Gaming the middle school boys’ sports system

OPINION:

Having a teenage boy, I spend the majority of my weekends at the gym watching his Amateur Athletic Union basketball tournaments. AAU is a competitive youth basketball organization for grades 3-11 that offers opportunities for college recruitment.

The gyms used for the tournaments have multiple courts, as different age groups play. On Saturday, I had trouble finding my eighth-grader’s game.

I glanced at the court to my right and saw what I thought were 16-year-old boys; I was looking for 14-year-olds. As anyone who has ever grown up or had kids knows, there are huge developmental advantages between these age groups. Yet, that was my son’s court. His team, composed entirely of 14-year-olds, was beaten handily.

After the game, I was worried my son would be upset at the loss, but he just shrugged his shoulders and said: “That team is ranked in the state. They have two reclassed players on it. I mean, they’re in 10th grade. The one player drove himself to the tournament. How are we supposed to compete against that?”

I didn’t understand. Wasn’t this an eighth-grade team?

“Yeah, Mom. But those players were held back in school. Technically, they’re supposed to be in 10th grade. They’ve been held back, so they have an advantage on the court. It’s called reclassing,” my son replied flatly, as if I were a moron. Clearly, this wasn’t a new experience for him.

I started investigating: Do parents really hold back their children academically in the hopes that they get recruited into the big leagues? Why, yes, yes, they do.

This year, The Wall Street Journal detailed the phenomenon.

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“Fueled by the lure of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money in college, families are delaying high school so their sons can get bigger, stronger and more recruitable. The practice, known as ‘reclassifying,’ ‘reclassing,’ ‘bridge year’ or ‘gap year,’ is spreading fast in football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse and other sports where height and strength are key,” The Journal reported.

“The demand has spawned a multimillion-dollar industry. For-profit sports academies, some focusing on a single sport, are popping up from Virginia to San Diego, while private schools, homeschool programs and even a public school district are adding — and aggressively marketing — holdback years,” The Journal said.

The practice has exploded in recent years among middle school boys, with parents gambling that it will be sports, not academics, that fuels their child’s future career. They also are betting that an additional year (or two) in eighth grade will provide their son with the growth spurt he needs to enter high school ready to compete on the varsity team.

Colleges recruit by grade level, not by age. Reclassifying is rare among teenage girls, as they hit puberty earlier than boys.

A Supreme Court decision in 2021 has allowed student-athletes to receive compensation through endorsements, social media, autographs and appearances without losing college eligibility. Since last year, schools can pay athletes directly under revenue-sharing models up to $20.5 million annually.

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Still, only about 2% of high school athletes go on to play Division 1, and fewer yet secure lucrative NIL deals. Yet parents, convinced of their son’s success and driven by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many students lost ground academically, aren’t hesitating to hold back their child.

Is it fair? Well, it certainly is a loophole. My son’s 82-22 loss wasn’t the greatest game to watch, but all the boys seemed to know what the gig was about and gave deference to the new system. In other words, “reclassifying” has been normalized.

Most public schools don’t allow an eighth-grader to be held back for nonacademic reasons, but parents and their children are finding a way. Reclassifying is most common in private schools and among homeschoolers. Some of these “homeschooled” students spend their day at a gym, with tutors on hand during their sports breaks — all for a fee.

Professional players, coaches, recruiters and gym owners are all glorifying the decision.

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“Once I got an extra year of work, it was like, ‘Yeah, I’m ready. I can go hoop with anybody,’” Brigham Young University freshman A.J. Dybantsa, a top NBA draft prospect, explained in a 2024 podcast interview, according to The Journal.

When a co-host tried to sympathize with Mr. Dybantsa for being “held back” in eighth grade for academic reasons, Mr. Dybantsa cut him off: “I did not get ‘held back.’ I reclassed.”

Hate the game, not the player.

As for my boy? I just hope he is enjoying the camaraderie of being on a team, the exercise that comes with it and the pride of competing at an elite level.

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Am I betting on a lucrative NIL contract in his future? No. I’m hoping he becomes an engineer. Call me old-school; he is going into the ninth grade next year.

• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at The Washington Times.