Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Arlington sent out agegroup scrimmage assignments tonight and at least from the second team down, they are going by birthdate and the Aug/sept kids will play a grade down. Wondering if there were exceptions made for ECNL players or if everyone was assigned strictly by birthdate at this point?

Wont last long. Young Aug players that want to be recruited for college will need to play on the team with players their grade.

If you're not on a top team and looking to get recruited to play in college clubs would probabaly want players to play down for wins. Which is not in the players best interest.

Parents need to get educated and understand what playing down a grade really means. Specifically when your kid is a grade up in school. Playing down in HS works because your grade level is the same as the level you play in soccer. Club soccer is different Aug birthdays would stick out like a sore thumb and not be considered serious candidates by college recruiters.

Hogwash. Dominating is how you get noticed for the next level. Baseball A guys go to Asia for a season, play great and then come back and sign for millions and a bunch of years. The fact is being a star works. Teams are mandating kids play in their correct age bracket because they know how this works and have experience doing this unlike a random unknown poster that is guessing about the future.

Obviously you believe in having your kid be the oldest on the team. Thats fine if your kid is a young Aug/Sept birthday but a grade up in school just hold them back a year in school. What this will do is align their graduating year with the level they are playing in club soccer.

The issue with young aug/sept birthdays playing down a grade is their graduating year and club soccer level are out of alignment. This puts college coaches in a weird position when it comes to recruiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Arlington sent out agegroup scrimmage assignments tonight and at least from the second team down, they are going by birthdate and the Aug/sept kids will play a grade down. Wondering if there were exceptions made for ECNL players or if everyone was assigned strictly by birthdate at this point?

Wont last long. Young Aug players that want to be recruited for college will need to play on the team with players their grade.

If you're not on a top team and looking to get recruited to play in college clubs would probabaly want players to play down for wins. Which is not in the players best interest.

Parents need to get educated and understand what playing down a grade really means. Specifically when your kid is a grade up in school. Playing down in HS works because your grade level is the same as the level you play in soccer. Club soccer is different Aug birthdays would stick out like a sore thumb and not be considered serious candidates by college recruiters.

Hogwash. Dominating is how you get noticed for the next level. Baseball A guys go to Asia for a season, play great and then come back and sign for millions and a bunch of years. The fact is being a star works. Teams are mandating kids play in their correct age bracket because they know how this works and have experience doing this unlike a random unknown poster that is guessing about the future.

Obviously you believe in having your kid be the oldest on the team. Thats fine if your kid is a young Aug/Sept birthday but a grade up in school just hold them back a year in school. What this will do is align their graduating year with the level they are playing in club soccer.

The issue with young aug/sept birthdays playing down a grade is their graduating year and club soccer level are out of alignment. This puts college coaches in a weird position when it comes to recruiting.

Only weird thing is you making up fake stories about recruiting when you provide no factual evidence simply to help your daughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Arlington sent out agegroup scrimmage assignments tonight and at least from the second team down, they are going by birthdate and the Aug/sept kids will play a grade down. Wondering if there were exceptions made for ECNL players or if everyone was assigned strictly by birthdate at this point?

Wont last long. Young Aug players that want to be recruited for college will need to play on the team with players their grade.

If you're not on a top team and looking to get recruited to play in college clubs would probabaly want players to play down for wins. Which is not in the players best interest.

Parents need to get educated and understand what playing down a grade really means. Specifically when your kid is a grade up in school. Playing down in HS works because your grade level is the same as the level you play in soccer. Club soccer is different Aug birthdays would stick out like a sore thumb and not be considered serious candidates by college recruiters.

Hogwash. Dominating is how you get noticed for the next level. Baseball A guys go to Asia for a season, play great and then come back and sign for millions and a bunch of years. The fact is being a star works. Teams are mandating kids play in their correct age bracket because they know how this works and have experience doing this unlike a random unknown poster that is guessing about the future.

Obviously you believe in having your kid be the oldest on the team. Thats fine if your kid is a young Aug/Sept birthday but a grade up in school just hold them back a year in school. What this will do is align their graduating year with the level they are playing in club soccer.

