MrSocko 136 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 Here are a couple of links. Thoughts? Opinions? http://khsaa.org/041514-middle-school-regulation-repeating-students-age/ This article was issued a couple of days later by the KHSAA http://khsaa.org/02102014-middle-school-questions-and-answers/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 Good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 This is a very good start, but it needs more fleshing out. The rule states that children in Grades 5-8 who repeat a grade are ineligible from athletic competition against the same grades while repeating a grade. That works for a year, but what it does is encourage coaches to "redshirt" kids earlier, as most middle school athletic competitions are heavily slanted toward 7th-8th grades. Paragraph 8 doesn't do enough to set the age limit. Most kids are 13 when starting 8th grade. If a kid is held back one year (say, 6th grade), the kid is 14 starting 8th grade. The upper age limit is 15. Good try, but not enough. MrSocko and redtiger 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barondawg77 115 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 You have to be careful on how much you limit age though. What happens if a kid gets held back in elementary school for legitimate acedemic reasons? Punish this kid that has fought back and now is successful in school? It's not as clear cut as some of you guys think. Virginia rule is you can't be 19 before August 1 to participate in high school sports that year. They have made rules about holding back in 8th grade, and not being able to play sports during the second year. But you can't really punish the kids that struggle through elementary school and make a turn around. I hope this makes sense lol rabidbeaver and redtiger 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 You have to be careful on how much you limit age though. What happens if a kid gets held back in elementary school for legitimate acedemic reasons? Punish this kid that has fought back and now is successful in school? It's not as clear cut as some of you guys think. Virginia rule is you can't be 19 before August 1 to participate in high school sports that year. They have made rules about holding back in 8th grade, and not being able to play sports during the second year. But you can't really punish the kids that struggle through elementary school and make a turn around. I hope this makes sense lol It does make sense. States need to find that "happy medium", and it's not at all clear where it lies. My proposed rule: (a) An otherwise eligible high school student athlete may be no older than eighteen (18) years of age by October 1 of the academic year in which the student athlete intends to participate. (b) Any otherwise eligible high school student athlete greater than eighteen (18) years of age by October 1 of said academic year may petition the Virginia High School League for a maximum of one (1) year additional eligibility. Point being...if you have a legitimate reason, and you want to play badly enough, you won't have a problem letting the VHSL know why you're seeking it. MrSocko, sixcat and redtiger 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSocko 136 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 Those are good points UVAO. I think the only rule on "holdbacks" in VA is that you can't play 2 years of 8th grade ball. The KHSAA has recently taken control of the Middle School programs in KY so there are still some things to work on. I was reading what some of the posters/Dad's on Bluegrass Rivals were posting and quite a few are upset. The parents say that the KHSAA is trying to tell them what to do with their kid. I really don't have a problem with the rule. Holding back in school doesn't make you more talented, it just makes you older than the average senior. Either you have the talent or you don't! I'm a Dad of four and my two oldest ones play sports and the two little ones are not in school. If my kid has the talent to earn a athletic scholarship then great but if they don't then that is fine. I stress academics in my house and that is the 1st. option on earning a scholarship. Sports in school is a luxury not a necessity in life because when the "pats on the back" and "atta boy's" are gone the good education will remain with the kid the rest of their life. redtiger and Deleted Account 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasDenton 79 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 thevols, is this a newer rule in VA? I'm only asking because my youngest brother played two years of 8th grade football. He was too old his 7th grade year to play rec ball, so he played up, then played again his 8th grade year. There were actually a few in his class that had the same situation if I remember correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSocko 136 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 I think the "holdback" rule has been around since 2006 or 2007. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasDenton 79 Report Share Posted May 3, 2014 If that's so, then his case happened maybe a year before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Single A west 113 Report Share Posted May 5, 2014 It's getting that more than one kid though on a team that is 19 during their senior season. Sometimes as many as 6-8, it is intentional. Not academics plainly for playing sports is the purpose . It has gotten way out of hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasDenton 79 Report Share Posted May 5, 2014 You have to understand as well that there are kids who start school a year later (talking about Kindergarten here). Me and my youngest brother have birthdays that were near the old cutoff dates in Washington County, VA, and we could have started a year earlier than we did, but we would have been some of the youngest in our classes. Instead our parents started us a year later and we were some of the oldest in our classes. I wasn't 19 my senior year, but I do know of two kids who were that age because one was older than me in the same class and started school late while the other was kind of in the same boat, but also was held back in elementary school (failed one grade for various reasons). It's not all cut and dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Single A west 113 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 I know 2 kids at a particular school who started a year late and held back a year 7th grade, both planned, turned 19 within 30 days after start of school yr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 When a school has a boatload of 19 year olds playing during the season.... you know there's a problem with people abusing the system. I like the rule that's in place in VA.... (can't be 19 before Aug. 1st).....however, a lot of people take advantage of that rule to gain a competitive edge in a high school sport.....not for a legitimate academic reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 just set the damn limit at "whatever" age cut off for the SR year and don't worry about all this crap...the kids who are holding back for athletic reasons won't want to miss out on a SR year if trying to continue on to college...all this screwing around at the middle school level is ridiculous. 19 years old or younger as of Aug 1st and 4 years of eligibility from 9-12 to compete is fair for everyone...play within the rules and stop worrying about hold backs...if a kid can hold back and still meet those rules for whatever reason...athletics or academics or even just to allow a kid to emotionally mature for a year...WHATEVER...so be it...you don't need all this crap at the lower levels. Bigrhsfan, barondawg77 and Ryan4VT 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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