ECNL moving to school year not calendar

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
But the last "decision" was not presented as an absolute when they said 9/1 - they were really clear they were working through details etc. but I feel like it is now clear that it is decided. I mean I get it, there will always be people that are not happy about whatever is decided.. trust me I have a January kid and a December kid .. but I think its pretty clear what was just decided and published. [/quote]
I feel like MLSN and GA haven't announced anything yet and that theres likely to be 2-3 more changes yet to happen. [/quote]

The only potential change is going to be what GA and MLSN decide. AYSO/USYS/US Club are decided now and I don't believe it is going to change. [/quote]

Really hard to belive they would continue to change every few mothns untill 2026 based on what b1tch screams and crys the loudest but this is youth soccer in America so who the hell knows.

[Anonymous]

I wonder how they will treat late Q4 birthdays currently on NL teams who are grade appropriate, meaning essentially started school early. So moving them to the younger team would screw up recruiting for them as they would be in a grade above their teammates. Hopefully they give the option to stay, but what further complicates things would be several trapped players from the age group above coming down and pressuring the roster....asking for a friend

[Anonymous]

Ive been talking to parents who think they can just stay put.... I roll my eyes. 50% of players are moving down and with the RAE skew twoards older players the only kids playing up will be the 1% talents who are the best player on a current team and they may not want to switch positions or lose PT.

One of the bennifits to 9/1 was it was less kids on the move. 33%. Now were at close to 50%+ if you belive in August being a high birth rate month. It is not a small detail but it is lost on many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ive been talking to parents who think they can just stay put.... I roll my eyes. 50% of players are moving down and with the RAE skew twoards older players the only kids playing up will be the 1% talents who are the best player on a current team and they may not want to switch positions or lose PT.

One of the bennifits to 9/1 was it was less kids on the move. 33%. Now were at close to 50%+ if you belive in August being a high birth rate month. It is not a small detail but it is lost on many.

One of the reasons our DOC gave us for adjusting age groups early this year for the U-littles was that she didn't want to put a bunch of u-little kids on "A" teams that were just gonna get knocked off by fall birthday kids the following year, and since the U-little teams aren't "set" really yet its less disruptive to just do it now. Point being they actually expect a decent amount of movement, especially from B teams the year up to A teams the year down. There are a lot younger kids that are top of B/RL teams right on the bubble, probably 2-3 per team, plus the 1-2 fall birthday kids already on the A/NL team. That might not seem like that many, but 3-5 kids coming down and knocking kids off more movement that you often seen!

[Anonymous]

and that does not factor 3rd team kids and kids from other clubs. Im guessing 80% new rosters most places.

Im parent of 3Q starter on MLSN team and I dont see any way my kid will stay put. Between losing PT and potentialy a different less desirable position it does not make any sense to not move him. He's playing 90%+ in all games now. At best I can see him guest playing up as needed but not as full time player.

With 50% downward pressure were already making plans to move because its not worth the fight.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]I am admitting that I have not read these pages closely, so I apologize in advance. I cannot find whether ECNL has made an official statement between 8/1 and 9/1. (I think it’s 9/1, but can be wrong.) Will someone kindly update me? Thanks![/quote]

ECNL follows US Soccer - therefore it has moved to 8/1

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am admitting that I have not read these pages closely, so I apologize in advance. I cannot find whether ECNL has made an official statement between 8/1 and 9/1. (I think it’s 9/1, but can be wrong.) Will someone kindly update me? Thanks![/quote]

ECNL follows US Soccer - therefore it has moved to 8/1 [/quote]

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in a potentially awkward situation where my daughter is a Q4 and one of the top 3 players on a Top 25 team in the nation. Our club is saying strict adherence to age groups to avoid all the noise.

The team below her is not good (~150 ranked) but there are no other clubs that work for our specific situation, so there are girls that are going to get short end of the stick out there.

If your daughter is an August birthday and playing with her grade then that would really suck. If not, in the end it will work out. She will not be the top 1 player on team currently ranked ~150 which she would help drive up and being the best player she will be the one noticed more than the others. Now if it is just about winning and saying you are on a top 25 team then that is different. In the end just make sure she is having fun and it will work out fine.

I am honestly not complaining because we are probably a bit more academically focused regardless and not hitching wagon to college soccer but it will be a developmental hit to her specifically. A prior poster is accurate that it is the club but I do understand the club point of view of strict adherence to eliminate the entitled parent drama.

