I see this happen all the time

by Domer99, John Wesley Powell's Expedition Island, Monday, April 20, 2026, 10:39 (1 day, 18 hours, 8 min. ago) @ HullieAndMikes
edited by Domer99, Monday, April 20, 2026, 10:58

..in wrestling. Of course it's always driven by the parents. But I find it so counterproductive to the growth of the athlete. I guess there are times where someone's physical growth might warrant an extra year of development but you're talking about a fraction of a percentile of a common practice.

I think it's simply another artificial tactic to try to increase someone's athletic profile. And for a majority, it fails.

Too often this "gap" year involves "homeschooling" which really involves increasing practice time and stunting any kind of academic progress.

I saw it with my son (who was on the naturally older side because he just missed the September cutoff) who would be facing kids sometimes 2 years older than him in the same grade level separated competitions.

I just laugh when I see 20 YO college freshman.