One thing people are not taking into consideration about "hold backs" is that some of the prep schools are approaching the kids at tournaments. If the school is willing to make it financially available for your child to attend and excel at academics and lacrosse then why not. The boys are in high school and play all different grades, it would be the same if they went straight to college and started as a freshman...They are still playing boys much older and stronger.
Your example is different from a kid who is always the oldest. He gets an advantage playing club when the colleges are watching being the oldest. Play it out. A kid holds back for a reason. Usually to get an advantage because the parent does not like how the kid competes with kids his own age. So the kid reclass and now playing club against younger kids and now excels. If he does not excel enough he drops back two years. This does not make the kid a great player. He is just older. Now you have a 20 year old freshman in college. If as argued the kid is great playing against any age one would expect that the older kid would dominate as a 20 year old freshman just as he did his senior year of high school and last year of club when he was by far the oldest. However most hold back freshman do not start and certainty do not dominate as a freshman. Being a 20 year old freshman which is the age of a junior he should have junior player stats as they are at their peak. However most hold backs do not even play freshman or sophomore year. Remember most hold backs as juniors in college still can't get on the field. So you have the majority of hold backs who dominated club and high school ball playing as the oldest and can't get on the field in college playing kids their own age. Now some do excel from freshman year and every year in college. But that is the exception. Most hold backs do not dominate playing kids their own age as they did when they were the oldest playing club. This compels the conclusion that the kid was great because he was older. I don't blame kids for holding back. If you can go from being low d1 or not being able to play d1 at all competing at the correct age and holding back means getting into an ivy league or a top school that is better than some ivies it is tough to pass up. If everyone was willing to hold back there would be no advantage. The hold back parents know this and make there kids better by holding back. Some choose not to hold back. We do what is best for our kid and should not care what others say.
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