ECNL moving to school year not calendar
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Anonymous
If you're going to choose a single cutoff date for everyone across the US 8/1 is better than 9/1. But the problem with 8/1 is instead of just having the issue of trapped players under BY you've now introduced the possibility of August players to play down a grade. Oh and also there is a very small amount of schools that start in July this means with 8/1 theres still trapped players. So SY with a single 8/1 cutoff still has a small number of trapped players and now theres a new issue of Aug players playing down a grade. What makes BY with a 1/1 cutoff nice is that its not tied to anything related to the grade in school. It has a trapped player issue but everyone is affected relatively evenly and nobody is playing down. SY+60 with a 9/1 cutoff addresses all trapped players including districts that start in July, it doesnt allow Aug birthdays to play down a grade, and doesnt allow hold backs / regrades. For clubs it makes things incredibly easy because all you need to ask players is what grade they are in school and that's their grouping. Its also easy for tournaments and recruiters because groupings are all based on grade only. On top of everything else its a single rule set that works for everyone across the US allowing everyone to playvagainst each other without issue. |
Anonymous
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Just to provide more detail...
If GA implemented SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff it would be basically the same thing as a single cutoff date of 8/1. Which means GA teams could participate in other leagues tournaments assuming other leagues have a single 8/1 cutoff. The one difference is that August birthdays would not be able to play down a grade in SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. BTW what SY+30 provides (not allowing Aug birthdays to play down) is the reason ECNL initially chose 9/1 as their cutoff before being pressured into 8/1. |
Anonymous
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What i like about both SY+30 and SY+60 with a 9/1 cutoff is all questions and edge cases are addressed. Theres no ambiguity.
Some people have said the proof of grade part of SY+30/60 would be hard to police. But this isn't the case. ECNL lists all player profiles publicly. Cheaters would quickly be identified. Theres just no value in August players playing down as a little because when they get older they'll be forced to regrade down or play with their grade when called out. |
Anonymous
| Is SY+ guy literally the only person anywhere arguing this? Haven't heard anyone other than this guy even mention this crazy idea |
Anonymous
| You all really live in a bubble. This begins long before GA and ECNL at rec then U9. Since they liked to use the word Ecosystem having one set of rules that then changes entering u-13 will be a mess. Little Susie born in August her parents start her in school ON TIME, sign her up soccer, registration system only asks for birthday, little Susie is misaligned for a couple of years because her parents don't even know there is a misalignment. Now imagine if there was a system in place where this doesn't occur. Ohh that's right 9/1 or even better 10/1+60. |
Anonymous
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Think about what will happen over time with recruiters if League A chose a single cutoff date of 8/1 and League B chose SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff.
The oldest players in League A would be Aug birthdays which means a larger percentage of Aug players will happen over time. Also because League allows it there will be a bunch of Aug birthdays that are a grade older in school but playing on teams a grade lower. This will be incredibly annoying for recruiters because top recruits will likely be graduating HS a year before everyone on their team. How will this player be able to jump from playing against Juniors in HS to playing Collegiately? League B with SY+30 and a 9/1 cutoff makes it so everyone player on a team is the same grade. Theres no questions for recruiters. If you go to a League B event and watch a game all players are guaranteed to graduate the same year. Which league would you want to recruit from if given the choice? |
Anonymous
You didnt notice how ECNL initially chose 9/1 as a cutoff then changed it to 8/1? Why do you think they initially chose 9/1? I can tell you why. They were trying to avoid Aug players playing down. They changed to 8/1 because theres all kinds of districts across the US that start 8/1 and were pressured into it. As to why you haven't heard of SY+30/60 or more specifically a "date range" cutoff grouping concept. I dont know, my guess is that Soccer people dont understand math. Or they listen to close minded know it alls like you. |
Anonymous
| Dude, in competitive soccer a universal 12-month age window for physical fairness is more important than all the nuances of getting everyone to play in the same grade. On the bright side, your July kid will develop stronger being on the younger side of the cutoff. |
Anonymous
Sometimes I think soccer people just enjoy creating issues instead of resolving them. Think about this... Why dont leagues and tournaments have apps available for phones that refs can download + inter scores, red/yellow cards, and it can check players in before games with pics. One Pic available for the ref to review and also have the ref take a pic of the player before the game for review later to catch cheaters. Would be so easy for league / tournament directors to get scores posted asap and catch cheaters. If you really want to go crazy pay refs through the app. You'd know exactly which games they reffed and how many steps they took on the field. |
Anonymous
| I can't believe this thread is at 1096 pages. Whatever the new cutoff it won't change the course of your kid's life or soccer career. If they are a good player they will still be a good player. Soccer will still be a pay to play sport. Clubs will still get you to believe your kid is better than reality. You will still spend a lot of time and money on leagues and private training. Club politics will still exist. USMNT will still suck. Eventually you will find something else to complain about. This is not revolutionary stuff. We've had SY soccer before. We know how this story goes. |
Anonymous
My kis is a September baby and she starts on a top 20 nationally ranked team. Im not concerned. I am trying to show leagues how to address SY issues with math. |
Anonymous
If your kid was born in August what we're discussing most certany can affect them. |
Anonymous
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I want to know when new rules will be out and will there be any chance of more than 2 players, maybe 4 allowed to play in their new age bracket and when that would happen.
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Anonymous
Official start date is the season after next season or 2026/27. |
Anonymous
The rules will come out in August / September. There's always a chance of the rules being what you suggest. 
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