BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Holdbacks

Stop trying to change the game. US lacrosse has already ruined it enough. No more hitting, requiring certain pads to be worn and requiring everyone to pay $ for a useless membership.

The game was a great sport before.

Have you seen the garbage they are doing to change the game to 6 vs 6. stunads … limited the numbers does not grow the sport . Thank goodness Stenerson is gone!

Says the double holdback parent! Lol

It also helps kids develop/grow. Learn to be a team leader or follower, depending on the year. HS coaches win.

He was a total holdback apologist.

Seriously, just talk about the sport, why do we have to add the wine stuff into it? That’s always the cover and usually the content.

Wine Stuff ? Had a few ?

Yes, we must demonstrate to our little ones the importance of mediocrity and victim hood in our society today. Therefore, in the spirit of equality and fairness we should also institute a weight-class rule along with a height requirement stipulation so no child or PARENT feels slighted or has their feelings hurt.

Always wonder if saying things that are meaningless and off target make you holdback parents feel better knowing your son cant compete with children his own age.

Nah, self aware, they are not.

Ewwwe, someone taking this a bit personal! Probably a double holdback parent!!!! 😃

Reread all of this and realize how silly it is. Your son will grow, and he will survive. Use it as a teaching moment. Trust me, i have been through it. Keep him focused on things that he can control and let him know that his day will come...if it is supposed to, and if he continues to practice.

This is life, and surely you know by now that it isn't fair. US Lax is not going to fix this life lesson for you.

No, the definition of mediocrity is an unathletic one-sport kid holding back in school so he can play down in age. Congrats on him finally finding success in a sport.
Because he couldn't cut it in sports that require him to play on-age.

I've found that pretty much all the holdbacks in our elementary and middle school-aged club program are kids who simply aren't very good or athletic.
You always see a kid, and think- "he looks big for his age," only to realize upon further review he's just a big-framed, less athletic, gangly kid who was held back a year.
He will be able to play maybe a ytear longer than normal, if he was on age. But he will wash out too.
It's a common theme.

Then I worded my post perfectly.

He is a holdback apologist. 18 months becomes less and less as children age. A fifth grader looking at 6th graders is a whole different ballgame than a 10th grader looking at a 11th grader. Common sense.

That holdback argument is just as good as, it will make your son better going against holdbacks, while they play down a year.

My son is a "holdback" in lacrosse and plays center midfield on his travel soccer team, point guard in AAU, and shortstop for the town's little league all-star team when he was a full year younger than everyone. He plays on grade in lacrosse with his friends and dominates that too. Some kids are athletes. Others were born to non-athletes who complain on anonymous message boards. Maybe get your kid to start studying for the LSAT.

“Full year younger” = playing with kids in the grade he should be in..holdback daddy logic.

Sneaky holdback parents.
No one cares what he did in first grade.
Notice the past tense- he USED to play those other sports, but as the athletes got better, he whittled down to soccer and lacrosse, where he can still play up.
Let me guess, he's probably gonna "focus on lacrosse" in high school. Maybe give up soccer for...cross country?

holdbacks are sanctioned cheating. Period end of story. US Lacrosse is worthless, and openly hypocritical to boot.

Calendar year is the only way to change the sport. US Lacrosse will never endorse it because it takes away from their donors.

But why even have a forum or post on this. Do you all really care that much? You win some, you lose some, you can order tee shirts online. College coaches get kids based on graduation year not age. That said, a college coach also knows when a kid has reclassed and if that is why they are better. In this house, we play the team in front of us and if we win we win if we lose we learn but we never make excuses. Bring the challenge cause my on age kid has more upside than your holdback kid and that will play out but I couldn’t care less when your kid was born. Lets play the game and see where the cards fall.

It’s about unfair advantages the holdback has in the developing years. Those advantages get them more opportunities to advance in Lacrosse in youth and in college. Colleges don’t care, they recruit top players … period. They are looking at these kids when they are sophomores and juniors . The 2 years extra playing they had is a big advantage then. They do get rewarded for doing it! With Scholarships and spots on top college teams. Period!

The high school line of discussion (to me is always moot). Who cares around high school - reclass to your hearts content.

The issue is youth- where 8 months of development is a tremendous advantage.

The wait til high school crowd are either in denial or don’t understand how puberty works for children.

