The MLC summer team is incredible.
The majority of the kids are holdbacks.
The same holdbacks don't play in the fall because they are busy playing football.
When they come back in the summer they'll win again.
Anyone that doesn't understand the difference in ability between a holdback and on age kid is delusional.
Holdbacks are simply kids that couldn’t cut it against their peers anyone who doesn’t see that is “delusional”
My experience has been that the kids that I know for a fact are recent holdbacks were top players on their on-age teams. I personally don't know of any hold backs who were even mediocre when they were on age.
Nonsense.
I watched the kids in question play multiple times with their on-age team. They reclassed this year and are now on a younger team. My kid is on-age and not one of them. How is this nonsense? It certainly could be out of the ordinary but I'm only relaying what I've observed first hand.
Several of the kids I have coached at rec-travel, AA, and AAA at one point or another, have reclassed over the years, and part of the (maybe mis-) calculation is usually that yes, they are excelling on their current team, but in many cases they were *previously* cut from an elite team, or at least relegated to low playing time and the coach made remarks about "size" or "physicality."
The difference in national player rankings by holding back a year is about 30. The difference for a AAA level player would be D3 vs mid/lower D1 (several already-reclassed 2029s/2030s come to mind here).
A talented AAA or elite player who holds back 2 years, has good size/speed, and has good rapport with coaches, virtually guarantees a top 25 national ranking.
You want to know why they do it, this is why they do it.
