@Dadbelly2023 posted:We "academically red-shirted" our 2023 summer birthday boy in 6th grade. He was so smart as 4-5 year old we felt like we had to put him in Kindergarten early. But he was always noticeably a little emotionally behind as the youngest kid in his class. After 6th grade, I had a career change and an epiphany to have him repeat the grade. (I would be lying if I didn't consider the sports implications) Every teacher and the principal told me I was being unreasonable... he's too smart, he'll be bored, he'll get in trouble, etc... We did it anyways. We home schooled him so he wouldn't feel weird. I went fishing and camping with him. Did overseas travel trips. And played lots of sports together. It was a great year.
He's definitely a more mature high school student because of it. Grades are super easy. He's disciplined enough to study for the SAT/ACT every day since mid freshmen year.
I think it will help him out with soccer and baseball. He's little so I can't imagine he would have had any shot if he were on the original timeline. Now I think he might have a shot at high level D3 baseball or soccer. IMO, it was a win to do this.
I started kindergarten a year early. While I was one of the top kids in my class I started falling behind emotionally and socially in 7th grade. What I posted below about sports bothered me. In 8th grade my grades started to decline. We moved. I repeated 8th grade got all A’s and was back on track.
Sports were never mentioned as a reason. But I went from being a competent athlete to a dominant athlete at school like I was in age related non school baseball and basketball. In 7th grade I was an 11yo competing in football against some 8th graders who were 13. Same thing in basketball. In sports where size mattered I was at a tremendous disadvantage.
My daughter (oldest) has a July birthday. When she was young I could see the difference between her and girls who were ten, eleven months older. But girls physically mature by 8th, 9th grade. Recruiting isn’t effected. My son with his May birthday was the dominant kid from the time he stepped on any field/court. He fell back in 7th and 8th grade in terms of size, strength and power before growing. But the skills were visible.
My son was 5’ at twelve and 5’2” and 5’4” the following two years. When we saw a tall, non athletic person he would mutter, “What a waste of height.”