Youth Redshirting

[MatTime]

Where do you stand on holding kids back for athletic advantage in wrestling? Seems to be a trend that is hitting wrestling more frequently. I suspect that as the talent pool keeps getting deeper, more and more families will be faced with this decision prior to their student athletes entering high school. 

[Y2CJ41]

Well first off, the PIAA is putting a squash on it.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/piaa-cracks-down-on-redshirt-years-taken-by-junior-high-athletes/

 

Secondly, to each their own. While I am not a fan of it, it's something that parents feel is best for their kids. Is it better in the long run? Who knows? There is a DI coach who's family is very active on social media whom redshirted their son this year. I also talked to another DI coach and he has a son that is like 90-95lbs. He presented the option to him and he said no thanks.

[MatTime]

21 minutes ago, Y2CJ41 said:

Well first off, the PIAA is putting a squash on it.

https://tribhssn.triblive.com/piaa-cracks-down-on-redshirt-years-taken-by-junior-high-athletes/

 

 

I was wondering on some school perspectives on this. It only happens because it is allowed. It seems to be a way to gain an advantage, avoid the tough competition that is out there, get a leg up on getting scholarships for wrestling, (insert numerous other reasons). Unfortunately, since other parents are choosing the redshirt option it makes other parents have to consider holding their kids back, so it isn't as simple as "to each their own." It creates and perpetuates a cycle.

 

I know coaches can go either way on this. I know of D1 coaches who say it is more impressive to them to see kids winning against kids their own age. That a true freshmen winning means more to them than a hold back winning against kids who are younger and have a year less experience then they do. I also have heard the opposite where that extra year of experience kids have coming into college is a benefit and puts the athlete in better position to make the line up. 

 

I am not sold either way but it is a decision that my own family is having to consider as more and more families are opting to hold their wrestlers back. It is messy and I think it will not be long before Indiana adopts a similar rule in an attempt to curb this trend.   

 

 

[navy80]

I am 100% okay with youth redshirting if they do it in K-5. The older the kid gets, the worse it looks. If the kid is in 8th grade, and takes a redshirt before starting 9th grade, the kid should have an asterisk next to their name for their accomplishments. 

 

I'm bias. Semi state, I was 17 and got beat by a 19 year old 5-1. He went to state and I went home. I wish my parents would have started me later. 

[Galagore]

This would be an outstanding statistical study. Might even make a good documentary...

 

We have a child with a birthday two days before cutoff and were terrified at the decision of when to send him. Sending him at 5 felt like sending him early, sending him at 6 felt like holding him back. Ultimately, we went with the advice of his preschool teacher and sent him at 5. Hard part is, we will never know if that was the right answer because we will never have a side-by-side comparison. Our concerns at the time were academic, and really behavioral, but the same logic still holds. It would have been the same way had we sent him at 6...

 

Ultimately, it's probably more about what you do with their time in school and how accountable you hold them than anything else.

[MatTime]

On 2/24/2023 at 9:45 PM, navy80 said:

I am 100% okay with youth redshirting if they do it in K-5. The older the kid gets, the worse it looks. If the kid is in 8th grade, and takes a redshirt before starting 9th grade, the kid should have an asterisk next to their name for their accomplishments. 

I agree here. K-5 doesn't on its face doesn't look like a hold back for athletic purposes. Way more obvious 7-8. 

 

I get kids being undersized when they enter freshmen year. I think families get caught up in the winning so early. This generally causes weight cutting early. Leads to undersized kids in 8th grade, which leads to holding kids back a year to catch up. 

 

I would be interested in the data of how many state champs there were in the past decade that were held back a year in middle school. We could then see if there is a trend or if the number of families making this choice is smaller than what we are thinking. I hope it is. It sucks for those good wrestlers that are not being held back.