From what I understand its left up to each school's site based council on the decision of eligibilty of their middle school athletes. Each school in the state has their own policy. The only stipulation in the KHSAA rules is that if a student is held back in the middle school then they are not allowed to participate in any high school sport wheither that maybe fresh., jv. or varsity in that hold back year. You can check KHSAA website under the most frequently asked guestions-it will clear up this guestion more than I can. The key word is after if a student is promoted to the 9th grade then you can't hold him back, but if he is not promoted onto high school then he would be eligible based on the school's site based policy. Also, as long as the kid does not turn 19 before August 1 of his senior year he will not loose eligibility his senior year.

 

:thumb:That is correct.

 

As fans, coaches or whatever it is not our place to 2nd guess why PARENTS hold their children back, it is their decision to do as they please with a child born on to them.

 

Holding back kids is not a new thing. When I was playing HS ball a couple of decades ago I had a bunch of friends at Corbin do it.

I don't believe this would be the case. As a parent, there is no way in the world that I would allow my son to be held back just to gain another year of high school football eligibility. If there was an academic issue, and staying back a year was the teacher's recommendation, then OK. It just doesn't make sense in the long run. What if the student is held back in middle school just to get another year of eligibility, and then during his freshman year sustains a career-ending injury?

 

As a parent I am in favor of holding every student back, is they play sports or not, if they are young. This ensures they are more mature when they go to college and will give them a better opportunity to find academic success at the college level. They may be doing fine academically at the middle school level but that doesn't mean they will be able to handle the college level if they are a college freshmen at the age of 17. I remember a kid who graduated high school at 16, he made straight A's in middle school, A's, B's and C's in high school, graduated with a GPA of around 3.0 and flunked out of college his first year because he was not mature enough to handle it. Just because he was a football player the school refused to consider holding this kid back in the middle school. He didn't come from a stellar family so there was not much support there with decision making. I think it is a travisty when we as a society set kids up to fail in life because we want to stereo type the kids. If schools systems wouldn't allow kids to enter until they were at the appropriate age this wouldn't be an issue. It is my humble opinion that kids should be 19 (or very close to being 19) when they go to college for the 1st time to ensure the best possible chance of success and if that means holding them back then so be it. Even is that college level success is of an athletic nature. But I also agree that it should be the parents choice because in most cases they are the ones who will do the best thing for their child.

This discussion is great guys, but let us stick to the topic at hand - 2009 Whitley County.

 

Feel free to start another thread regarding this topic.

As a parent I am in favor of holding every student back, is they play sports or not, if they are young. This ensures they are more mature when they go to college and will give them a better opportunity to find academic success at the college level. They may be doing fine academically at the middle school level but that doesn't mean they will be able to handle the college level if they are a college freshmen at the age of 17. I remember a kid who graduated high school at 16, he made straight A's in middle school, A's, B's and C's in high school, graduated with a GPA of around 3.0 and flunked out of college his first year because he was not mature enough to handle it. Just because he was a football player the school refused to consider holding this kid back in the middle school. He didn't come from a stellar family so there was not much support there with decision making. I think it is a travisty when we as a society set kids up to fail in life because we want to stereo type the kids. If schools systems wouldn't allow kids to enter until they were at the appropriate age this wouldn't be an issue. It is my humble opinion that kids should be 19 (or very close to being 19) when they go to college for the 1st time to ensure the best possible chance of success and if that means holding them back then so be it. Even is that college level success is of an athletic nature. But I also agree that it should be the parents choice because in most cases they are the ones who will do the best thing for their child.

 

I agree 100% especially the part about kids not starting school at such a young age. In my opinion kids should start kindergarten at age 6 instead of 5.

If I'm not mistaken, the kid they are refering to has just turned 14. If Whitley doesn't want him, we'll take him here at South Laurel. :ylsuper:

BACK TO WHITLEY

 

With the spring practice window for Whitley closing soon, who are some of the kids stepping up for the Colonels. I know that had some really talanted underclassmen last year, are they progressing like the Colonel Nation would hope?

 

I think it is great that the Colonels are playing the challenging schedule, it will give an opportunity for them to showcase some of the great lineman that they have returning. Yes the Colonels graduated some excellant football players but Coach Black is grooming the younger Colonels to take up the challenge and move forward.

 

I agree. It's a bold move by Coach Black, but one that I have to give him props on. :thumb:

Everything is quite in Colonel Country, what has been brewing on the Boulevard of Champions? Jim Black coming up with anything new?

 

We have not heard anything since spring practice ended.

Whitley has much of their line back. The Bowling kid ran a smoking 100 meters at a track meet this week. Wynn and Bramlett will pick up more carries . Alex Patrick has grown some and ran a 4.6 40 at spring practice. With LeBanion back to run the offense the Colonels will be able to move football. This is a great schedule and hopefully it will prepare them to make another long run in the playoffs.

The schedule will also give the kids who may play at the next level a chance to showcase their talants in front of some big crowds and good teams.

Will Boston Bryant get any playing time on the varsity this season? He appeared to be physically ready last year as an 8th grader.

Will Boston Bryant get any playing time on the varsity this season? He appeared to be physically ready last year as an 8th grader.

 

If the reports I have heard are true, then you may see him on the field. He is in the weight room working and getting stronger, in fact I heard he might be the strongest freshmen ever at the HS.

What kind of numbers is Bryant throwing up in the weight room? He is a talented young player, who could be one of the best in the state in a few years, if he continues to grow. Sometimes kids mature early and peak by their 9th or 10th grade seasons.

What kind of numbers is Bryant throwing up in the weight room? He is a talented young player, who could be one of the best in the state in a few years, if he continues to grow. Sometimes kids mature early and peak by their 9th or 10th grade seasons.

 

I watched the Bryant kid play in the 8th grade basketball state tournament at the KBA. I was very impressed with his size and how athletic he was, he looked to be about 6' and maybe 230 lbs. I saw him play football this year against South Laurel, and we could not stop him. The Bryant kid has great power running inside, and has the ability to break away.

I'm really hoping that the repeat of the 8th grade is for academic reasons, as opposed to football.:confused:

 

Don't know if that's the case in this situation, but I do know that it (held back in middle school for athletic reasons) happens way too often in this state. Very sad and disappointing in my opinion. It's a shame some parents don't put as much emphasis on their kids getting ahead academically as they do athletically; although when I've seen it happen and got to know the parents involved, I'm no longer surprised. What disappoints me is that some school administrators go along with it because a parent does not have a right to hold a kid back; the principal has to approve it. I've seen instances where a kid was doing fine academically in school and had no maturity or adjustment issues, but was allowed by the principal to repeat the 8th grade for no good reason. Sorry to get off topic. This is just a hot button issue in Ky athletics for me.