So by your definition of a cheating holdback - do you consider the top lax schools as cheaters? I was just wondering because most, if not all, have kids that enter into their freshman year a whole year (or 2) older. Therefore, by your definition, you seem to be under the impression that starting this year with the class of 2017, these very same schools will be interested with kids that are, by your definition, a year (or 2) younger then the cheater holdbacks? I got news for you. NOTHING has changed with regard to taking the older kids. Many have stated that the holdbacks are taking our kids spots. Newsflash! Educate yourselves and do the research. Schools just aren't interested in 17 yr old freshman. Check out the rosters at these top schools and look up the birth dates. But mostly, just stop whining that it's not fare and stop acting like a victim.
Folks, this conversation has taken a wrong turn by introducing the concept of holdbacks being cheaters. While repeating a school year is clearly gaming the system, it comes with risks including the stigma of losing contact with your school friends, taking up with a younger group of classmates, and the boredom of repeating the same academic material.
Note that the NYSPHSAA has actually taken up this topic. Expect that there will be regulations on the number of years that scholastic athletes can participate in junior varsity and varsity athletics versus the number of progressed academic years coming shortly. In other words, playing two years at the junior varsity level while repeating ninth grade will result in one sacrificed scholastic athletic year at some point.