But there is not a good way to spin it from her development standpoint. Yes, she will be the top player on the younger team but I would 100% rather her be a bench player on Blues than top player on a less developed team. Improvement comes every day in practice going up against other good players and also playing against other top players in competition.

Again, not really complaining just pointing out there will be girls, who are good, that will have their development stunted a bit by this change. Does it matter in the grand scheme of things, probably not.

I am the person you replied to. At you are being realistic about everything. That alone will help your daughter in the long run. I am in a similar boat (sort of). My daughter is definitely academics first and should get into a good college on that alone. Luckily we don't need scholarship money but it would be really nice if she could continue to play. My daughter is an August birthday and starts on an ECNL team. When it was announced in March that the date would be 9/1 we were relieved to not have to deal with the drama of switching or not. Now, we are slightly worried because she already plays with her grade and don't want to go down. Thankfully I "think" our club will place August kids with their grade or just allow to play up. Either way, we should be ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in a potentially awkward situation where my daughter is a Q4 and one of the top 3 players on a Top 25 team in the nation. Our club is saying strict adherence to age groups to avoid all the noise.

The team below her is not good (~150 ranked) but there are no other clubs that work for our specific situation, so there are girls that are going to get short end of the stick out there.

Your daughter sounds like a phenom! Top 3 player on a top 25 team nationally!? You have solid options. If she's one of the best players on her team I doubt the club wouldn't want her to play up, even with some girls added for consideration due to the age change.

The other possibility is that the not so good team a year down becomes vastly better with new players.

The reality is no matter what the age range formation, kids will still be placed with other comparably skilled players.

As they say, colleges recruit individuals not teams. If pp’s kid really is a star player, they will be seen.

Same at our club. My August daughter will be allowed to stay up with her grade. She might guess play a year down for certain tournaments when her normal team doesn't have anything.
The only exceptions clubs should make are August kids who will be playing with their actual grade based on their specific school’s cut off date. Otherwise it’s a huge headache of people like PP.

I agree with this.Big clubs that don't want drama should stick to the new age groups but you have to all Agust kids play up if they are in the same grade as the rest of the team. It would be gruel to force an August player down if they are in a grade higher. Luckily my ECNL club will allow my August daughter to play up with her grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in a potentially awkward situation where my daughter is a Q4 and one of the top 3 players on a Top 25 team in the nation. Our club is saying strict adherence to age groups to avoid all the noise.

The team below her is not good (~150 ranked) but there are no other clubs that work for our specific situation, so there are girls that are going to get short end of the stick out there.

If your daughter is an August birthday and playing with her grade then that would really suck. If not, in the end it will work out. She will not be the top 1 player on team currently ranked ~150 which she would help drive up and being the best player she will be the one noticed more than the others. Now if it is just about winning and saying you are on a top 25 team then that is different. In the end just make sure she is having fun and it will work out fine.

I am honestly not complaining because we are probably a bit more academically focused regardless and not hitching wagon to college soccer but it will be a developmental hit to her specifically. A prior poster is accurate that it is the club but I do understand the club point of view of strict adherence to eliminate the entitled parent drama.

But there is not a good way to spin it from her development standpoint. Yes, she will be the top player on the younger team but I would 100% rather her be a bench player on Blues than top player on a less developed team. Improvement comes every day in practice going up against other good players and also playing against other top players in competition.

Again, not really complaining just pointing out there will be girls, who are good, that will have their development stunted a bit by this change. Does it matter in the grand scheme of things, probably not.

I am the person you replied to. At you are being realistic about everything. That alone will help your daughter in the long run. I am in a similar boat (sort of). My daughter is definitely academics first and should get into a good college on that alone. Luckily we don't need scholarship money but it would be really nice if she could continue to play. My daughter is an August birthday and starts on an ECNL team. When it was announced in March that the date would be 9/1 we were relieved to not have to deal with the drama of switching or not. Now, we are slightly worried because she already plays with her grade and don't want to go down. Thankfully I "think" our club will place August kids with their grade or just allow to play up. Either way, we should be ok.