8 months is nothing at the 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th grade level. Get a grip. There are young offensive freshmen in the MIAA dealing with monster senior defenders.

Or maybe they’re just sick and tired of beating a dead horse.

Give me a number of young offensive freshman in the entire MIAA last year.

Keep defending the holdback scenario. Of course you want people to stop talking about it, as it’s no big deal once kids get to high school. So, all you holdback
Parents just admit the unfair advantages of the holdback situation, and say you think it should change at the youth level. I don’t think most hold backs stayed back due to academics. So stop defending the holdback scenario as no big deal!

My kid is a smaller to mid size on age 7th grader. I just don't get all the crying about this one. It all evens out when it matters, what does the unfair advantage translate in to? More playing time for a year or so, maybe?! Means nothing in the grand scheme.

look worry about your kid. Do what you think is best for your kid, if I hold back my kid for 2 years, thats my business, and my $$ for school, it has no impact on you. If you think that my kid is athletically benefitting for being older, then maybe, if it matters that much to you, you should hold your kid back.
in teh end, take care of your kid, do what YOU think is best for THEM, and stop whinning, because you made a decision knowing the factors that were and still are out there..

Do you explain to your kid that he is just slower academically then normal kids his age or just not as good at sports as the kids his age? How does that work? And when he loses to my kid, do you make other excuses or ask if he wants to hold back until he can be good enough?

Not a dad of a holdback kid. But Really? Putting down a parent decision to hold back a kid due to academic development? You think that’s an easy choice for a parent?

No! I think people not talking about parents doing it for academic reasons, I think questioning doing it for athletics? But, if it’s allowed and it helps. Can’t blame the parents. Blame the sport for allowing it in youth ages. As far as academics go, I don’t think anyone judging that?

I didn’t post it, but thought it was funny. If you hold your kid back just own it. Most of you don’t.

I held my kid back two years but "WE" got an offer from VMI and NJIT. My son could have gotten into both schools two years ago, but it was worth it!

Spoken like a true private school parent. You could care less what it is doing to youth sports or even youth lacrosse in general as long as you get yours. Thats right, If you do it, dont complain, just hold back our own sons to get the same advantage over other children that you get. Yep, thats the right attitude. Lacrosse to many is a fringe sport for the somewhat athletic private school 5-10 white guy. Not changing much with that attitude.

My son is not holdback genius, but he would certainly question why he was no longer in the same class as his friends at school and why he is repeating the same curriculum with lil guys. I know people like to avoid that part of the equation. But the conversation has to happen. So what do you tell them? Do you applaud there Academic success for being able to succeed at the same grade twice. Do you put the honor roll sticker next to the club lax sticker? Or is that part ignored for the Glory of the Lax Gods.

Here is your answer and I am sure you will have another snarky response, but what the heck.

For whatever reason, when they do reclass, it usually happens at the same time as switching to a private school with mostly a new set of friends, some of which are in the exact same reclass circumstance that their new and old friends may or may not know about or care about. So any embarrassment potentially incurred is not nearly what you make it seem.

I am sure the convo with the kid is a mix of physical and academic reasoning that is likely supported by some medical and educational specialists that add well reasoned cases to validate the decision. I am sure everyone is onboard and they then move on.

The reality of it all is that hopefully, and I’d bet most often, the reasons are well intended to help that kid develop into a healthy, confident, and one day independent young person. This despite what you may believe or how it may put your kid on an uneven “age” playing field.

And no, I don’t have a reclass or holdback kid. But certainly do believe that if someone does, they have a good reason aside from sport. So stop trashing them as I am sure they made the decision with heavy thought, eyes wide open, and all onboard.

holdback parents want it both ways.
They held back their kid for “academic issues.” But they are “not academically challenged.”

😂

Which is it?

All parents should want kids to play by birth year. There is NOTHING to lose for moving back to birth year.

THE GAME GETS SAFER AND MORE COMPETITIVE.

If the holdback kids are good enough, they will dominate against kids their own age. And they will be allowed to “play up” if they want to be challenged.

Age based just means no more potential 2 year age gaps allowed and safety concerns.

There is NO good reason to play grade based.

I know, it's so dangerous in the 6th grade.

It’s done for one reason and we all know what it is.

Sounds like many of you should go and play soccer if you're scared of little Johnny get hurt