Son’s travel team had their summer team tryout/showcase today. There were a TON of 2022 kids trying out for the 2023 team. The coaches had each class in a different color shirt. The re-class kids had there own color because there were so many. The good news I guess is the team will have a couple really good MIF additions and some depth at P.
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What state are you in? How are juniors reclassifying as sophomores--most states only allow 4 years of eligibility once you start HS. I see a fair amount of 8th graders reclass and repeat 8th grade, but not HS.
For years, we saw kids reclass in the 8th grade. Now, we are seeing it more in HS. Kids are either willing to punt playing their last year of HS or they move to another state or go to a private school for senior year where they let them play for that 5th year.
I have officially lost track on how many good 22s we have seen reclass to 23s. Some of them were even old for their grade as 22s. Everyone knows who they are and what they are doing. The coaches and recruiters don't seem to care. In fact, they they seem to prefer it.
@langra posted:What state are you in? How are juniors reclassifying as sophomores--most states only allow 4 years of eligibility once you start HS. I see a fair amount of 8th graders reclass and repeat 8th grade, but not HS.
Same state as I am in. The players that I know of, 2020s, reclassify and attend academies that are cropping up all over, but not so early. Many have already solid commitments.
@langra posted:What state are you in? How are juniors reclassifying as sophomores--most states only allow 4 years of eligibility once you start HS. I see a fair amount of 8th graders reclass and repeat 8th grade, but not HS.
All it takes to get around four years of eligibility is attend a private that’s not part of the state athletic association. Many privates are members of their own athletic association.
The parents look you in the face and tell you it’s for academic reasons. The truth is Helicopter Dad is holding him back so he can dominate in HS. The coaches and HS admin let it happen.
@TPM posted:Same state as I am in. The players that I know of, 2020s, reclassify and attend academies that are cropping up all over, but not so early. Many have already solid commitments.
I understand reclassifying after graduation to do post grad. But that isn't what is being described.
@RJM posted:All it takes to get around four years of eligibility is attend a private that’s not part of the state athletic association. Many privates are members of their own athletic association.
That's why I asked about the state. You can't do that in Texas even though there are separate athletic associations.
California starts the 4 year clock when you enroll in HS. If you want to reclass you have to repeat 8th grade or earlier, which lots of athletes do.
@Smitty28 posted:California starts the 4 year clock when you enroll in HS. If you want to reclass you have to repeat 8th grade or earlier, which lots of athletes do.
Same in Texas. And Perfect Game etc age rules are by grad year, right? I don't think you can decide as a sophomore or junior that you are going to eventually do post grad and reclass now for summer teams.
I dont know specifics but I am sure one can reclassify in HS, without repeating as long as the student meets NCAA D1 requirements in core classes to be met in the 4 years he would have graduated. Does that make sense?
Maybe this is on a state to state basis, and why in FL it's becoming common.
@Francis7 posted:I have officially lost track on how many good 22s we have seen reclass to 23s. Some of them were even old for their grade as 22s. Everyone knows who they are and what they are doing. The coaches and recruiters don't seem to care. In fact, they they seem to prefer it.
This has always stumped me. WHY don't they care? Can someone explain this to me other than if they can play they can play because there are kids that play just well above average against their own age and WAY better when playing down and get very good offers in 9th grade. Not sour grapes this doesn't affect my kid.
@Smitty28 posted:California starts the 4 year clock when you enroll in HS. If you want to reclass you have to repeat 8th grade or earlier, which lots of athletes do.
Same in our state. Half of the athletes in my kids' Sophomore class reclassed by taking an extra year in the adjoining Private Catholic Middle School (some of the classes were in the High School) after 8th grade and no on seems to care (HS coaches, ranking services, parents). Many of them are not elite and it won't matter except to their helicopter parents. For a handful, they will have a significant advantage academically, athletically in school and for recruiting purposes, and even in the draft. Try explaining this to your kid some day..
@Fred Flintstone posted:The parents look you in the face and tell you it’s for academic reasons. The truth is Helicopter Dad is holding him back so he can dominate in HS. The coaches and HS admin let it happen.
Or worse yet, just compete or make the varsity team. IMO, it's pathetic.
In GA, clock starts as soon as you begin 9th grade. 8 semesters of eligibility.
PG’s #1 ‘23 C in GA reclassified between 7th & 8th grade. Also attending IMG now, which makes it irrelevant most likely.
#4 ‘23 C in GA was a ‘22 until summer, is now a ‘23. Not sure how that’s going to work for him, as he’s in a public school. But not my problem.
I would imagine that the easiest thing to do here in GA (if you reclassified after entering HS) would be to home school the 5th year and play with an academy team (plenty here).
Not something our son will be doing, so we’re just gonna eat popcorn and watch the show...
@TPM posted:I dont know specifics but I am sure one can reclassify in HS, without repeating as long as the student meets NCAA D1 requirements in core classes to be met in the 4 years he would have graduated. Does that make sense?