Same. DD is an Aug birthday and a top player on a top team. She will have the option to stay with her current team and be a grade below, or play with the “younger” team (even though she will be in that age group) and be with her grade. Pros and cons to each, but both teams are good. I’ll let her decide when the time comes. But like you, either way she’ll be fine. It’ll all work itself out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in a potentially awkward situation where my daughter is a Q4 and one of the top 3 players on a Top 25 team in the nation. Our club is saying strict adherence to age groups to avoid all the noise.

The team below her is not good (~150 ranked) but there are no other clubs that work for our specific situation, so there are girls that are going to get short end of the stick out there.

If your daughter is an August birthday and playing with her grade then that would really suck. If not, in the end it will work out. She will not be the top 1 player on team currently ranked ~150 which she would help drive up and being the best player she will be the one noticed more than the others. Now if it is just about winning and saying you are on a top 25 team then that is different. In the end just make sure she is having fun and it will work out fine.

I am honestly not complaining because we are probably a bit more academically focused regardless and not hitching wagon to college soccer but it will be a developmental hit to her specifically. A prior poster is accurate that it is the club but I do understand the club point of view of strict adherence to eliminate the entitled parent drama.

But there is not a good way to spin it from her development standpoint. Yes, she will be the top player on the younger team but I would 100% rather her be a bench player on Blues than top player on a less developed team. Improvement comes every day in practice going up against other good players and also playing against other top players in competition.

Again, not really complaining just pointing out there will be girls, who are good, that will have their development stunted a bit by this change. Does it matter in the grand scheme of things, probably not.

I am the person you replied to. At you are being realistic about everything. That alone will help your daughter in the long run. I am in a similar boat (sort of). My daughter is definitely academics first and should get into a good college on that alone. Luckily we don't need scholarship money but it would be really nice if she could continue to play. My daughter is an August birthday and starts on an ECNL team. When it was announced in March that the date would be 9/1 we were relieved to not have to deal with the drama of switching or not. Now, we are slightly worried because she already plays with her grade and don't want to go down. Thankfully I "think" our club will place August kids with their grade or just allow to play up. Either way, we should be ok.

Same. DD is an Aug birthday and a top player on a top team. She will have the option to stay with her current team and be a grade below, or play with the “younger” team (even though she will be in that age group) and be with her grade. Pros and cons to each, but both teams are good. I’ll let her decide when the time comes. But like you, either way she’ll be fine. It’ll all work itself out.

This doesnt make sense.

If your kid was born in Aug its before 9/1. This means with BY they're playing with the right grade on her current team. If they were born between 9/1 and 12/31 your kid would be a grade lower in school but playing on a team with mostly a grade higher players. (ie a trapped player)

Stop makings things up if you cant even lie correctly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in a potentially awkward situation where my daughter is a Q4 and one of the top 3 players on a Top 25 team in the nation. Our club is saying strict adherence to age groups to avoid all the noise.

The team below her is not good (~150 ranked) but there are no other clubs that work for our specific situation, so there are girls that are going to get short end of the stick out there.

If your daughter is an August birthday and playing with her grade then that would really suck. If not, in the end it will work out. She will not be the top 1 player on team currently ranked ~150 which she would help drive up and being the best player she will be the one noticed more than the others. Now if it is just about winning and saying you are on a top 25 team then that is different. In the end just make sure she is having fun and it will work out fine.

I am honestly not complaining because we are probably a bit more academically focused regardless and not hitching wagon to college soccer but it will be a developmental hit to her specifically. A prior poster is accurate that it is the club but I do understand the club point of view of strict adherence to eliminate the entitled parent drama.

But there is not a good way to spin it from her development standpoint. Yes, she will be the top player on the younger team but I would 100% rather her be a bench player on Blues than top player on a less developed team. Improvement comes every day in practice going up against other good players and also playing against other top players in competition.

Again, not really complaining just pointing out there will be girls, who are good, that will have their development stunted a bit by this change. Does it matter in the grand scheme of things, probably not.

I am the person you replied to. At you are being realistic about everything. That alone will help your daughter in the long run. I am in a similar boat (sort of). My daughter is definitely academics first and should get into a good college on that alone. Luckily we don't need scholarship money but it would be really nice if she could continue to play. My daughter is an August birthday and starts on an ECNL team. When it was announced in March that the date would be 9/1 we were relieved to not have to deal with the drama of switching or not. Now, we are slightly worried because she already plays with her grade and don't want to go down. Thankfully I "think" our club will place August kids with their grade or just allow to play up. Either way, we should be ok.

