out at 21 not 22 or 23

[cart man]

So he can't repeat the 8th grade?

Why would he have to be put in the 7th grade at any point?

Shouldn't his 8th grade report say reatained instead of promoted?

He can repeat 8th grade. If repeats 8th then no high school sports that year.

http://www.khsaa.org/handbook/bylaws/bylaw4.pdf

[Bobcat_Dad]

I will have to disagree it hurts a kids maturity levels, if your worried bout sports scholarship well I was told by a recruiter that i know that colleges would rather have kid graduate younger because once they in their 4 year program they be out at 21 not 22 or 23

By being a year older it hurts their maturity level????

I would much rather send my kid off to college at 19 than 18.

As I have said back when I was in education I was around dozens, never saw it hurt anyone. Maybe the area I was in and the parents but it always helped the young people, not just in sports.

[Buc-a-roo]

How do the educators feel about this? Have they recommended or deemed that he cannot perform his education minimum requirements?

This was the first question that came to mind for me too. What do his teachers and principal think about this? Is he behind in his academic development?

[rustyankle]

By being a year older it hurts their maturity level????

I would much rather send my kid off to college at 19 than 18.

As I have said back when I was in education I was around dozens, never saw it hurt anyone. Maybe the area I was in and the parents but it always helped the young people, not just in sports.

Well If you have ever been around kids then you know when a kid is 15 and he around 13 year olds he acts 13 when that 15 year old around 17 year olds he acts 17. thats my point

[hootie]

If you want to give your child an advantage then hold him back. I have never seen this as a negative in any situation. Also he cannot compete at the high school level his hold back year no matter what the sport is. Nothing wrong holding a kid back.

[Football1]

This topic has been studied in depth. Read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Older birthdates in any given peer group provide a signifigant learning advantage in the classroom. If your child is interested in sports there are numerous data points to suggest you should graduate at your oldest eligible date. As stated, so long as you don't turn 19 before Aug 1, you are set.

As a parent, I have taken advantage of this and have been blessed to see its benefits in the classroom and in sports. In Knox, it is not unusual to see kids in HS who started Kindergarten early so mom and dad can work - understandable. In those cases those kids can hold back 2 years and still not turn 19 before Aug 1. But very few do and many end up fighting the battles of life younger and less prepared than they could have been.

I know many hold a negative view of retaining a kid intentionally who is not having acadmemic issues. I would ask those to consider that the overall development of a child goes far beyond his marks on a report card. The additonal year at home can only serve to produce a better educated, more confident, and yes in some cases, more highly regarded athlete and/or student. But even if my kid played no sports - I would have given him the extra year to prepare for college and life.

[Bobcat_Dad]

Well said Football1, I agree 200%!!!

[Skunk]

Serious! The parent supports this? Come on, this is for downright selfish reasons and it's hard to truly imagine that is legitimately about the student and his ability to compete in the classroom! Good grief!

[Buc-a-roo]

I know many hold a negative view of retaining a kid intentionally who is not having acadmemic issues.

That is not where I was coming from at all. I don't have a negative view.

The poster who started the thread said he had some questions to be answered, all of which pertained to sports. But in his first sentence, he said his son was interested in being held back and he listed educational reasons first, then maturity and lastly sports.

I have a son that is interested in being held back due to educational, maturity, and athletic reasons.

Since he said the son was the one wanting to be held back, and he listed education first, I thought it was relevant to ask if there were any academic issues and to inquire as to the opinions of his teachers and school administrators. No judgement, no hidden agenda, just an honest question to help understand the situation.

So, "What do his teachers and school administrators think of holding him back? Is he in a position academically where he needs to repeat a grade to help in his development?"

By discussing these things, the answer may help somebody else who is debating the same issue.

[Skunk]

That is not where I was coming from at all. I don't have a negative view.

The poster who started the thread said he had some questions to be answered, all of which pertained to sports. But in his first sentence, he said his son was interested in being held back and he listed educational reasons first, then maturity and lastly sports.

Since he said the son was the one wanting to be held back, and he listed education first, I thought it was relevant to ask if there were any academic issues and to inquire as to the opinions of his teachers and school administrators. No judgement, no hidden agenda, just an honest question to help understand the situation.

So, "What do his teachers and school administrators think of holding him back? Is he in a position academically where he needs to repeat a grade to help in his development?"

By discussing these things, the answer may help somebody else who is debating the same issue.

We could debate forever what the orginal poster said and how he said it, but it's purpose was to get his son in a position to compete athletically. So, he wants to cheat against other kids is what it comes down to! Good grief!

