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

Lots are heldback. I would think as a percentage, holdbacks in College lacrosse are way above average for on age players players if you take all lacrosse players as a whole.

It does work. No question about it. Makes good to very good players on age instant above average players, Cant say it doesnt. If I want my kid to play D1, I am holding him back regardless of grades

And, plenty have done it and will do it for lacrosse! The earlier the better. They won’t admit it though!! I know of many who have! Its almost like you have to nowadays for D1 Colleges.

My son just signed his NLI to play at a top D1 school and top 1 or 2 conference. On age and under sized. Always undersized but always had the advantage when playing against bigger old opponents. I never minded the holdbacks at any age it always made my kid better.

With Covid, you are going to see an uptick of holding back across the board. You can’t just replace 2 years of schooling, that for some, was almost exclusively online.

And if you hold back for sports, who cares? The reality of athletics is stronger more mature bodies perform better, and coaches want players with college ready bodies. There are so many kids to pick from playing lacrosse now that they don’t have to take an on age skinny kid when they can take a year older kid who is more developed physically, faster and stronger with the same skill set. It’s a no brainer for college coaches. They want that college ready player and one easy way to get it is to hold back and give your body time to develop.

I think at this point in high school, after the top 15-20 players, there isn’t much separating players who have played on top teams at top tourneys/showcases. It’s more about what you bring physically to the table and how athletic you are and hopefully along the way you maintained a good GPA. When you get to 10th grade club lacrosse, nobody cares who wins these tourneys, it’s all about showing well individually in front of coaches and playing competitive lacrosse.

Whoa that made sense........

Mike. Let it go.

Tell me your son wasn’t smart enough to be in his *actual* grade and good enough to play on age without telling me.

But what about all the T-shirts we won and the piney blacket we had made?

☝🏻

^^^ This

If the holdback route does not work for your son, there is always the women's swim team at Penn.

Yeah, I hear your son’s hormone therapy got him a place on the girl’s squad …congratulations ’holdback’ dad.

The IMLCA had a recruiting tournament this weekend. The better 2023 teams were loaded with holdbacks. Kids looked older than most college kids. Crazy

The 2023 Crabs team were a bunch of monsters. Clearly bigger stronger and faster (older) than the rest of the field

You should see the coloring books they gave the winners as prizes! Lots of big open spaces so they don't color outside the lines.

Only going to get worse!!

They were the one team besides another ( Forgot name ) that were just like...what are these college Freshman doing here type players. LOL.. Like I said, so clear that these boys were older than other boys by appearance.

Since this topic has permeated all regions, I thought it prudent to establish a scale for debate. All birthdays are for the 2028 age group.

Playing up - current 5th grader
On age - 2010 birthday, 6th grade
Older on age - born after 9/1/09, old WSYL cutoff and NY
Level 1 - summer birthday: July-aug 2009, always a 28. Likely did a pre first or started school later
Level 2 - reclass/repeat: July-aug 2009 that recently started playing with 28s after being a 27. Normally happens with a school change. Reclasses are young 7th graders and play on 28 teams who will be held back in an upcoming year (this is shady). repeats are now in 6th grade.
Level 3: older repeat: Jan-jun 2009. Repeated a grade somewhere along the way with some doing a pre first or 2 kindergartens.
Level 4: egregious holdback sep-dec 2008: should be a 27 and on the older side for that group, gaming the system
Level 5: double holdback: aug 08 and before, no business playing 28, gaming the system

From conversations and observations across the country. The vast majority of teams outside of New York are mostly on age and level 1. NY considers anything past 9/1 as a holdback but Level 1 kids and parents only know this age group. Both groups have a point with NY teams playing kids a few months older that would be a grade up at home and level 1 parents see itching wrong since they are within the grade rules. As the talent level improves, more Level 2 enter and a few Level 3 and things get sideways since it comes off as patently unfair as the age gap increases (although still within the rules). Level 4 does exist at this group but is fairly rare and obvious for teams from Mid Atlantic and New England. Level 5 occurs later in 8th or 9th grade as parents pull out all the stops before high school.
My suggestion would be to go age based and make the cutoff may 1. This would give families options and a level field for geographic nuances for grade based play. Calendar year is also an option but that tends to split grades since many 6th graders are late 09 and 5th graders are late 10.

Happy debating and let’s keep it on this board versus spread out across all of BOTC

On age dad here.

That list above has problems in that it presumes all kids born before summer 2009 repeated a grade. In 6th grade most just did pre first who fit this bill. Prefirst isn’t repeating a grade.

I know of zero double holdbacks at 2028 and maybe two kids who are 13 right now because they are fall 2008 prefirst kids.

The reclass wave hasn’t really started yet for 2028s and it will be generally done by on age kids in 8th grade.

There is a difference in being a holdback (repeating a grade) and not being on age. Effectively they are the same thing in that kids are older than most others but the nuance is lost on most here.

I hope all of the 2027 hold backs enjoy their cars that Santa brings them for Christmas!!!

Gotta love the Madlax crew

When this Crabs team lost a few this summer not a mention of this. Now they stomp the competition and it goes back to the they must be older talk. Jealousy is an ugly emotion.

The MIAA like to get kids in in 7th or 8th grade.

Nothing ugly. It is a true statement that Crabs are older than most teams?? Now what is said about it might be ugly, but MIAA players and Crabs in general are loaded with holdbacks. Head of org promotes holding back at most speeches he gives .

Watched them get a beat down at the inside Lacrosse event Sept 1 By 91 LI

Good. There shouldn’t be 13yr olds with 11yr olds. My kid is still 11 playing on 2028. Had no clue about this hold back stuff when we were deciding if we should send to K or wait. Smh.

Thats on you, if you have the choice always send later. Proven that older kids in the class will be ahead and therefore pick up more developmental opportunities. So if youre just getting around to figuring out how to best position your kid because of Lacrosse you have bigger issues.

Do holdbacks as a category exist in the real world? Is it a concept High School or College coaches care about? Or does it only exist in forums and the minds of LARPing dads?

Back in the day we simply had a different name for kids that played against younger competition and a better one for dad's who championed it. Now it's called holdbacks

Remember when the good kids got pulled up? That was real sign of talent.

Nope, college coaches don't care. Read any article on any sport regarding the transfer portal, grad students and the extra year of eligibility.

Thats on you, if you have the choice always send later. Proven that older kids in the class will be ahead and therefore pick up more developmental opportunities. So if youre just getting around to figuring out how to best position your kid because of Lacrosse you have bigger issues.
This obviously does not come from an educator. There are countless studies that holding your child back when they are developmentally ready to start school is actually detrimental to their academic development.

High school coaches don’t care either.

Frankly they prefer it it in MIAA to compete. Sorta sad, but that is the way it is now. I dont know why we cant hold back two years? or is that stretching it?

CH recently tried that and the league ruled the player ineligibility for 2022.

They prefer the High School holdback and then a redshirt before they actually have to put the player on field. Perfect example is the former BL Lefty attackman for MD. Guy was holdback then Redshirt and now has a extra year due to covid. Will be 25 his last season at MD. Gotta Love it !!

False. He turned 23 in July 2021 based on Syracuse web site.

Nope, could care less! Just want the bigger , stronger, faster kids! If an extra year or two helps kid become that…. Also extra year of playing developing skills. Even better!

Fair point, I can name one double holdback in MD at the middle school and that is a unique circumstance -- a refuge kid from western africa who arrived in 4th or 5th grade and came here not speaking a word of english. Def the most physical player on his travel team but far from the most talented

13 year olds should not be in 6th grade