Re: Redshirting for sports - It's true that children's recreational leagues usually go by birth date and not grade level, but depending on the sport, that tends to end by junior high.
Before then, kids are playing sports at recess/PE with their grade-level peers, and the older kids naturally excel. This tends to build their images as natural athletes, in the minds of their peers, their coaches, their parents, and themselves. This kind of mindset can then become a self-fulfilling prophecy... they perform better athletes because they believe in their abilities, because coaches give them more attention and opportunities, etc.
I'm not defending redshirting, merely demonstrating that there is a rational explanation for it. The obvious problem here is misplaced priorities.
