In Race for Deals, Boys Repeat a Grade

Clockwise from top: Rhett Gabriel, who is repeating eighth grade at The Togethership, a San Clemente, Calif., private sports academy; students at the academy practicing box jumps; students in a history/civics class; Carter Cancelleri at the school with his father, Michael Cancelleri. The Togethership has an enrollment of 175 middleschoolers, with about a third repeating eighth grade.Michael Cancelleri, an entrepreneur in San Clemente, Calif., has poured tens of thousands of dollars into his son's baseball career—club team fees, tournament travel and top-of-the-line equipment.As high school approached, Cancelleri decided that wasn't enough. He paid about $20,000 for his son, a straight-A student, to repeat a grade at a private middle school sports academy."The draw to it [was] just giving him a little bit of extra time to develop and mature," said Cancelleri, whose 15-year-old son, Carter, has grown about 3 inches since August and hopes to be a strong competitor next year as a high school freshman.Sixty other boys are repeating a grade at the same academy, The Togethership, where coursework includes throwing mechanics, game film review and nutrition along with traditional subjects such as Algebra and English.Holding kids back in school for an athletic edge has existed for decades on the elite fringe of prep sports. In recent years, it has exploded in popularity for middle school boys.Fueled by the lure of Name, Image and Likeness 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 demand has spawned a multimillion-dollar industry.

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In Race for Deals, Boys Repeat a Grade