Japanese Style Development wrote:
Don't act like it can't help to have the extra years of physical maturity, even if those two years (which came three years ago) were spent without regular running.
Right, but it doesn't help if you struggle when you get back and just give up. There are plenty of people who just disappear after coming back. Sure, it does help a few here or there, but you have no idea beforehand if it actually will be a benefit.
It seems to me like a big gamble athletically. For a large number, they never get back and just move on to other things. For some, they get back to a "normal" progression as if they had never left. For a lucky few, it turns out to be an advantage. Obviously, athletics is not the primary reason for going on a mission, hence the exemption from the NCAA.
Remember, EVERYONE has the opportunity to do this. If you really think that it's that much of a slam dunk advantage, then do it yourself.