I think most people look at this the wrong way. Trying to control parents behavior or choices is difficult at best. Each situation is different. Some may choose a late start early for many reasons. It is hard to predict if a "pre-first" will end up being a talented lacrosse player prior to K. However holding back in 8th grade for an athletic advantage may seem crazy to some but very logical to others. Try explaining this logic to a public school family in the midwest for "lacrosse" which is not a professional sport and you may get a confused reaction. However I think that we should not focus this issue solely on the parents. Instead of asking what is the upside to holdbacks in top tournament and the HOCO league, we should ask the HOCO league officials what would be the downside of creating age based classifications and having a minimal form of enforcement? The answer may be that the top clubs will not play. This would hold true for current classes 2024-2022 but what about younger ages? We have to start somewhere. For those who claim it would never happen because it does not benefit the clubs look at the early recruiting issue. This was a boom for the clubs. They built business off being the only game in town and parents fears that if my son did not commit by 9th grade it was over. The clubs won't admit this but the new rule does not help them. Yet, it was still able to be changed. The holdback issue is similar in many ways. However the target should be USL and HOCO not the parents they are simply doing what they feel is best for their family. | 
