Young 12 year old prospect

I've coached kids like this where they are young for their age. I think I've seen just as many mature kids as I've seen immature kids due to this. I can't say holding him back will be the best solution because if you raise him right and he listens then emotionally he will be fine.

Physically he may not mature like the rest of those in his class. This is a valid reason to hold him back along with the emotional maturity issues. It puts him on a level playing field due to strength.

I can't give you advice one way or the other because it's truly a case by case situation. If you were going to hold him back to be older for his class then I would advise against it but since he's young for his class then I can see some benefits in it.

This has been discussed on this board some. I know in my area in the public school system, they will not "hold you back" just for sports...you need to be failing. Therefore, your child would need to enroll in private school for a year to repeat a grade. If you are already in private school, they may allow you to regrade your child. Some families have a child repeat Kindergarden or an additional year of preschool, but most of those families are not thinking about playing time 10 years down the road and it is more to ready their child for elementary school. Another option is "the 13th year" of high school at some (military, other) academy, to allow for another year of physical maturity. A friend of mine's son did that for basketball and got picked up by the Naval Academy!

I know of many school systems that do this for football.

Yes, it's been done.

Ask your son how he feels about it.

(you don't want to ask me. )

yotes - Welcome to the hsbaseballweb!

My older baseball-playing son entered college at age 17 (Fall birthday). I would say the single biggest issue going back to 5th/6th/7th grade was that socially he gravitated towards the kids a grade lower. Academically and athletically he was fine, but social maturity was probably a little behind.

IMO...looking back...the time to have adjusted this was in 4th/5th grade. I would not have done it for athletic reasons. Academic? Yes. Social? Yes. Athletic? No...not even if I thought that was the only way for him to succeed athletically.

On the other hand, he had a college teammate (at Stanford) who was held back in 6th/7th grade (going off memory here) and that teammate did great in every aspect...made it to the big leagues within about a year of being drafted (after only 2 years of college ball).

Each kid is different. There is no way for any of us to properly guide your situation. If you're really seriously considering it, I would talk to some teachers and try and figure out the social and academic ramifications.

While I won't get into the reasoning to hold a kid back for sports because it's dumb, suppose you hold a player back and someone from a younger grade who plays the same position is stronger than the crop of kids from the older grade? The kids who play HS ball is so much different than the group of kids who are playing at 12. Being that varsity teams are potentially picked from four grades, where's the guarentee that you're gonna have that growth spurt or the kids from the lower grades aren't better? It seems like an awfully big price to pay to squeeze an extra year in elementary or secondary school just to play varsity baseball.

You asked a specific question of how common is it to hold a kid back for sports. All I can give is my experience.

My son has a summer birthday. We had him repeat kindergarten so that he would be one of the older kids in his grade, not the youngest. He was not particularly mature, and it just seemed like a good idea to give him the extra year to develop in every way. We lived in Houston at the time, and it was not uncommon for parents to do this - my son had several friends in the same position. My son is 16 and he has thanked me for it at least a half dozen times for doing this - he likes being old for his grade. That being said, if we hadn't held him back when we did, I don't believe we would have held him back just for sports. In my mind that ship sailed once he started first grade. JMHO.

I don't know of any kids held back once they had progressed in school. So I would say it is uncommon, absent scholastic difficulties.

Just my $.02 from our experience...my son is a 2012 with a summer birthday (July 7th)...he's ALWAYS been the youngest...and over the years we debated as to whether we SHOULD have held him back, as many of the players in his same grade were almost a year older...however, he was always able to compete and even excel. As the recruiting process excelled for us last fall and this winter...what we thought was a disadvantage ACTUALLY turned into an advantage...coaches would look at him, watch him throwing 89-90 and not even shaving yet...and say, "you're only 16? you're just a junior?" I think what it did was actually show his upside...

SO...if the kid has game, I don't think it matters a hill of beans whether he's held back or not...coahces want players that can compete, and GET BETTER. He's now committed as a 2012 to Clemson University.

This issue is so emotional for many responders but IMO there are numerous maturity/educational benefits, resulting for boys, that far outnumber the negatives cited.

Continue to gather information and make the best informed decision for your son. Best of Luck.

I don't get the point of holding him back for baseball ?? He can play with younger kids in the summer.
If its to grow and be stronger to get drafted after his senior yr ? He could always go to a junior college for 1 yr.
There are reasons to leave kids behind, I don't think sports is one of them. JMO

scdigger - Glad you responded with your experience. I have been thinking about posting as the OP did with the same question. Our boy is July 10 and I am pretty sure he will wind up graduating at age 17. (Momma will win this battle as I would do otherwise, but don't think it is worth fighting. He is home schooled now and will begin school at grade 5.) I had expected that colleges might look at boys like this as they did your son so your post is encouraging. This will probably have a bigger impact on our boy in HS football than in baseball but looks like baseball will be his sport of choice.

