I am having an issue at my school (not mentioning it at this time but it is a top tier school) because it seems that all the JV/V main team sports are populated with kids that have repeated a grade once or even twice so that they will be more competitive in the sport they play.
My issue is that these gamer’s of the system then create an adverse experience for the kids that do not game the system. It is like…what harm does it do to hold back a kid for sports…u create an environment that is unfair and unjust and you are teaching all the wrong principles. I assumed that the school I am in was education and fairness first but clearly they are just trying to win games at any cost.
Am I just mad because I did not make my team of choice or do I have a valid reason to be mad? If I didn’t make it fair and square it would be one thing but when I am competing against kids two years older than me I believe it is unfair and isnt allowing me to enjoy the sports I love and am good at (but not better than those 2 years older than me).
I just am trying to understand the reasoning for allowing students to repeat a year as it clearly gives them a big advantage both in the class and outside the classroom as well as socially. Isnt this “teaching” all the wrong principles of life?
I am at a loss…I really liked this school but now I am starting to see it in a very different light. I have talked to friends of mine at other top schools and everyone seems to feel the same…Do you think I should email the Head of School and explain my thoughts?
Thanks and sorry for the rant…I didnt have anywhere else to go.
This is true in public schools as well. And at BS, the PG kids are often there SOLELY to get a little bigger and stronger (and maybe beef up on academics a bit) so that they’ll be competitive in college (where they may have a conditional acceptance.) And those kids will almost certainly take varsity spots from kids who have been working their way through the system. I’m not sure if those are in the mix at your school.
There are quite a few BS that prefer that their students be on the older side. Some do this to be more ready emotionally, some academically, and some in sports, but no matter what the reason, the student body may be on the older side and that will have implications for someone who is the “true” age ,especially in sports. (Even in non-school sports, the month of your birthday can be an advantage or a liability, depending on the cutoff month.)
The reality is that you are there now, so you need to figure out how to deal with it. If you like the sport, I’d ask the coach how you can stay involved and improve. Remember that not everyone matures at the same rate, so you may be competitive next year. Maybe other kids in your situation would like to be on “thirds” together. My advice is to spend a day or so fuming (and venting) then turn your attention to what you can fix (which isn’t their admissions policy!)
For people looking at schools, you raise a concern they should consider and investigate if they have an interest in sports.
Unfortunately as youth sports have become more of a big business and hence much more competitive than a generation ago, parents are holding kids back or making them repeat a grade in hopes of being stronger, faster, bigger, etc than the other kids in his grade. Your exact point.
My advice would be to keep your eye on the academic ball. Your odds of success from doing well in your studies is higher than only being well at a sport. Very few people can make a living playing sports. The odds are slim.
@ wannaboard you’ve already said where you were going last spring… My DD is there, is not a repeating student, and is a varsity athlete. It is what it is and talking to the head of school will make no difference in my opinion, regardless of the school. And, I want to say it is less prevalent at your school than some schools that bring in a much larger contingent of PG students. I would be happy to chat with you in a PM about this topic.
I completely understand your concerns. My son is one of the youngest in his grade and also one of the smallest. I would never consider holding him back, but while doing Open Houses it was very eye opening that he would be competing against kids that were nearly 5 years older than him. Most were a foot taller and double his weight. It would be one thing if he were competing against kids his age, but these “kids” are basically adults.
I would caution against making broad assumptions: some kids repeat because their previous school and their new school have different academic structures and requirements. Kids will repeat in order to work their way into the new schools “track”. Further, just because kids are bigger than others doesn’t mean they are “basically adults.” Physical size may be attractive for some sports but it doesnt mean anything insofar as academic readiness, maturity and so forth.
Swim kid is an older repeater. We didn’t do it for the bigger-stronger, although as a 2 sport varsity athlete as a freshman, that is an added bonus. He would’ve had those spots on the roster whether he came in as a nine or a 10. He wanted the 4 year experience. He wanted to enjoy his time before already thinking about “where next.” Also the bonus of more advanced math and science plus more electives.
I’m surprised that you didn’t research this when you interviewed. DS is a very late summer bday kid who went straight into school. Because of this he was always at least a year younger, if not two, than his classmates. Because of this, we were told by many people (including coaches, AOs, etc) that we may consider having him repeat 9th. Some parents suggested it initially for the sports reason, but added that to repeat a curriculum makes the adjustment to BS life easier without having to worry as much about mastering new material.
That being said, we researched schools without PGY years, we asked every single coach (that would actually meet and/or acknowledge us…but that’s another story for another thread) about PGY, pulling in new uppers to pad their varsity team, philosophy regarding older vs younger players, opportunities for growth in sports, etc to the point of ad nauseum. The ISL doesn’t have PGY years…we focused our attention there, although DS did apply to a few schools with PGY. many of the coaches gave the PC answers which talked around the subject of padding with incoming 11th & 12th graders, some came right out and said they did what they needed to do to fill holes and be successful. And a few others said…we work with what we’ve got and most of our lowers that start at JV end up varsity as V and VI formers, because there’s very little movement in the school for incoming students at higher grade levels. We focused our efforts on the latter schools.