Maybe this is on a state to state basis, and why in FL it's becoming common.
Yes this makes sense in that the NCAA doesn't care, but in CA and other states they limit HS sports eligibility to 4 years, so if you reclass as a sophomore (for example), you can change your graduation date but you'll have to sit out sports your senior (5th) year.
@KennieProton posted:This has always stumped me. WHY don't they care? Can someone explain this to me other than if they can play they can play because there are kids that play just well above average against their own age and WAY better when playing down and get very good offers in 9th grade. Not sour grapes this doesn't affect my kid.
Why don't they care? Because it makes their job much easier. A bigger freshman or sophomore who is already 6' 180lb and throwing close to 90 is a much lower risk than a 14 year old they have to project and hope grows into a college player.
Pro scouts care because they love the 17 year old senior.
@Senna posted:In GA, clock starts as soon as you begin 9th grade. 8 semesters of eligibility.
PG’s #1 ‘23 C in GA reclassified between 7th & 8th grade. Also attending IMG now, which makes it irrelevant most likely.
#4 ‘23 C in GA was a ‘22 until summer, is now a ‘23. Not sure how that’s going to work for him, as he’s in a public school. But not my problem.
I would imagine that the easiest thing to do here in GA (if you reclassified after entering HS) would be to home school the 5th year and play with an academy team (plenty here).
Not something our son will be doing, so we’re just gonna eat popcorn and watch the show...
This just sounds like declaring a post grad year early as an excuse to play down. Surely the rule at PG, PBR etc is that you can't just make up your graduation year. It has to be the year you actually graduate high school.
@Smitty28 posted:Yes this makes sense in that the NCAA doesn't care, but in CA and other states they limit HS sports eligibility to 4 years, so if you reclass as a sophomore (for example), you can change your graduation date but you'll have to sit out sports your senior (5th) year.
I guess that's where attending an academy comes into play. Yes you can change your grad date, done all of your required NCAA classes and attend an academy to work out everyday and play games, take some extra classes, etc.
I think that I saw that Rick posted about this once.
I actually overheard an ACC and Big 10 coach talking about it. In their opinion, reclassing can help in the short term but in the long term it is one more year of wear and tear on a body. Especially for pitchers. They were not fans. I know that this year is an outlier but, in general, reclassing is not the slam dunk some parents think it is.
@PTWood posted:I actually overheard an ACC and Big 10 coach talking about it. In their opinion, reclassing can help in the short term but in the long term it is one more year of wear and tear on a body. Especially for pitchers. They were not fans. I know that this year is an outlier but, in general, reclassing is not the slam dunk some parents think it is.
I tend to agree with you, unless the reason was due to injury. I also agree that this year and next perhaps are exceptions.
@langra posted:What state are you in? How are juniors reclassifying as sophomores--most states only allow 4 years of eligibility once you start HS. I see a fair amount of 8th graders reclass and repeat 8th grade, but not HS.
I’m in FL. PG absolutely let’s kids in HS re-class in HS. By re-classing now I guess they begin to compete against their new recruiting competition. As TPM mentioned, once they exhaust their HS eligibility they play for an “academy” and don’t have to adhere to FHSAA rules because they aren’t playing sanctioned events. Look at IMG for example. They still play top HS teams and other academies. Some of the academies actually get to play year round.
The crazy thing to me is none of these kids were studs and weren’t any better than the top 2023 kids. Some were a little more filled out, but overall play wasn’t better.
Just for conversation, is this really any different than kids born in May/June/July playing against kids born in Feb/March/April??? I bring this up because for a lot of kids they have already grown up accustomed to competing against a whole grade older ???
@ReluctantO'sFan posted:Just for conversation, is this really any different than kids born in May/June/July playing against kids born in Feb/March/April??? I bring this up because for a lot of kids they have already grown up accustomed to competing against a whole grade older ???
To an extent, yes. My son (2022) is a late April birthday. The entire time in LL, he played with and against 2021s who were born in May and June. Same baseball age. But one year younger/older.
Actually, it was more because he was 10u playing LL 12U majors. So, sometimes the kids were 3 years older.
Personally, it served him well. He played HS varsity as a freshman and playing with and against older kids was nothing new.
@ReluctantO'sFan posted:Just for conversation, is this really any different than kids born in May/June/July playing against kids born in Feb/March/April??? I bring this up because for a lot of kids they have already grown up accustomed to competing against a whole grade older ???
I don’t really care about the ages for the kids playing. As Francis mentioned, they’ve been playing against these kids for years. In FL they won’t be allowed to compete beyond their 4 years for FHSAA events.
