As a parent of children that go to school with these holdback or more likely prefist children I do think it is not the greatest thing for many of these kids. Many seem more aware being out of place when they were younger, As they got older it didnt seem to matter as much. Maybe they held it in better as they got older?? Years ago it wasnt mentioned..but now many of the prefirst kids hear comments on them being held back, For some reason more people seem aware of it now than before, even tho it has been done for many many years? Maybe due to being more now? Just my observations,,not a professional.
Well no one was mad about it 3 years ago because they still had the teams by age not grade. So the kids did not care if you where older you would be on the older team. But now when you are the 4th attackman and there are 2 pre first kids ahead of you, you tend to want to say something. But as a parent its easier to talk to your son about not starting. You just say its ok son that kid is cheating and will be 19 when he graduates.
You can not call Pre 1 kids holdbacks. They aren't. I doubt ANY parent was thinking back when their son was 5, "Oh hey, maybe we should hold him back for an athletic advantage now." My kid is a Pre 1 kid. My kid was held back because at the adorable, tiny age of 5, he was not speaking yet, he was extremely developmentally delayed with his fine motor skills. When he was 5 and we were told Pre1 for him, my first thought was not AWESOME, my kid will be the biggest going into high school and have an athletic advantage in any sport he plays. No. My first thought was GOD please let me son be ok, please let these developmental issues not be something he will struggle with for the rest of his life. THAT is what was going through our minds. And I am sure other Pre1 kids were held back for the same reason. So PLEASE do NOT group Pre1 boys in with the rest of the boys who are held back PURELY for athletic advantage. My son, 15 as of the end of July, is the second smallest kid on the team. He is one of few on the team who has not hit puberty yet. But you know what, he works his [lacrosse] off to make up for his height, and he starts in a position that relies heavily on size.
If I am wrong, and Pre1 kids are held back that early for athletic advantage, then those parents need to put the crack pipe down. But my guess is most of the Pre1 kids and families went through exactly what we did, and were more worried about the future of their child as a human being than a jock. Stop calling Pre1 kids cheaters.
