The thought process that holdbacks are for scholarships is wrong. You holdback to get a chance to play varsity earlier at a great school (in this area, Malvern, etc.). The goal is not a scholarship for college, but simply admission to a top school. Most of the top lacrosse schools are stellar academic institutions. And it has become incredibly difficult to get into many of those schools without some type of "in." See the entire Varsity Blues sandal.