Did I miss the part where people railed over high school play being unjust because there are freshmen through seniors? I didn't, because there wasn't one.
The laments aren't all over somebody's special 19 year old son who will be graduating from high school this spring. What is a concern for people is the youth game. Not scholastic, THE YOUTH GAME. There isn't anything special about a 16 year old 2019 kid blowing up a 14 year old 2019 kid last summer. There isn't anything special about a 15 year old 2020 kid blowing up a 13 year old 2020 kid this past fall. I am not a recruiting guru, but anyone can check to find hundreds of freshmen committed and also safely assume 8th graders are being recruited during the last mile of evaluations by the coaches who pushed calendar up this far. There is an inequity there. Playing down is not a compulsory choice -- it involves going private and paying tuitions. That's not obtainable to all kids, and maybe that's just the way it is...the only way to go again in the publics is to flunk a grade.
I am not making an argument that high school kids need training wheels back, and don't think I've read it here. And if a freshman or soph stood out in high school I salute that. I also have never heard a cogent argument against say a u-10 team instead of a 5th grade team. The only people arguing for grade based youth teams are the parents who held their kid back for sports.
