High School Eligibility Waiver

Are you talking about delaying HS graduation due to a sports injury?

Please tell me this is a joke,,,,,

While every state has their own rules for eligibility I would venture to guess that it would be a no in every state.  In NC you have 8 semesters or cannot turn 19 before Aug 1st before running out of eligibility.

As others are saying - delaying high school graduation over a baseball injury is not a good idea...

With that said. If you are talking about a situation where a student does a "post graduate" type year in HS because they are not prepared for college then you would have to look at the individual state rules. Some start a 4 year clock when you enter 9th grade, without exception. 

Not joking.  He is very young - May birthday....  Other larger HS are offering a lot of pre college "Academies" in the area of Engineering and Health Card.  I would think getting a better start on knowing what you want to get into in college is much smarter than going 6 years in college.  So we chose not to hold him back in the 6th or 8th grade - as many do.  I would like to give him 5 years of HS.  Would be a lot cheaper than extra years in college.

Please read cf4msu's other posts.  

His son is a sophomore pitcher with promise who will undergo surgery that will cost him his sophomore and junior seasons.  He's exploring all possibilities in the very early stages of a long process.  Just asking questions does not mean his priorities are off.  Especially if his son is young for his class, which we do not know.*

cf4msu, 

Generally, it is very hard to re-classify to a younger high school class after a student has already begun high school.  

Most states expect students to finish high school in four years.  If it takes longer to graduate, they can't play interscholastic sports in their fifth year of school.  Injuries are not part of the equation. However, consult the handbook for your state's high school athletic association.  He would not be able to do it where I live, but your state may be different, and private schools may be different.  It may be possible to do a year of home school, then re-enter.  

*Late addition:  Now we do know. He is young.

Also - in case you didn't know.  If you have TJ surgery you will be out at least a year - maybe 2 depending on when the injury occurs.  I believe a balanced life inHS is very important.

I have seen post secondary "prep" schools" but it seems they are somewhat remedial.  There are so many good HS offerings today that get your kids ready for college.  I sure wish I could turn back the clock for the academic reason - and turn back the clock on not knowing when to say no to coaches.  My son has trusted me on all fronts and I seem to have let him down in all.  I didn't let him throw a curve until he was 13 1/2, and said something to his travel coaches in the middle of games 3X last year....

Maybe I am off, but I never really thought of a May birthday as being young.  Younger, but not like the July and August birthdays.  Heck, my 16 year old daughter has a June birthday and she is more mature than my wife and I.

Maybe instead of looking at Prep schools, JUCO could be an option for two years whilehe gets exposure, and can work on his academics and figure out what he wants to do.  My son has a roomie at his JUCO who was getting some looks from Big 12 schools, then had Tommy John.  They all backed off, so now he is doing the JUCO thing to get back on their radar.

cf:  While only you can feel your pain, I can only imagine how you and your son are feeling right now.  I am confused however, are you wanting an additional 5th year for baseball eligibility, or just the overall HS experience?  I am not sure of any "red shirt" status offered for high school athletes who experience injury.  I am very aware of the time frame of TJ rehab, especially as it relates to pitchers.  I had TJ, and while it is a "gift" to many baseball players, it does come with quite a bit of time off.

My son is a 2017 pitcher, and my wife and I contemplated holding him back prior to the start of HS...he is a very young Freshman as well, will not turn 15 until his Freshman year is almost over, so I can somewhat relate to you. 

While hindsight is 20/20, you can't go back and re-write what has already happened.  There has been quite a lot of dialogue on here with regards to parents taking an active role in managing pitch count, throwing in cold temps, over-use, etc., but the reality is even if you would have intervened, there is no guarantee that would have prevented the injury. 

Good luck to you!

cf - you have a dialog.