[willseeuntheHOUSE]

Had experience in this. We held our son back when he was 11. This is never an easy decision unless there is definite educational or maturity issues. In our case our son was the youngest in his class but was almost at the top of his class in grades and standardized test scores. He was a little immature, as most boys are, for the class he was in. Each child is different and if done right, a lot of discussion must be done with the child explaining how new friends will have to be made and a stigma may be attached both from his former class and with his new class. We talked a lot, prayed a lot, and talked a lot more. I tried to leave the final decision to him but at 11, all he would say was "what would you do Dad?" As a family we finally decided to retain him. All has worked out wonderfully, and I often ask him what he would do now knowing what he knows. His answer after 3 years , " we did it right Daddy". His old classmates treat him well and his new classmates do the same. There is so much that factors in for each individual case that no one can start to tell you all things. My advice is talk to as many people as you can that has done this.......then talk,talk talk with your child and talk talk talk to God

[Faded Green]

I started to school as a five-year old first grader and I would like to share a couple of experiences. I played on Green County's first football team as a 10th grader back in 1962. I was fourteen and did my best to compete for my size and age. I did not know I was young until many years later as I found out that on some of the teams I was competing against, some of the opponents were turning twenty. I always wonder if I had of been a little older and more mature that my maturity level and playing skills might have been enhanced if the playing field had of been more level. In my first years of teaching and coaching I was against so called holdbacks, but as time went on I mellowed on the idea. I started my three kids to school at the age of, or turning seven. They were no stars on the field but turned out to be stars in the classroom. I encourage all parents for the sake of their child to start them out at seven in the first grade rather than at a later time. I have heard many elementary teachers say they can tell a big difference in maturity level and performance.

[Football1]

We could debate forever what the orginal poster said and how he said it, but it's purpose was to get his son in a position to compete athletically. So, he wants to cheat against other kids is what it comes down to! Good grief!

Cheating...?

Is it then cheating for the parent who has a kid born in August (thus the oldest in a standard class) to allow that kid to compete against a kid born in June (athletics or academics)? That kid would be 10 months older than the one born in June if they were in the same class. At age 6 think what a percentage in age difference that is - it is signifigant. No, it is not cheating for them to compete - it is simply a factor of the cut of date of Aug 1st that drives what class a child enters.

Neither is it cheating for a parent to decide that they would prefer their child to be on the other side of that equation - to graduate public school at the oldest age possible while maintaining eligibility in whatever they are interested (band, sports, academic teams, etc.).

[rustyankle]

Had experience in this. We held our son back when he was 11. This is never an easy decision unless there is definite educational or maturity issues. In our case our son was the youngest in his class but was almost at the top of his class in grades and standardized test scores. He was a little immature, as most boys are, for the class he was in. Each child is different and if done right, a lot of discussion must be done with the child explaining how new friends will have to be made and a stigma may be attached both from his former class and with his new class. We talked a lot, prayed a lot, and talked a lot more. I tried to leave the final decision to him but at 11, all he would say was "what would you do Dad?" As a family we finally decided to retain him. All has worked out wonderfully, and I often ask him what he would do now knowing what he knows. His answer after 3 years , " we did it right Daddy". His old classmates treat him well and his new classmates do the same. There is so much that factors in for each individual case that no one can start to tell you all things. My advice is talk to as many people as you can that has done this.......then talk,talk talk with your child and talk talk talk to God

Why hold him back if he was top in class with grades? what grade did you hold him back

[rustyankle]

I just think if your doing this for sports your doing it for the wrong reasons. If a kid needs to be older to be able to compete in a grade thats not his original grade then that kid is not good athlete

[Stardust]

^ Very fair

[Football1]

I just think if your doing this for sports your doing it for the wrong reasons. If a kid needs to be older to be able to compete in a grade thats not his original grade then that kid is not good athlete

I see your point and would completely agree with it were it even possible. You can't "just hold a kid back for sports". Even the parent with the lowest level motive - to have little Johnny dominate 6th grade basketball - would accidently be gaining all of the other well studied benefits of giving a child an additional year of education, maturity, and experience.

[rustyankle]

I see your point and would completely agree with it were it even possible. You can't "just hold a kid back for sports". Even the parent with the lowest level motive - to have little Johnny dominate 6th grade basketball - would accidently be gaining all of the other well studied benefits of giving a child an additional year of education, maturity, and experience.

But as a parent why does it matter if they dominate 6th grade lol thats just crazy.