Just Curious... how many kids get moved down from a upper level team to a lower level team?

[Anonymous]

When we had our teams split into upper level and lower level teams for the Fall 23 season, I was surprised to see no roster changes from the Spring. The a bigger surprise being some kids who haven't progressed, still being selected for an upper level team when they are lagging far behind, setting a don't rock the ship precedent. I can see how it might look bad for a club to demote a player, but it got me thinking has anyone ever noticed a player getting demoted? Or does that not occur until High School age U15-U18?

[Anonymous]

My Ulittle kid got moved down, and he needed to. He lost some confidence and wasn't getting as much playing time, so I'm hopefully he will build that back up this fall

[Anonymous]

My kid — now playing college in a good conference — was moved down multiple times in his club career. For context, at one point he was on the fourth level team.

Clubs are generally toxic places and movement/retention is often unrelated to skill.

[Anonymous]

My son, starter in DA/MLS Next teams since he was 14 and then recruited to D1 college, was moved up and down multiple levels of teams through U9-13. We didn't like the downward movement at that time, but he stuck with it, we kept quiet and in retrospect, it was the right decision by the club for him and benefited him a lot. Helped him become the player he was at 14 and he didn't look back after that.

In our experience (and from seeing his teammates), it really matters very little which team a kid plays for at U-little, as long as the player is getting challenged, ample playing time, good coaching and above all, serious teammates who want to win and get better.

Player movement across levels happens quite a lot in good clubs, based on where players need to be. If movement is driven by other factors, that's not a good club. Of course, parents aren't the best judge of this since they tend to be biased in favor of their own child. My rule of thumb is that in a good club, at least 3-4 players should be moving up and down across levels every year till U14. This raises the motivation of players in lower level teams, reduces complacency among the top team players, and allows for uneven development with age. In my son's club, there was some movement year-to-year even in the highest age groups, i.e. U-17 and 18/19.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son, starter in DA/MLS Next teams since he was 14 and then recruited to D1 college, was moved up and down multiple levels of teams through U9-13. We didn't like the downward movement at that time, but he stuck with it, we kept quiet and in retrospect, it was the right decision by the club for him and benefited him a lot. Helped him become the player he was at 14 and he didn't look back after that.

In our experience (and from seeing his teammates), it really matters very little which team a kid plays for at U-little, as long as the player is getting challenged, ample playing time, good coaching and above all, serious teammates who want to win and get better.

Player movement across levels happens quite a lot in good clubs, based on where players need to be. If movement is driven by other factors, that's not a good club. Of course, parents aren't the best judge of this since they tend to be biased in favor of their own child. My rule of thumb is that in a good club, at least 3-4 players should be moving up and down across levels every year till U14. This raises the motivation of players in lower level teams, reduces complacency among the top team players, and allows for uneven development with age. In my son's club, there was some movement year-to-year even in the highest age groups, i.e. U-17 and 18/19.

Is he still playing?

[Anonymous]

I think some clubs avoid moving kids down but will move players up. Yearly attrition happens so sometimes players stay on the top team even though they don't belong there.

[Anonymous]

The club matters. A club with an A, B, C, and D team will have an appropriate level for a kid to develop. A kid moved down from an A team to a B team in a club that only has A and B teams may not have a team that fits their level.

[Anonymous]

We have players moved down every year from ECNL to ECNL-R. We also have at least one come up every year. More move down than up though on balance. Players from outside the club make up the disparity.

[Anonymous]

3-4 players move down at a big club between u10 and up. 1 or 2 move up.

[Anonymous]

What I saw was players didn't get moved down from the A team my son was on but got substantially less playing time, so much that the parents got upset and then left. I think that is what the club wanted to happen. The club got money from them for the year and they were helpful in practice during scrimmages.

Meanwhile to fill the vacancies on the A team with new players who were from different clubs. The B players never moved up with the exception of a goalie who had a massive growth spurt.

[Anonymous]

My experience from watching my ECNL U15 DD over the years is top girls teams move girls down but hardly ever move them up to the pre-ECNL or ECNL team. Clubs look to fill top team roster spots with outsiders.

I've seen great players who moved from ECRL/B team to another club's ECNL team and do great. I always wondered why the original clubs looked for talent from outside rather than the great talents they already have on the 2nd team?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My experience from watching my ECNL U15 DD over the years is top girls teams move girls down but hardly ever move them up to the pre-ECNL or ECNL team. Clubs look to fill top team roster spots with outsiders.

I've seen great players who moved from ECRL/B team to another club's ECNL team and do great. I always wondered why the original clubs looked for talent from outside rather than the great talents they already have on the 2nd team?

My kid has played a first team and second team of a major club because the team has moved up and down divisions, and has also practiced with a couple of first teams. As a team, the second team was nowhere near the level of the first team and I don’t recall any standouts. Individually, they had solid skills but the mentality was pretty dismal. Easily phased by everything that did not go their way. I guess resilience was lacking.

At one other club, the second team was just not as technically skilled and at least two coaches have told me that they are more likely to have kids play up than take from their second team.

I think it’s hard to shine on a B team and be moved up when you’re being compared against other B team players. Thats why players have more success moving to other top teams at other clubs when they practice with those top teams, they’re being compared to other top players and are keeping up and more.

The advice on this board is if your kid is truly better than a B team, to move them to another club if they want to play on a top team.

Otherwise, kids on the B team who stay at the B level are there because they are still at B level and maybe don’t have the belief that they can be better. Gotta get out of your comfort zone (ie to a new club) to develop.

[Anonymous]

I’m the PP whose kid is now playing college and who was moved down a few times (albeit always when younger, when older he only went to higher level teams). Unfortunately the PP who observes that clubs rarely recruit from lower ranks of their own team is correct. In my experience, there is a bias against players who are moved up that stays even after they are moved up, and a preference for kids already on the teams, even if not performing.

My kid played at multiple different clubs on his way to college play. We did not trust the clubs at all, and unfortunately that belief turned out to be the correct one. My kid ended up with good college offers, while most of the kids who stayed with one club throughout did not (the exception being the very few clearly outstanding kids who were scouted by European clubs and the like).

I view the club system (whether ECNL or MLSNext, or other) to be a necessary evil on the way to a good college team or other. Don’t ever think for a moment the clubs have the best interests of your own child in mind. They don’t. If you don’t feel the level your child is at is correct, have your child join a different team or club.

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone, I’m the Original Poster, all of this has helped ease my mind. I think my club has been caught being lazy in the process of team selection. They did not change anything from the spring and placed all new players on the lower level team. I think if things don’t change or they fail to adjust the levels by mid-year we will begin looking at other clubs. -It seems better performing clubs have proper mechanisms in place to adjust player levels. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid — now playing college in a good conference — was moved down multiple times in his club career. For context, at one point he was on the fourth level team.

Clubs are generally toxic places and movement/retention is often unrelated to skill.

+1 million
2 boys playing D1 that constantly for d@ked around in club and high school. The politics and favoritism are astounding. Absolutely toxic.

Thankfully, many college coaches don’t play that game.