"Yes, I do agree with a few skilled 8th graders moving up, but district should cap the number or else the parents will think the whole grade (if they are good) should move up and stick together. I disagree with 7th graders on varsity, playing girls 5 and 6 years older is not OK, JV would be reasonable."
You hear a lot of people express this opinion which just seems ridiculous. First off the NYS selection classification recommendations were written in conjunction with medical doctors , athletic directors, educators etc. over the course of years, why is it you feel you know better. If a kid is skilled enough, passes the physical requirements why draw an arbitrary line between 7th and 8th grade, there are plenty of 7th graders more mentally and physically mature than 8th graders.
How long ago was the Selective Classification process last amended or ratified. I don't think anyone should be going off of that. Players from 2005 till now are drastically different. I am sure the study was done prior to that making it over 10 years old. You cant tell me sports has changed since.
The point many are making are two fold. 1). The exceptional athlete should be given the chance to tryout. 2). The athlete should not give the MS team an overt advantage over the competitors. Both keeping safety of the child and competitors in mind.
Knowing the process, I also think the tryout "probation" period should be longer than 3 days. Now if you are questioning the difference of a player making JV and varsity I would think the probation period isn't a question. Know as far as a player playing varsity isn't there a full month of practices/scrimmages to figure out if the player is Varsity worthy. The players practice ethic and skill should tell the coach where a player belongs.
Some districts have silly requirements if a player is pulled up. ive heard the pulled up player has to play half of the game. Why? If the pulled up player is skilled enough to be the next attack or defender in but not the starting. I see no reason that player misses the opportunity to play up nor do I see an older player losing time because of a silly rule