The issue with young aug/sept birthdays playing down a grade is their graduating year and club soccer level are out of alignment. This puts college coaches in a weird position when it comes to recruiting.

Only weird thing is you making up fake stories about recruiting when you provide no factual evidence simply to help your daughter.

PP provided a description of the problem, why its an issue, and how do address it.

Your response was cringe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Arlington sent out agegroup scrimmage assignments tonight and at least from the second team down, they are going by birthdate and the Aug/sept kids will play a grade down. Wondering if there were exceptions made for ECNL players or if everyone was assigned strictly by birthdate at this point?

Wont last long. Young Aug players that want to be recruited for college will need to play on the team with players their grade.

If you're not on a top team and looking to get recruited to play in college clubs would probabaly want players to play down for wins. Which is not in the players best interest.

Parents need to get educated and understand what playing down a grade really means. Specifically when your kid is a grade up in school. Playing down in HS works because your grade level is the same as the level you play in soccer. Club soccer is different Aug birthdays would stick out like a sore thumb and not be considered serious candidates by college recruiters.

Hogwash. Dominating is how you get noticed for the next level. Baseball A guys go to Asia for a season, play great and then come back and sign for millions and a bunch of years. The fact is being a star works. Teams are mandating kids play in their correct age bracket because they know how this works and have experience doing this unlike a random unknown poster that is guessing about the future.

Obviously you believe in having your kid be the oldest on the team. Thats fine if your kid is a young Aug/Sept birthday but a grade up in school just hold them back a year in school. What this will do is align their graduating year with the level they are playing in club soccer.

The issue with young aug/sept birthdays playing down a grade is their graduating year and club soccer level are out of alignment. This puts college coaches in a weird position when it comes to recruiting.

Only weird thing is you making up fake stories about recruiting when you provide no factual evidence simply to help your daughter.

PP provided a description of the problem, why its an issue, and how do address it.

Your response was cringe.

The PP did not provide a description of the problem. They made assumptions and offered conjecture so they could ramble on a about a problem they have with the rules not forcing kids off their defined age category.

[Anonymous]

Can players play down? Or up?
Players are not allowed to register for a team younger than their age in the Seasonal Year matrix. Players are allowed to register for a team in an older age group. There may be a few reasons for a player to register in an older age group, but player safety and long-term player development should always be considered before doing so.

What if my child were held back a year at school? How will this affect his team?
School grades do not play a part in this, just the child’s birth year. They would still play at the same level determined by the Age Matrix regardless of their school grade.

https://calsouth.com/seasonal-year-faq/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can players play down? Or up?
Players are not allowed to register for a team younger than their age in the Seasonal Year matrix. Players are allowed to register for a team in an older age group. There may be a few reasons for a player to register in an older age group, but player safety and long-term player development should always be considered before doing so.

What if my child were held back a year at school? How will this affect his team?
School grades do not play a part in this, just the child’s birth year. They would still play at the same level determined by the Age Matrix regardless of their school grade.

https://calsouth.com/seasonal-year-faq/

Correct, just a new seasonal year that is intended to better align you with the anticipated grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can players play down? Or up?
Players are not allowed to register for a team younger than their age in the Seasonal Year matrix. Players are allowed to register for a team in an older age group. There may be a few reasons for a player to register in an older age group, but player safety and long-term player development should always be considered before doing so.

What if my child were held back a year at school? How will this affect his team?
School grades do not play a part in this, just the child’s birth year. They would still play at the same level determined by the Age Matrix regardless of their school grade.

https://calsouth.com/seasonal-year-faq/

Correct, just a new seasonal year that is intended to better align you with the anticipated grade.

Other cool/interesting play they're doing ... Spring 2026 Registration Period: We will ask all clubs to begin using the School Year season available in the registration system as the standard starting with the Spring 2026 season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can players play down? Or up?
Players are not allowed to register for a team younger than their age in the Seasonal Year matrix. Players are allowed to register for a team in an older age group. There may be a few reasons for a player to register in an older age group, but player safety and long-term player development should always be considered before doing so.

