Can you redshirt in high school

Holding kids back to give them extra time to mature cognitively and socially is nothing new. Redshirting in kindergarten has been studied for decades. The term is borrowed from redshirting in college sports, the well-known practice of postponing a student's official participation on a team to give the athlete a chance to mature physically.

It's sanctioned by the coach and the team. But it is a bit more controversial when young kids without any notable academic or social impediments are repeating grades simply to gain a leg up in sports. Schools and districts may vary on rules regarding whether or not administrators have to sign off on permitting a child to repeat a grade. Some have done just that. This surge is likely because promising athletes want to increase their odds of securing spots on select college teams and receiving generous sports scholarships.

The media exposure from playing on high-profile college teams, which can lead to lucrative professional careers, may also be fueling the trend. And some high school coaches have noticed reclassing in sports across the board. This is about parents saying, 'What strategy can I use in order to get my child the best advantage possible? Girl Boy Other Not Sure. Add A Child. Something went wrong. Please contact support fatherly. Like fatherly on Facebook. Something went wrong please contact us at support fatherly.

But under the old rules, they would use a season of eligibility if they were called upon to play in a game. There are several reasons why a coach will redshirt a player. Coaches may also prevail upon a freshman student-athlete to redshirt if the bench is too deep at his position.

According to NCAA statistics, at least half of D1 football players redshirt in their first year of college. Todd Berry, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association , has advocated for this rule change for more than 15 years.

He knows firsthand the frustration and the sense of unfairness of the former rule that many considered draconian.

But it was a playoff run that turned him into a crusader to change the redshirt rule. Isaiah Briscoe. Johnny Sebastian. These record-breaking New Jersey athletes all won state championships and topped national or regional recruiting rankings. They share something else: Each repeated the eighth grade.

While there is no known or reliable data on the new trend, coaches and recruiting analysts say more young athletes across the nation are "redshirting," or repeating a grade before high school to gain athletic advantage.

Although not every decision is made with athletics in mind, experts say the extra year often helps players excel in sports and eventually earn college scholarships. In most recent cases, players have repeated the eighth grade, while others have been held back by their parents before starting school or have spent an extra year in kindergarten.