Repeating 8th grade (if thats the case and it happens at all)has allot to do with parents decisions whether they want their son in 9th grade and be only 14 yrs old. MYLA, NPYLL rules have nothing to do with grade at that age group unless the player is in 9th grade. If he is in 9th grade he can not play for his HS. It is about the age. You must be "under 15" August 31st of the upcoming yr. Our team does have a few 97"s but they have to be born Sept -Dec of 97. Crabs players are bigger I guess because of the program selection. Crabs tryouts attract quite a few boys from all over not just Baltimore and those who tryout are typcally the best or close to it on their Rec or club team. Ive seen many AA players not get thru the first cuts. Crabs only has one team per age group. Says allot about the people running it as they could make lots of money having lower teams. They do not have a U11.