ECNL moving to school year not calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They've already committed though. Our club is saying age group changes are coming in 26-27 and where it makes sense to prepare for those in 25-26 they will, which will essentially be all the U-littles who on top teams are all playing up anwyay.

How are they doing this? Current Q4 players asking if they want to play "down" or are they holding tryouts with those ranges?

Current Q4 players being told they will likely play with their 26-27 age group next year since the whole team was planning to play up anyway.

[Anonymous]

The great repeat year in American soccer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

[Anonymous]

As of now ECNL has only said 26/27 to give people time to prepare. However if they decide to loosen their rules and allow X amount of 9/1-12/31 players to play down. That would be enough to open the floodgates. Every club would want to make their team as competitive as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As of now ECNL has only said 26/27 to give people time to prepare. However if they decide to loosen their rules and allow X amount of 9/1-12/31 players to play down. That would be enough to open the floodgates. Every club would want to make their team as competitive as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

What you say is actually proven. The 4Q players that are still playing competitively at U13 / U14 / U15 end up don’t better than their older peers when they’re grown and there are no longer material physical development differences between players born a year or less apart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As of now ECNL has only said 26/27 to give people time to prepare. However if they decide to loosen their rules and allow X amount of 9/1-12/31 players to play down. That would be enough to open the floodgates. Every club would want to make their team as competitive as possible.

For sure clubs will begin preparing for the change ahead of time. Practicing with the new teams (up and down), adding extra players to rosters. If leagues or tournaments loosen rules clubs will use those ahead of time in games as well. Good Q4 players will be in demand and courted by clubs especially at the pre-HS ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

What you say is actually proven. The 4Q players that are still playing competitively at U13 / U14 / U15 end up don’t better than their older peers when they’re grown and there are no longer material physical development differences between players born a year or less apart.

Don’t better? But I agree have a Q3 daughter plays/starts ECNL and I’m hoping she is good enough to stay on the 11/12 team. But would be fun to watch her play with the 13/12 sometimes. Just to see what it’s like being a Q1 kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

What you say is actually proven. The 4Q players that are still playing competitively at U13 / U14 / U15 end up don’t better than their older peers when they’re grown and there are no longer material physical development differences between players born a year or less apart.

End up doing better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

What you say is actually proven. The 4Q players that are still playing competitively at U13 / U14 / U15 end up don’t better than their older peers when they’re grown and there are no longer material physical development differences between players born a year or less apart.

Don’t better? But I agree have a Q3 daughter plays/starts ECNL and I’m hoping she is good enough to stay on the 11/12 team. But would be fun to watch her play with the 13/12 sometimes. Just to see what it’s like being a Q1 kid.

End up doing better than their peers.

It makes sense. As a younger player going against older and bigger kids, if you are still competing at a high level when you are 13, 14, and 15 years old it means your skill level is higher and your soccer IQ is also higher.

My boy is a late December 2010 baby and is a bit of a late developer. One thing I started noticing at around age 10 is that he made very quick decisions - one or two touch passes. Clean first touches and control. Accurate passes. Good vision. Technical dribbling.

I think he knew he was too small to try to compete physically with his teammates and opponents, so he adapted.

Now what happens when he is no longer 3-5 inches shorter and 20-30 pounds lighter than his competitors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

What you say is actually proven. The 4Q players that are still playing competitively at U13 / U14 / U15 end up don’t better than their older peers when they’re grown and there are no longer material physical development differences between players born a year or less apart.

Don’t better? But I agree have a Q3 daughter plays/starts ECNL and I’m hoping she is good enough to stay on the 11/12 team. But would be fun to watch her play with the 13/12 sometimes. Just to see what it’s like being a Q1 kid.

End up doing better than their peers.

It makes sense. As a younger player going against older and bigger kids, if you are still competing at a high level when you are 13, 14, and 15 years old it means your skill level is higher and your soccer IQ is also higher.

My boy is a late December 2010 baby and is a bit of a late developer. One thing I started noticing at around age 10 is that he made very quick decisions - one or two touch passes. Clean first touches and control. Accurate passes. Good vision. Technical dribbling.

I think he knew he was too small to try to compete physically with his teammates and opponents, so he adapted.

Now what happens when he is no longer 3-5 inches shorter and 20-30 pounds lighter than his competitors?

Mine is late Q4. I feel he is slightly worse than the younger player who will move to the MLS Academy team next year. So, if MLS also does the SY, he will dominate the younger group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

What you say is actually proven. The 4Q players that are still playing competitively at U13 / U14 / U15 end up don’t better than their older peers when they’re grown and there are no longer material physical development differences between players born a year or less apart.

Don’t better? But I agree have a Q3 daughter plays/starts ECNL and I’m hoping she is good enough to stay on the 11/12 team. But would be fun to watch her play with the 13/12 sometimes. Just to see what it’s like being a Q1 kid.

End up doing better than their peers.

It makes sense. As a younger player going against older and bigger kids, if you are still competing at a high level when you are 13, 14, and 15 years old it means your skill level is higher and your soccer IQ is also higher.

My boy is a late December 2010 baby and is a bit of a late developer. One thing I started noticing at around age 10 is that he made very quick decisions - one or two touch passes. Clean first touches and control. Accurate passes. Good vision. Technical dribbling.