Same. DD is an Aug birthday and a top player on a top team. She will have the option to stay with her current team and be a grade below, or play with the “younger” team (even though she will be in that age group) and be with her grade. Pros and cons to each, but both teams are good. I’ll let her decide when the time comes. But like you, either way she’ll be fine. It’ll all work itself out.

This doesnt make sense.

If your kid was born in Aug its before 9/1. This means with BY they're playing with the right grade on her current team. If they were born between 9/1 and 12/31 your kid would be a grade lower in school but playing on a team with mostly a grade higher players. (ie a trapped player)

Stop makings things up if you cant even lie correctly.

What doesn’t make sense? She’s an Aug 2011 birthday and going into 8th grade. Her team is mostly 9th graders. She’s a late August birthday so she started kindergarten later. Maybe that wasn’t clear but I thought it was obvious given the explanation of why she would be able to choose. Wouldn't make stuff up on a random forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in a potentially awkward situation where my daughter is a Q4 and one of the top 3 players on a Top 25 team in the nation. Our club is saying strict adherence to age groups to avoid all the noise.

The team below her is not good (~150 ranked) but there are no other clubs that work for our specific situation, so there are girls that are going to get short end of the stick out there.

If your daughter is an August birthday and playing with her grade then that would really suck. If not, in the end it will work out. She will not be the top 1 player on team currently ranked ~150 which she would help drive up and being the best player she will be the one noticed more than the others. Now if it is just about winning and saying you are on a top 25 team then that is different. In the end just make sure she is having fun and it will work out fine.

I am honestly not complaining because we are probably a bit more academically focused regardless and not hitching wagon to college soccer but it will be a developmental hit to her specifically. A prior poster is accurate that it is the club but I do understand the club point of view of strict adherence to eliminate the entitled parent drama.

But there is not a good way to spin it from her development standpoint. Yes, she will be the top player on the younger team but I would 100% rather her be a bench player on Blues than top player on a less developed team. Improvement comes every day in practice going up against other good players and also playing against other top players in competition.

Again, not really complaining just pointing out there will be girls, who are good, that will have their development stunted a bit by this change. Does it matter in the grand scheme of things, probably not.

I am the person you replied to. At you are being realistic about everything. That alone will help your daughter in the long run. I am in a similar boat (sort of). My daughter is definitely academics first and should get into a good college on that alone. Luckily we don't need scholarship money but it would be really nice if she could continue to play. My daughter is an August birthday and starts on an ECNL team. When it was announced in March that the date would be 9/1 we were relieved to not have to deal with the drama of switching or not. Now, we are slightly worried because she already plays with her grade and don't want to go down. Thankfully I "think" our club will place August kids with their grade or just allow to play up. Either way, we should be ok.

Same. DD is an Aug birthday and a top player on a top team. She will have the option to stay with her current team and be a grade below, or play with the “younger” team (even though she will be in that age group) and be with her grade. Pros and cons to each, but both teams are good. I’ll let her decide when the time comes. But like you, either way she’ll be fine. It’ll all work itself out.

This doesnt make sense.

If your kid was born in Aug its before 9/1. This means with BY they're playing with the right grade on her current team. If they were born between 9/1 and 12/31 your kid would be a grade lower in school but playing on a team with mostly a grade higher players. (ie a trapped player)

Stop makings things up if you cant even lie correctly.

What doesn’t make sense? She’s an Aug 2011 birthday and going into 8th grade. Her team is mostly 9th graders. She’s a late August birthday so she started kindergarten later. Maybe that wasn’t clear but I thought it was obvious given the explanation of why she would be able to choose. Wouldn't make stuff up on a random forum.

What state + what is your cutoff date for starting school?

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am admitting that I have not read these pages closely, so I apologize in advance. I cannot find whether ECNL has made an official statement between 8/1 and 9/1. (I think it’s 9/1, but can be wrong.) Will someone kindly update me? Thanks![/quote]

ECNL follows US Soccer - therefore it has moved to 8/1 [/quote]

US CLUB Soccer… not US Soccer

[Anonymous]

GIRLS ACADEMY ANNUAL SUMMIT
JUNE 18, 2025 – ONTARIO, CA

9A.M - AGM & Commissioner Updates

Should know on Wednesday