A redshirt freshman is a player who sits out their first year of attendance at a college. In NCAA rules you can only play four years. So if a team has a position already filled a player will redshirt for a year in order to maintain the full four years of eligibility for when the position opens up. When a player redshirts they are able to practice with the team and even play a minimal number of plays during the season.
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This term is related to college sports. The governing body for college athletics is the NCAA. College athletes are eligible to compete for up to five years, however, most sudent-athletes choose to graduate in four years. When a college freshman gets injured prior to their first College Sports season or if they are not prepared to compete at the college level as a freshman, they have the option of red-shirting. This is a formal registration process with the NCAA which allows the athlete to preserve a year of their eligibility.
Redshirt is a term used in college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility. The player is required to wear a red shirt every game on the bench.
Of course! It means that you've worked hard enough during your first year and are talented enough to have your scholarship renewed (or have made the team) for a second year plus you already have one year of college under your belt.
According to the Frequently Asked Questions page at the official NCAA site, the term is used to describe "a student-athlete who does not participate in competition in a sport for an entire academic year." A redshirted player can practice, but can't compete against other teams.
In the United States, all college athletes are eligible for only four years of competition. Even if you come onto the field in the last five minutes of a soccer match, you've used up a year of competition eligibility. Freshmen are often redshirted in order to get familiar with a team and improve their game. If a player is badly injured towards the end of a season, he or she may decide to redshirt the next year.