[DEVILOLOGIST]

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 !!!!!

[bulldogs rule]

I think that is the way it should be all across the state. Because for most of the kids playing sports in High School that is as far as they will ever go, and if you dont have a good education then what do you have to fall back on.

[mullinstiger55]

Are teachers allowed to give bonus work at Russell?

Because they're allowed to at my school. But if their grade gets lower with that work, their deeper in the hole.

[Lambert #1]

Devilogist,
I agree that education comes first and is really the only thing that matters. Athletics is a very small part of the whole formula. However, I do think that there is a place time and a place that holding students back is a positive instead of a negative. I've been around the fields and gyms for several years now and I have seen the benefits of holding a student athlete back a year. Let's forget about the field of play, let's take into consideration the growth emotionally and the maturity a child can develop in that hold back year. I have seen students that perform poorly, just fit in and go through the day to day events and are never noticed. The holdbacks that I have seen develop and grow into the leaders in the hallways and classrooms and bloom into something that they were not before the holdback year. I see both sides of the argument but I fall on the side that it should be a parents decision to make for their child. Definitely pros/cons in the situation but to each their own.

[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.

[DEVILOLOGIST]

Okay,, forget the holdback issue,, I also have a child that was held back in 3rd grade..And yes I agree, it was the best thing for him....He started school at 5 because his birthday is tomorrow. September 30th,, cut off for school was October 1st. So basically he started school at 4 then turned 5 before the cut off. So I agree 100% with the parents decision..

Point 2-
Russell usually will not let a kid get that far behind to be in this situation but if it does they will look at what is missing or not turned in. A child can turn in missed work but only gets partial credit if it is late.... So they get a chance to make upwhat they missed but at a fraction of the score.. This is the universal rule for any kid, sports or not.

I never meant to come across as being negative,, What I was trying to point out is this team does not have any kid that was in the 6th grade last year.. THATS WHAT I MEANT TO SAY !!!!!!! SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION.....

Grades are important and they should be,, all of my kids know that,, We do not have practice on a church night at all!!!!!

If a child is "heldback" do to grades then that child can not participate in any sports.
I agree 100%%%%%%%%!!!!!!

[Beetle01]

Holdbacks shouldn't be done in middle school. Elementary or even before they begin by starting them a year late. I think it is benefical to be held back 1 year for academics and athletics. I was only 16 the last time game I played in HS football I would have loved to have played @ 18 or like some kids turned 19 during the season.

[new o]

Academics should be #1 but in some cases sports allow academics to be #2. This can be a good thing because where I live some kids would never try in the classroom if it were not trying to stay eligible for sports. So I think they work hand in hand. For the most part athletes make good grades but for the few that struggle, sports forces them to get in or get out. Also my son CHOSE to stay back and he has really matured socially and physically.

[MCACoach]

Below is the scale we base our grades on at Mountain Christian Academy. Our Student athletes must also carry a 3.0 GPA in order to participate.

We have won our conference athletic academic award for boys and girls basketball and volleyball the past two seasons. This is the time period that I have been involved with our athletic program, not sure about the previous years. Our boys basketball team last season had a combined GPA of 3.86 as a team.

A+ = 100 - 99; A = 98 - 96; A- = 95 - 94; B+ = 93 - 90; B = 89 - 87; B- = 86 - 85; C+ = 84 - 82; C = 81 - 79; C- = 78 - 77; D+ = 76 - 74; D = 73 - 71; D- = 70 - 69; F = 68 - Below

[BAgymcoach]

Grayson County's policy is that all student athletes must maintain a C average no F's.