Per the OP, it is common here in Nashville to hold kids back for athletics, especially football. Probably same as in Texas.

Really interesting topic. I have had several parents of now Juniors or Seniors that have talked about their regrets in not holding their sons back when they first had the opportunity to do so. I somehow get the impression that by the time they reach 4th, 5th, 6th grade, that unless they are having some issues that would "justify" being held back, that you run the risk of opening some unknown can of worms. It is what it is. JMO

Having a Sept 30th birthday, I was, by definition, the youngest kid in my classes in Virginia growing up because if I was born Oct 1st I'd have been the oldest kid in my class. Having two LH brothers well over 6'0 in HS--one older, one younger--when I was 5'8 or so did not help. But I turned out okay (I think or at least hope).

I'd say in general that the window to do this sort of thing long-since passed and you should go with the cards your son has been dealt. I'm sure he'll make the best of it.

When the OP says his son is "very smart," I think about my son, who has a late July birthday and is the youngest in his 2011 class. I remember a meeting with his second grade teacher. We were concerned because he would cry the whole time when he had to do his reading homework because they had already read the story in class. She was a wonderful teacher. Ms. Crawford. Smiling the entire time, she told us that he and his buddy cut up all day long, but when she was trying to teach, and would ask 2B "what did I just say," he would repeat it verbatim. She separated him from his buddy and let him read Goosebumps books when he was done with his assignments, and everything was fine. And she said it was fine if he read "SI for Kids" at home instead of the textbook.

For him, I think it would have hurt him to hold him back - he may have been bored, gotten in more serious trouble, and taken an entirely different path. One never knows, but 2B is exactly where he needs to be, and I have no regrets.

I'll offer another story on the topic. I was a 17yr old HS Sr; offered a scholarship from a mid-major D1 school and drafted after my Sr. yr of college (21st Rd; released after 1 yr). Many (25) of my friends held back in 8th grade for athletic purposes. I was pressured to do so by coaches, but declined (of 11 Sr's on my HS baseball team, I was the only one who didn't turn 19 before/during the season). My college coach mentioned, during my recruitment, that one thing he liked was my projectability as a RHP (6'4 205, low/mid 80's)due to my age (I guess he was right; after 2 yrs, my velo had jumped about 6-8 mph).

Had I held back, and been older and more mature, physically and mentally, I may or may not have recieved a better offer from a more prestigious school. After starting the regional final game my Fr. year, I thought, "I am having success facing top D1 hitters; how easy would facing HS lineups have been this year!"
I do know this: being immersed in the "baseball is life" mindset of college baseball, having year round instruction from a knowledgable staff, not juggling football in the fall, and having access to premier facilities and coaching helped me get better faster than had I stayed in MS another year. By holding a kid back who has athletic promise, a parent delayes his exposure to all the great things that college athletics provides.

In the end, I don't think either decision is right/wrong/better/worse when based on all the information available at the time of the decision. Not until the kid is 21-22, will you have an idea of whether or not your decision maximized your son's opportunities.

Side note: I've got two boys under 2yrs old. My wife (also a former college athlete) and I have already danced around this topic more than once, and I don't know if either of the boys has a speck of athletic ability. Best of luck to any parent in making a decision that is right for his/her child.

This is probably just me being a little cranky wanting the weekend to start in the Bay Area, but what is a "12 year old prospect?"
Is that different than a 12 year old or a 12 year old playing baseball?
Who makes a 12 year old a "prospect" and for what are they a prospect, high school?
I think the question asked is a good one and often discussed on this board. CADad has some strong views which are well researched and well thought out. The discussion is great.
I just believe any parent who thinks their son is a "prospect" at age 12 might keep those thoughts to themselves. I don't feel they are doing their son any favor but sharing them here or elsewhere.
Baseball is a game and it is one that humbles everyone. Age 12 can be a good place to notice.

A 12 year old! Your son has a long way to go. I think your focus should be on his development as an overall person first, the baseball stuff will take care of itself if he has the desire and interest.

Lefty

infielddad - Where is the discussion that includes CADad's views? Thanks

Twelve year old prospect? Is your son a noticeable player on the 60/90 field against high school kids? The most dominating hitter/pitcher in our large county when my son was twelve didn't make varsity his junior year of high school. He's out of the game.

As for holding your son back, the only reasons would be emotional and educational. Athletically is a bad reason. At twelve you don't know if your son is going to get a baseball scholarship. And if he does chances are it will be a partial of 25%. Your son has a twenty-two times better chance of getting academic money.

I figured if anything needed to be done, if my son showed promise in high school but needed an extra year for physical development he could PG for a year after high school. This is the avenue I recommend. However, if you have it in your head holding him back is the right thing to do, hold him back after 9th grade when you can better assess what his athletic future might be.