They are practicing against other 8th graders at best. The bigger kids are probably going mostly against a coach who has to give them a half speed effort. In 8th grade my son was mostly practicing twice a week against coaches like that. As a 9th grader he was able to practice and compete in meets full speed five or six days a week against state qualifiers and placers like the Markey brothers, RJ Nill, Jed Mamie, EJ Walter, Mike Hammer and Alex Lopez. There is no comparison in the practice and competition level. A few of the national type 8th graders are able to overcome the disadvantage but the majority are unable to. But the next year as freshmen they will start closing the gap with the sophomores once they get into the varsity practice rooms and meets. I agree with those that advocate having a tournament in which 8th graders do not compete against the 9th graders in the State tournament series.