What if my child were held back a year at school? How will this affect his team?
School grades do not play a part in this, just the child’s birth year. They would still play at the same level determined by the Age Matrix regardless of their school grade.

https://calsouth.com/seasonal-year-faq/

General FYI, Calsouth is pretty bad. It's like the 4th tier league in Southern California. Id take anything they say with a grain of salt. At most calsouth players will play in Juco.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can players play down? Or up?
Players are not allowed to register for a team younger than their age in the Seasonal Year matrix. Players are allowed to register for a team in an older age group. There may be a few reasons for a player to register in an older age group, but player safety and long-term player development should always be considered before doing so.

What if my child were held back a year at school? How will this affect his team?
School grades do not play a part in this, just the child’s birth year. They would still play at the same level determined by the Age Matrix regardless of their school grade.

https://calsouth.com/seasonal-year-faq/

General FYI, Calsouth is pretty bad. It's like the 4th tier league in Southern California. Id take anything they say with a grain of salt. At most calsouth players will play in Juco.

They're just saying what most clubs and leagues across the country are -- more evidence that age is the driving factor, with other things taken into consideration on an individual basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can players play down? Or up?
Players are not allowed to register for a team younger than their age in the Seasonal Year matrix. Players are allowed to register for a team in an older age group. There may be a few reasons for a player to register in an older age group, but player safety and long-term player development should always be considered before doing so.

What if my child were held back a year at school? How will this affect his team?
School grades do not play a part in this, just the child’s birth year. They would still play at the same level determined by the Age Matrix regardless of their school grade.

https://calsouth.com/seasonal-year-faq/

General FYI, Calsouth is pretty bad. It's like the 4th tier league in Southern California. Id take anything they say with a grain of salt. At most calsouth players will play in Juco.

They're just saying what most clubs and leagues across the country are -- more evidence that age is the driving factor, with other things taken into consideration on an individual basis.

Calsouth sucks their opinion is like Jeep telling Formula 1 how they should run races.

[Anonymous]

From US Club

Additional Note - Players “trapped down”

Due to the 8/1 cutoff for soccer and 9/1 school cutoff in California, many players with an August birthday will be eligible to play in the age group younger than most players of their school grade. This could put those players at the very disadvantage that the age group change was designed to avoid. The bright side, however, is that the solution to this problem is entirely in the hands of clubs.

US Club gets it + understands that Aug birthdays playing on a grade down team is an issue. So do we want to call this a recommendation from US Club that younger than the SY eligibility window should play with their grade? Seems like that it whats being recommended.

[Anonymous]

That’s what the C team is for!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From US Club

Additional Note - Players “trapped down”

Due to the 8/1 cutoff for soccer and 9/1 school cutoff in California, many players with an August birthday will be eligible to play in the age group younger than most players of their school grade. This could put those players at the very disadvantage that the age group change was designed to avoid. The bright side, however, is that the solution to this problem is entirely in the hands of clubs.

US Club gets it + understands that Aug birthdays playing on a grade down team is an issue. So do we want to call this a recommendation from US Club that younger than the SY eligibility window should play with their grade? Seems like that it whats being recommended.

First, what's the source, besides another thread? Second, that's consistent with case-by-case, baby!

[Anonymous]

Update from my club ... Grade currently not really a factor. They are looking purely at age/ability right now in practices to see if they can improve the teams on the field, including kids who are misaligned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From US Club

Additional Note - Players “trapped down”

Due to the 8/1 cutoff for soccer and 9/1 school cutoff in California, many players with an August birthday will be eligible to play in the age group younger than most players of their school grade. This could put those players at the very disadvantage that the age group change was designed to avoid. The bright side, however, is that the solution to this problem is entirely in the hands of clubs.

US Club gets it + understands that Aug birthdays playing on a grade down team is an issue. So do we want to call this a recommendation from US Club that younger than the SY eligibility window should play with their grade? Seems like that it whats being recommended.

First, what's the source, besides another thread? Second, that's consistent with case-by-case, baby!