I think he knew he was too small to try to compete physically with his teammates and opponents, so he adapted.

Now what happens when he is no longer 3-5 inches shorter and 20-30 pounds lighter than his competitors?

https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/community/research-brief/find/kelly-the-relative-age-effect-in-an-english-professional-club.php#

For the BY to SY transition, this likely means that any younger kids who have already been identified as good players are going to have their journey to the top rapidly accelerated. Many of these kids were headed to the top of the team eventually anyway, but this will cause it to happen in 1-2 years instead of 5-10. These kids will need some time to turn the new physical advantages into increased confidence, and learn to pair them with the other parts of their game that have been keeping them competitive. Clubs really should be in an absolute scramble right now to recruit late birthdays who are in the middle to top of their current teams (especially in the U11-U15 range). These kids are going to be carrying teams in the following years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

What you say is actually proven. The 4Q players that are still playing competitively at U13 / U14 / U15 end up don’t better than their older peers when they’re grown and there are no longer material physical development differences between players born a year or less apart.

Don’t better? But I agree have a Q3 daughter plays/starts ECNL and I’m hoping she is good enough to stay on the 11/12 team. But would be fun to watch her play with the 13/12 sometimes. Just to see what it’s like being a Q1 kid.

I'm seeing a lot of parents of Q4 players having a favorable view of the change, excited at the prospect of watching their kid play younger players. I'm a Q4 parent and admit I'm looking forward to watching.

But this view doesn't always align with how kids view it. My Q4 daughter wants to stay on her team, and views the switch to SY as forcing her to "play down". Her other Q4 teammates have a similar pessimistic outlook of it while their parents think it's great, lol. My daughter cares more about getting better and staying on her pretty successful team. The younger age group isn't as strong in their division and I get her point. I hope she can play up but with the way our club operates it's likely not happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

What you say is actually proven. The 4Q players that are still playing competitively at U13 / U14 / U15 end up don’t better than their older peers when they’re grown and there are no longer material physical development differences between players born a year or less apart.

Don’t better? But I agree have a Q3 daughter plays/starts ECNL and I’m hoping she is good enough to stay on the 11/12 team. But would be fun to watch her play with the 13/12 sometimes. Just to see what it’s like being a Q1 kid.

End up doing better than their peers.

It makes sense. As a younger player going against older and bigger kids, if you are still competing at a high level when you are 13, 14, and 15 years old it means your skill level is higher and your soccer IQ is also higher.

My boy is a late December 2010 baby and is a bit of a late developer. One thing I started noticing at around age 10 is that he made very quick decisions - one or two touch passes. Clean first touches and control. Accurate passes. Good vision. Technical dribbling.

I think he knew he was too small to try to compete physically with his teammates and opponents, so he adapted.

Now what happens when he is no longer 3-5 inches shorter and 20-30 pounds lighter than his competitors?

https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/community/research-brief/find/kelly-the-relative-age-effect-in-an-english-professional-club.php#

For the BY to SY transition, this likely means that any younger kids who have already been identified as good players are going to have their journey to the top rapidly accelerated. Many of these kids were headed to the top of the team eventually anyway, but this will cause it to happen in 1-2 years instead of 5-10. These kids will need some time to turn the new physical advantages into increased confidence, and learn to pair them with the other parts of their game that have been keeping them competitive. Clubs really should be in an absolute scramble right now to recruit late birthdays who are in the middle to top of their current teams (especially in the U11-U15 range). These kids are going to be carrying teams in the following years.

Dad of November 2014 girl here, and our DOC has literally never pulled me aside at practice to chat about her before until this week, now she's all excited to talk to me about her future with the club and what they might do next year to prepare for 26/27. Only now do I understand why Q1 kids parents are upset, they've been getting this treatment all along and honestly, I'm sure they're gonna miss it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The great repeat year in American soccer

The BY advocates won't agree, but the reality is that the Q4 players have been playing up since the fall of 2016. The kids the grade up aren't your peers. And you're the youngest. The Q4s who survive this long should do well when they get to "repeat" a year - which is just the opportunity to play with their school year peers. Hopefully that process starts in 25/26 and just becomes "formal" in 26/27.

What you say is actually proven. The 4Q players that are still playing competitively at U13 / U14 / U15 end up don’t better than their older peers when they’re grown and there are no longer material physical development differences between players born a year or less apart.

Don’t better? But I agree have a Q3 daughter plays/starts ECNL and I’m hoping she is good enough to stay on the 11/12 team. But would be fun to watch her play with the 13/12 sometimes. Just to see what it’s like being a Q1 kid.

I'm seeing a lot of parents of Q4 players having a favorable view of the change, excited at the prospect of watching their kid play younger players. I'm a Q4 parent and admit I'm looking forward to watching.

But this view doesn't always align with how kids view it. My Q4 daughter wants to stay on her team, and views the switch to SY as forcing her to "play down". Her other Q4 teammates have a similar pessimistic outlook of it while their parents think it's great, lol. My daughter cares more about getting better and staying on her pretty successful team. The younger age group isn't as strong in their division and I get her point. I hope she can play up but with the way our club operates it's likely not happening.

This is why I barely bring it up to my Q4 son...I am hoping our director makes the decision for us.