US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Boys 2017 Fall 2013/Summer 2014

There is absolutely no denying that there are 16 year old kids playing on 2017 teams. My son and I were at the Warrior Diamond Showcase and there were kids openly talking about how old they were and how they repeated years and so on. Several of them were from a certain Baltimore area travel organization that just so happened to be hosting the event. I really don't care one way or another, my son will compete and be fine, but the physical difference between a 16 year old and a 14 year old is undeniable. The older kids at the Warrior definitely stood out and were definitely noticed by the few college coaches that were there. I think its definitely an unfair advantage but I also think thats the way it is and not worth complaining about. However, the denials that this is going on is just plain laughable. At the fl$ in 3D shootout a few weeks ago, the 3D Canada team was filled with 17 year old "reclassified" kids who were playing in a 2016 bracket. One mother told a few of us her son started school late, and shes already held him back a year, and shes considering having him do a PG year if hes drawing interest from a big time school. Make no mistake, this is something the Director of 3D lacrosse openly advocates. He did it with his own son, who is 16 years old and a 2017 and just committed to North Carolina. This is not some delusional, made up conspiracy by Long Island parents, this is an actual strategy by many coaches and parents alike to give their sons an edge in college recruitment. Like someone stated earlier, "college coaches only care about grade, not age". Given the fact that the college recruitment schedule seems like it has accelerated, there is no denying that this is giving these older kids an advantage. Just take a look at the 2017 kids that have committed so far, not one of them is a true 2017, all of them are hold backs and "reclassified". So in closing I would say to the Long Island parents to stop whining because theres nothing we can do about it, and I would say to the parents of the hold backs and grade repeaters, stop denying it and be truthful about it already.

Nope. That number is exaggerated. Nice try. Anything to justify a loss, I guess.

Keep denying it. Its actually sad and laughable how you are all denying this is going on. There are several directors of big time travel organizations that are openly advocating holding back your son and repeating years to have him gain an edge in recruiting. It is a fact that this is going on, its not in question so you denying it makes you look silly and small.

Oh and yeah BTW our best Long Island team which is age appropriate smoked the best Maryland team with a roster full of "reclassifieds". So I dont think anyone is trying to justify a loss here, just calling it like it is. Your turn.

And what team might that be? Because if it is the one everyone is thinking about that starts with a T, coaches son is a holdback.

And what team might that be? Because if it is the one everyone is thinking about that starts with a T, coaches son is a holdback.

FYI: All true sophomores are currently 14 and 15. They won't start turning 16 till late December in most schools. Freshman should be 13/14 now

For school districts that have a December 1st cutoff date, the first sixteen year old true sophomores will appear tomorrow.

12/01/95 - 08/31/96 ... Class of 2014 ... 12th Grade ... U/18
09/01/96 - 11/30/96 ... Class of 2014 ... 12th Grade ... U/17

12/01/96 - 08/31/97 ... Class of 2015 ... 11th Grade ... U/17
09/01/97 - 11/30/97 ... Class of 2015 ... 11th Grade ... U/16

12/01/97 - 08/31/98 ... Class of 2016 ... 10th Grade ... U/16
09/01/98 - 11/30/98 ... Class of 2016 ... 10th Grade ... U/15

12/01/98 - 08/31/99 ... Class of 2017 ... 9th Grade .... U/15
09/01/99 - 11/30/99 ... Class of 2017 ... 9th Grade .... U/14

Thanks Cage! So if a kid you know is in 9th grade and is 15 today, they should not really be in 9th grade! HOLDBACK!!

Thanks Cage! So if a kid you know is in 9th grade and is 15 today, they should not really be in 9th grade! HOLDBACK!!

A fifteen year old freshman could be in a school district with a class year cutoff earlier than December 1st. The child also could have been held back before kindergarten and registered one year later. Finally, the student could have been held back for academic or athletic reasons. There are multiple explanations for a fifteen year old freshman player.

Yes many reasons, still a HOLDBACK! And I think it has been well established that those kids have an athletic advantage, no matter what the motive!

Yes many reasons, still a HOLDBACK! And I think it has been well established that those kids have an athletic advantage, no matter what the motive!

Yes many reasons, still a HOLDBACK! And I think it has been well established that those kids have an athletic advantage, no matter what the motive!

If the school district in which you live has a cutoff date of September 1st as opposed to December 1st, your freshman child could already be fifteen years old (plus three months) without having been held back.

Your statement is incorrect, uninformed, and capitalized to emphasize your error.

I just did a little research and could not find one LI public school district that had a cutoff earlier than Nov 30 ! Am I still incorrect and uninformed? Just wondering? Just Keeping it real. Think this whole discussion started about a Long Island team holdback. I think we all know what happens outside the Island already.

If the school district in which you live has a cutoff date of September 1st as opposed to December 1st, your freshman child could already be fifteen years old (plus three months) without having been held back.

Your statement is incorrect, uninformed, and capitalized to emphasize your error.

Yes many reasons, still a HOLDBACK! And I think it has been well established that those kids have an athletic advantage, no matter what the motive!

There are two interspersed threads here - one talking about only Long Island and a second talking about other areas of the country. (This is one reason why registering an account helps with the conversation.)

For a strictly Long Island point of view, December 1st is the cutoff date. That would of course make you correct. Apologies as we took your addition to be off-Island.

Thanks Cage. It seems that California, Florida, MD, PA, etc all use 5 years old by Sept 1 to enter kindergarten. That would put kids born after Sept 1, 1998 as 15 year old freshman. No holdbacks, just timing.

So where is the argument to change school age cutoff nationwide so that LI kids aren't having to play and learn against older kids?

No Problem! As always your commentary is valued!
This does bring up another interesting aspect about age and grade. I was not aware that there was as much as a 4 month variation in cutoff age. My son was actually one of the lucky ones that excelled among older kids, but I have seem others suffer because of it.

I side against HOLD BACKS, but it is not possible to have committed. Stay true, palzy walzy! Talks may have taken place, committing has not. (now you say, "well, they told me not to tell anybody....")

Congrats. What player and school?

Thanks! Over the years with three boys involved in Lax, I admit to becoming a little obsessed. I like to know what people are saying,stay up to date on commitments and lax news, and occasionally comment. Although my one son is committed, my other two are up and coming in the next few years. This holdback thing is something that has gotten out of control and might hurt my other kids chances of being recruited. After my son was recruited, and I started to look at D1 rosters of top schools, it became very clear what was going on. That is why I advocate for fairness. I would tell you who my committed son is, but then everyone would know who I was, and I prefer to remain anonymous.