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In the email today:
🚌 Holdbacks Being Fueled By NIL Dreams
Reclassifying is not a new concept. Parents have been holding their kids back a year in school for athletic advantage for decades.
But the motivations are changing — and the industry is evolving to accommodate them.
The Wall Street Journal published a lengthy piece over the weekend on how more boys are repeating eighth grade for sports — the trend is largely confined to one sex, as girls tend to mature faster and have less incentive to hold back.
The traditional goals remain — get bigger and stronger, hopefully hit a growth spurt, play varsity and get recruited earlier. But now the pursuit of seven-figure NIL deals has entered the picture.
The surge in academic holdbacks shows how collegiate compensation is remaking youth sports in its quasi-professional image. With millions now flowing through endorsement deals and revenue-sharing with colleges, more families see high school as a high-stakes proving ground. The priority is getting on scouts’ radar as quickly as possible — and a season or two on junior varsity is unacceptable.
Many families utilize academies, schools and other platforms that specialize in holdback years (and charge five figures annually). Others go the more cost-effective route and just home school for a year. And at least one public school district in California is now embracing the strategy with its programming.
There is some argument holding back provides academic benefits like making a student-athlete a stronger Ivy League candidate down the line. But athletics are the clear focus.
And unlike other controversial youth sports trends there is buy-in beyond the primary proponents — LSU football coach Lane Kiffin makes a cameo in the story urging a dad to hold his son back.
But others say the only tangible benefit is a leg up to start high school sports and holding back is a wash when it comes to college.
Case in point: A USC football recruit who was held back and then reclassified to graduate on time because it was not worth risking injury during the bonus year.
The flow chart of reclassification is pretty simple:
Hold back —> Play varsity quicker —> Get recruited —> Collect NIL bag and scholarship
But if you are a baseball player who grows seven inches in your second year of eighth grade and is suddenly throwing 86 MPH … you are likely thinking about goals beyond college, too. And that’s where I am fascinated to see where this trend goes.
It’s easy to understand the advantages of being a year older in high school sports. And the same can be said for the early years of college where you are not only competing for roster spots and playing times with your age group, but also a mass of humanity in the transfer portal that keeps a) getting older and b) finding legal avenues for more eligibility.
But what about the pro level? Age matters there. Major League clubs would much rather get you at 19 than 23. NFL careers are already extremely short to begin with. The more time spent in college, the longer it takes to be in position as a professional to hit free agency and sign a serious contract.
Yes, a minuscule number of high school athletes will ever go pro. But only 2% get D1 scholarships and parents are still doing all this.
My guess is 5-10 years from now data will show the vast majority of pro athletes were drafted/signed within a “traditional” distance from their 18th birthday.
That — coupled with the NIL market maturing — may lead to fewer holdbacks. Or more situations where a family holds back, but then accelerates once it becomes clear their kid is going to make it to the next level.
🏟️ Get Tickets To The Buying Sandlot Summit Before Prices Increase
A taste of panel topics for April 14-15 in Philly:
Tech Heavy Hitters— executives from leading tech platforms discuss state of the industry
Consolidation, Exits and Acquisitions— what to expect in 2026
Tech 2.0— The next wave of AI-first tech platforms entering the market
Soccer in America— The unprecedented opportunity and challenges surrounding youth soccer development in the US
“Eyes on Youth Sports”— Sponsorship, and how it unlocks increased revenue and opportunity for brands, operators and athletes, and how it can subsidize increased participation rates
Compliance and Safety— Increased expectations and liability, from compliance to athlete health and safety
Athlete Data and NIL— how technology and NIL are shaping the future of high school athletes and college scouting
Professionalized Recreation— Creating world-class experiences for athletes regardless of skill level
Remembering the Athlete— Why it’s important to keep the athlete at the center of the youth sports boom
Emerging Opportunities— Flag, Bananaball, golf, and racquet sports, how the next wave of growth may come from unlikely sports
Streaming— How hardware, AI, and adoption are driving a boom in youth sports streaming
Startups: The next wave of tech startups in the space, and what their growth and exit pathways will be
… and much more. And a boatload of networking!
Ticket prices increase at the end of the month. Join the 150+ operators, founders, executives and investors who will be in Philly on April 14-15.
🔉 New Podcast: Rick Abbott, Former Cooperstown Village CEO
You can listen and subscribe to the Buying Sandlot podcast with the following links:
🥇Olympic Champion’s Youth Sports Mentality
Mikaela Shiffrin — who won his third skiing gold medal at the Winter Games this year — delivered a compelling message to youth athletes during an interview with NBC’s Mike Tirico.
Your sport isn’t everything in life.
"With the Olympics, you see so many moments of inspiration. You see gold medal moments," she said. "I remember watching these as a kid and thinking, ‘I want that moment. I want to be a gold medalist.’
"I would say for any kid out there dreaming about this right now, what you’ve seen at this Olympics, I think has been particularly special because most of the athletes that I’ve heard talk have actually been talking more about their happiness and existing in life outside of sport before the medal.
"I think this is going to be some years in the shifting of mentality. But we actually have the potential to see a lot more inspiring performances because of that mentality shift. And for the young kids in sport who are dreaming — you want a gold medal, but you also want to be happy with yourself, too. You can have both. I think the future is really, really bright for sport."
🦘 Wait Until Kids Hear About The Australia Model
Move over, Norway — a new country may be about to capture hearts and minds with its youth sports philosophy.
It will certainly win over stomachs.
The Australian Institute of Sport has unveiled a set of national guidelines for best supporting youth athletes on the road to the 2032 Summer Games in Brisbane.
Among them: A nod to Surfing Australia’s recommendation that parents have ice cream with their kids after competitions and practices, rather than coach, critique or discuss performance.
📝 Youth Sports News + Notes
More reality-based youth sports content is on the way. Several former NBA players including Trevor Ariza and Matt Barnes are filming “I Am Hoop,” a docuseries focusing on their experiences as hoops dads for their kids.
The Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation has pledged $50K to support youth flag football in Western Pennsylvania. The donation coincides with Pittsburgh hosting the NFL draft in April.
Allstate has extended its partnership with MLS. The insurance giant will have naming rights to the top tier of MLS Next, the league’s elite youth development platform. It will be known as the Allstate Homegrown Division. NWSL has also struck a partnership with CVS that will including youth soccer programming.
💼 Youth Sports Transactions Wire
Avery Jessup was named BSN Sports’ chief commercial officer — a new position for the apparel and equipment provider.
Jessup will helm "commercial strategy, with responsibility for Sales Operations, Digital and E-commerce, Marketing, Pricing, Licensing, and Customer Experience," according to a release.
"[Jessup] will also work closely with leaders across the organization to unify go-to-market strategies, strengthen execution across channels and deliver a more integrated and customer-focused commercial approach."
Jessup was most recently Fanatics Collectibles’ global CCO; he also previously served in senior leadership at Nike’s Jordan Brand.
Remember: BSN Sports launched Club Direct, which works exclusively with club teams, last year. BSN is also owned by Varsity Brands, which is owned by KKR, which is reportedly in the process of buying another sports apparel company.
🧢 PCA Releases Annual Report
Some key stats from Positive Coaching Alliance’s 2025 report:
Just under 3M kids impacted
About 189K coaches trained
Over 3.5K new coaches recruited
About 46K new opportunities for under-resourced youth
The organization said it will have impacted 7M kids over its lifetime by 2027.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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