I’m not sure where you ended up but I was able to see that you didn’t apply to an ISL school and several of the ones you did apply to were the ones who were blunt to us about filling necessary gaps to be successful. And although my heart goes out to you for your disappointment, it appears to me you didn’t do due diligence to research an aspect of BS that is apparently important to you. I think in this case you have to pull yourself up from your bootstraps and decide you’re going to work harder and smarter to become that varsity player. Or not…the decision is yours, but there’s no point crying about it. Just decide what you are going to make of it. Some of the best athletes were faced with a very similar road block…how they handled it is what made them the superstars they are.
Good luck!
Some schools say oh we dont take PGs but the kids repeat so there is no real difference. 19 as a senior is more and more common. Kids are held back- especially boys for maturity --with increasing frequency.
The flip side is that at boarding schools (at least on the smaller side), we have seen so far that there really is a spot on a team (or rec team) for everyone. At a much bigger public or parochial school, many kids would never make a V or JV team, and therefore not be able to play a sport, whereas at boarding school, they can play many sports at the 3rds or rec level, and try new sports to which they’d never have access otherwise. You have to expect that at schools that draw from all over the country and beyond, whether it’s with PGs or kids repeating earlier, there are going to be some very high level athletes and the athletic programs are going to capitalize. And as others have said, many, but not all, kids repeat for sports reasons. My older son is the much more promising athlete, but we didn’t consider having him repeat, and he made his varsity team as a “true freshman” (though he says he’s in the minority in his grade). My younger son may very well repeat 8th or 9th grade for other reasons (he’d have to repeat several times to catch up size-wise for his sport). I was just talking to a teacher today who mentioned that the new trend, as an alternative to a PGY, is R-11 – public school for 9-11 and then prep school for 11-12.
Unless you’re good enough to get recruited by a college, it makes very little difference if you play JV, 3rds or even varsity. So just join the sports that you love and play for the fun of it.
@Wannaboard, you got some very good advice here. It surely stings to not make a team. Still, I hope the disappointment will not prevent you from looking inwards and considering the advice you were given. You don’t know why people repeat (e.g., some have been held back by their parents years ago) so it’s unfair to assume everyone repeats to game the system. Second, Varsity IS about winning, not about equal opportunity, education, or fairness. If you love your sport but are not good enough to make the V/JV cut and your school doesn’t offer a recreational thirds/club option, talk to your advisor and athletic director about starting one. Lastly, there are plenty of athletes who make Varsity teams as true freshmen and compete very effectively against PGs. Team selection based on athletic prowess is no more or less fair than class placement based on academic ability or orchestra selection based on musical talent. If you don’t have an issue with the latter you shouldn’t be bothered by the former. You just need to recognize your strengths and weaknesses and work to maximize your innate abilities and potential. Best of luck to you!
I would focus on your academics, which is first and foremost what prep and boarding schools are about.
Then, I would accept playing the level you are placed on, whether it’s Varsity, JV, Freshman, or Thirds. Is there a spot to play your sport (what sport?) on some level?
If that won’t work, then part of BS is trying new experiences and activities. I’d see if anything else would work for you; if not consider transferring if you are an underclassman.
My son has made me aware that this is going on in his large public. One player in particular, who is a big recruiting target for the top football schools in the nation, has been held back twice. In my son’s sport, baseball, bat rolling and shaving has become common. PED’s are also used at some of the more competitive High Schools/teams by some players.
Not much you can do about it, OP. My take is that if you have to game the system to excel, you aren’t good enough to achieve anything of note in your sport anyways. Sooner or later, you will be exposed.
Agree 100% about focussing on the academics.
We do know a boy who has a very late birthday, and was exceptionally small. He was held back. That is completely normal, and was the best thing for him. Completely different case and motives, there.
In public schools repeating a grade after starting high school does no good for sports. Most only allow a student to play for the 4 years immediately after starting 9th grade, and the NCAA only takes the grades from those 4 years immediately after 9th grade and before officially graduating from high school so you see kids who do not qualify academically taking online courses before graduating from high school. If you read The Blind Side rather than watching the movie, Michael Ohre had to take online courses from BYU before graduating to become NCAA eligible.
But there isn’t anything you can do about it if the schools allow it. Those PG students pay the bills at boarding schools. Many students start school or are held back a year and it isn’t for sports, it’s for academics but just helps in sports to be a year older.
My daughter was the youngest in her class all through grade school, and I think the youngest in high school. She played varsity but she was still small and just had to work twice as hard. She has an athletic scholarship because she works hard.
NCAA takes the first 4 years of high school, not the last 4. Repeats need to have all their requirements done by their jr year. Their first 9th grade year counts, their sr year does not.
Repeating grades for athletics is something that happens at all private schools, including BB&N. You just have to deal with it. Heck, make the best of it! They are good players, so make the best of it. This year, I played a sport in the middle school where there were a lot of kids on my team who were (probably) brought in for that sport. As an eighth-grader, I would have started on any other team, however, that didn’t happen this year. Although it was somewhat annoying (I admit it), I knew I deserved it, and there was nothing I could do about it. So, I did the best I could, and enjoyed our first undefeated season in 20 years, and I savored the playing time I got.