I’m curious how the schools will handle it. My son’s prep school is not allowing current students to re-class. The starting SS transferred over the summer so he could go from 2022 to 2023. Worked out well for my son’s team as they picked up a stud 2022 SS from a state not playing sports in the spring. Huge upgrade
I was waiting for the LL Bday cutoff, I thought it would have been mentioned earlier. My kid benefited in LL for having a November Bday but it hurt him for USA baseball tryouts...the universe balances itself. For s&g's my kid looked at 2024 grads and found some players his age, yikes
One thing I've noticed is several of the larger or more successful travel programs in FL were advertising tryouts mostly by age and then some by age or grad year and very few by grad year. Could have just been a coincidence, but I wonder if more tournaments will shift over to age-based tournaments.
Terrible, that’s what AAU basketball ended uP having to do.
@ReluctantO'sFan posted:Just for conversation, is this really any different than kids born in May/June/July playing against kids born in Feb/March/April??? I bring this up because for a lot of kids they have already grown up accustomed to competing against a whole grade older ???
Nah Only in that its a huge disadvantage in recruiting 
@PTWood posted:Terrible, that’s what AAU basketball ended uP having to do.
I used to think it was odd that the hoops kids were always playing down while baseball kids were always trying to play up
a kid my son knows started in kindergarten at the same time (went to kindergarten with one of my son's friends) (2023). Somewhere along the line he was listed as a 2024 (that's fine, he's young for the 2023 grade). then he went away for a year of intermediate school and was listed as a 2025. played PG as a 2025 this year. now, i'm hearing that he's enrolled at a local private school as a freshman (2024).
@TPM posted:I tend to agree with you, unless the reason was due to injury. I also agree that this year and next perhaps are exceptions.
I think that birthdate plays a huge role in it. For us it was easy, having a May birthday mattered. So the choice was keep him where he is and be slightly less developed or repeat 8th and then enter high school after he’s turned 15 and now on the more developed side. It flat out mattered in his case even though his skill set was very solid. In the end size drove a lot of the interest.Anyone that tells you other wise is kidding themselves.
The only thing I would add was that he was 100% bought in on the idea because he had a goal. Without his buy in I don’t think we would have done it which would have been bad but he needed to be invested in the path. I look at kids who didn’t with similar birthdays and they had absolutely no shot. The problem is when you put your kid into Kindergarten you aren’t necessarily thinking about it this way, you really can’t. My wife is a teacher and I was a coach and the only decision was if he was socially and emotionally ready for school at that point which is why we put him in. It took a lot of explaining to my wife 9 years later when I ,along with others ,explained what was in his best interest to do in repeating a grade. In our state we have to go to a catholic school for the repeat year and then into HS.
Each case is different that I understand but as a rule I tell parents your kid shouldn’t be in Hs unless he’s already turned 15 if you want to give him the best opportunity for success, and that’s really irregardless of skill level. In the end what’s the rush?
Ah, I know this dilemma all too well. My 2021 has a June 5th birthday. Preschool teachers said "if you bring him back for another year of preschool, he'll be bored and won't be challenged at all." So we trusted in that and moved him on to kindergarten. He struggled some in English in elementary school and his mom regretted the decision because of it. He got up to speed by the time he got to middle school.
He's an awfully good ball player, but he's undersized at 5'9" 165ish. Not sure how much more he'll grow (likely very little), but it almost certainly would have been better for him to graduate in 2022 versus 2021. He has all D1 measurables despite his size and had some legit D1 interest, but no D1 offers ever came, so he's going the JUCO route. I wouldn't say we have any regrets because he's in a really good spot, but there is little doubt in my mind that his chances of going straight to D1 from high school could have been improved if he were a 2022 grad and had the extra year to grow and develop. He's making the most of what he was handed. Smaller guys always have to outwork and outperform the larger guys to be successful. Welcome to normal life.
Dan Exactly the same scenario, in fact very very similar in size and stats and D1 interest. I’m convinced had mine stayed a 20 he would not be anywhere near where he is now (D2 /great situation) glad to here you figured a path out.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:I used to think it was odd that the hoops kids were always playing down while baseball kids were always trying to play up
The ultimate are Hockey players. My son is a young Freshman in college, turned 18 in September. He made friends with a Hockey Freshman who turns 21 in May. Kid was old for grade, took a PG year, played a year before college and as a result buys the beer.
Why don’t you all become Mormon, send the kids on two year missions? Plus you get an additional year to boot.
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 find some of the post here about summer birthday kids and the kindergarten decision very interesting. My 2025 is an August birthday and we went through the same thoughts as many of you. He was very smart, emotionally ready for kindergarten, etc...etc. We sought feedback from anyone we could think to ask. Not just his preschool teachers but elementary schools teachers, middle school and highschool teachers and principals. The overwhelming majority said wait. They often said they never met a parent who regretted holding them back a year but saw many over the years who regretted sending them early. They pointed out the struggles of being late in every milestone, not the least of which was puberty.
So we waited, rather than enter kindergarten at barely 5 years old he entered at barely 6. No regrets....and so he is 2025, and not 2024.
