My kids have been playing travel lacrosse for years. My little guy is 10-yrs old. I am aware of certain towns that find it ok and part of the norm to hold back there kids for sports.But with this 2024 age group, I have noticed and inquired so (not making assumptions) on all of the top teams and in most cases up to and over 80% of the team is made up of kids that should be in 6th grade. So go ahead start the banter about if your kid is good enough he would make the team. Well...He did make the team! but I still find it ridiculous that we as parents and more important, the club owners find this ok.
While I can't vouch for the %, I have to say, when I look at my now 13 yo, who has always played on age-appropriate 2021 travel teams, if he had been playing on a 2022 team, he would have been very dominant due to his athleticism alone. Speed and strengthwise, it would have been a joke - he wouldn't even have needed to be more than adequately skilled to achieve that dominance. I just don't see the logic in pretending that a boy is better than he is by playing down!
Let me preface this by saying that my kid is NOT a holdback. But, what's the big deal? When you signed up for the team, didn't they ask what "grade" he was in? Or, his graduating year? Remember, very few of these kids are held back for athletic reasons. Most are held back because they were not developmentally ready to begin elementary school. Also, most have October, November, or December birthdays so we're realistically talking about the difference of a few months. There are a few that are a full year older,, of course, but so be it. They're all going to be playing against each other in two years in middle school and beyond. I feel like the people who [lacrosse] about hold backs are the people who's little superstar just doesn't look as good as some of the other kids. That's parent ego and it has no place in youth sports. And please spare me the whole "it's a danger to the other kids" act. If you're afraid of your boy getting hurt, then maybe the sport isn't for you. My kid is one of the smallest on his team. He beats them with speed. He still takes his shots, but he learned a long time ago to get back up. It's part of the game.
Up until about 12, one year or even less equates to 'miles' of difference between kids and their abilities and athleticism, so the whole "what difference does it make" comments are very uniformed. Arguing about holdbacks from 13 yo and up is pretty much where that argument falls apart. That said, the sport should be age based, NOT grade based for obvious reasons, and USAL seems to be trying to move that way.
I agree with you 100%... difference between most 10 year olds & 9 year olds is very noticeable. Even within 10 year olds is a huge difference. A january birthday vs a september birthday is huge. Tougher to see differences between a 15 & 14 year old.
And USAL very much may want to move to an age based system vs grade based, but they don't have the muscle to pull it off. Until the clubs make the change, you'll continue to see teams build by grad year.