May I ask what good you find holding him back a grade in HS? Does he understand and have mastery of all concepts presented? Also, what do you mean by holding back in 6th and 8th grades as many do? Who does this and what are they trying to gain? This almost sounds like it has nothing to do with the academics and more to do with athletics. Trying to gain a year of physical maturation in order to get a leg up on competition. As a parent and coach, may I say DO NOT DO THIS! I would rather have my kids start college at age 17, assuming they mastered the HS content, than worry about holding back/sports/entering college at age 19/20 yrs old. 

*Add- Hopefully adding a little more perspective… Remember, according to the NCAA, only 1 percent of college athletes will go on to play professionally.

coach3:  while I am sure some hold back strictly for sports, most parents with a child that is in that "bubble" range, hold back for maturity reasons.  I was held back, and graduated at 18, my brother was not and graduated at 17.  I went to college, brother did not...correlation, maybe or maybe not.  While we contemplated holding our 2017 back, we did not, so far no problems with the rigors of HS, but we did contemplate it.

Sounds like the OP's son is even younger, so it was a valid thought on their part.  While most may be able to manage being on average a full year younger than their grade level peers, some may not.  I don't think a blanket statement to not hold back when appropriate fits all.

Depends on each individual circumstance. With that same mind set, why are parents so quick to use a blanket statement about their kids going to college? College is not for everyone. Look at your brother's situation for example. We, as a society, put a lot of emphasis on situations that may not create the best over all outcome.

With your son already being in high school I would guess it's highly unlikely that he will get that 5th year for athletics.  I'm not real sure you'll even find a principal who will sign off on him coming back or if even goes along with district policy.  Once you enter high school you will find that there will (probably) be a lot of hurdles to overcome if it's at all possible.

Now if it's just for athletics you're wanting a 5th year I'm not sure that is the wisest decision.

If it's truly for academics and / or maturation reasons then go talk with the counselors / principal at the school and discuss if it is possible.

Another route are post graduate schools and while your impression is that they are remedial you should be able to find several who can provide what you need.  

Another route is a local college / JUCO that has baseball which will let him try for a walk on if he doesn't get healthy by end of senior year.  While he won't get baseball money (not that he would have gotten much anyway) if he can stay home and play it will help ease some of the financial burden.

Good luck

The best solution for getting back a year is probably a private school that is not part of the state high school association. If your son is a soph this year chances are they will have him repeat his soph year when entering. This is due to private schools often being more academically rigorous than public schools.

But do you really want to do this for a sport? Another solution is play out the situation as is. If he needs another year to showcase have him attend a post grad school for a year after high school. Or showcase in the fall and start college in January.

Sports were never considered when we had kids. My kids have July and May birthdays.

My guess is you don't want JUCO because it will use up his college eligiblility.  It's been awhile, but my cousin missed almost an entire year of HS due to illness and didn't receive credit.  When she returned, she had to be a sophomore again and graduated with the new class. 

Not sure it's what I would do with my child, but it might work for you.

The idea of going JuCo is to play and develop, not kill time.

IMO, no way your kid will want to stay an extra year of high school.  By the time 2nd semester of Sr. year rolls around most 18 YO "kids" want nothing to do with school (ok baseball, but not for classes).  All of his friends will be making plans for that last kick a$$ summer and going away in the fall.  Will he really want to do summer reading for his second "Sr. year?"  If serious baseball is in his future, then a stop at JC would probably be in the cards.  Of course, your first order of business is to get him back on the field.  Then see what happens.  Good luck. 

Maybe I misunderstood.  I didn't mean JUCO was for killing time, I meant that by playing there he would use up college eligibility.  I thought the idea was to get the extra time to develope while still in HS, leaving all his college time still available.

Please do not confuse JUCO as the red headed step child of college ball. It is great for specific reasons. One may be to develop skills a little more. One may be to transition academically. One may be to work through/past injuries. It may be a great stepping stone for some players. He could even play one year JUCO then transfer in summer. What if he goes straight to a 4 year school and they red shirt him his freshman year? Would you prefer that or getting plenty of playing time at a JUCO then transferring and ready to play 3 years at a 4-year school starting his sophomore season?