Puberty is the great equalizer. If you look at a 2026 team and there aren’t at least 3 or 4 sub 100 pound boys, the team probably doesn’t have many on age kids on the roster. The size difference of a pre pubescent 13 year old and fully grown 15 year old is immense and a total safety issue. When kids enter HS however they will typically play for the frosh team and those who play up on varsity are probably the larger ones. My point is that the holdback issue is one of safety at the middle school leve