ECNL moving to school year part 2

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Anonymous wrote:My son’s coach at a large and top Texas ECNL club told me the club is already populating teams for next season in advance of the transition. He said the tricky situation is when an Aug - December kid is doing well on his current team but there may not be enough room for him in the higher level team in his new age category. For example, a good ECRL player that may not be able to move up to ECNL next season. This type of player would just stay on his team next season and would technically be playing up.

I assume the club will have the August - December boys train with teams of different levels in the spring to finish populating teams prior to open try outs in May.


Thats an interesting conundrum but if the good ECRL player Q4 kid still cant make the ECNL team in his new age group, why not play RL in his new age group? Why stay with the RL team a year up? Do we think that is better from a player development perspective?

This is a possibility. But its always been a possibility because nobody has an issue with players playing up.

The more obvious problem situation is Aug birthday players in BY playing with their correct grade. Will these players be forced to play on a grade down SY team?


What about Sept and Oct birthdays?

Could go either way.

If players are older and the team is winning most likely they'll keep everything as is.

If the playera are younger it will be like every season when teams are shuffled after tryouts.


It won't go either way. All players (with rare exceptions just like now) will play in their new age grouping. Just like now. Excepting of course for small-time clubs. All of this talk about about players deciding to play up, or coaches talking about keeping certain players up (or teams up) will all disappear as evals and tryouts roll around. It is just lip service to keep parents calm and from coaches who don't even get to make the decisions.


My daughter’s coach (MVLA) told us they plan on allowing current Aug-Dec players within the club to stay up. However that will be something they determined fully after tryouts.


You say MVLA like that means anything. No one knows what you are talking about.

I think you're lieing but whatever. Their teams are listed as "Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club" in the ranking app.


Ugh thinks everyone is lying… what a sourpuss.

Whats wrong? One of the top clubs in the country saying that they'll probabaly leave established BY teams alone not aligning with what you thought would happen?
Not PP but I fully expected clubs to mislead existing players and then demoted a bunch after tryouts. And a bunch are going to voluntarily go down to lock in top teams anyway. Existing teams will not exist. That's what it seems from the comment.

You're talking about a top 10 team in the nation at multiple age groups. This is not a B team or Town team. They've spent years recruiting and developing talent. Do you really think they'd just replace trapped players on winning teams with unknowns?
Trapped players going down an age group will be the first move upsetting the apple cart. Then everyone has to jump to maintain positions, playing time, etc. Any ehn clubs have to fill in holes. Existing teams will not exist.

OK it seems like you think you know how things will go.

Watch what actually happens.
Clubs wanted SY, trapped players looking to get on the right recruiting year wanted SY, the leagues wanted SY, many players want to play on grade. The rules are changing so everyone adjusts.

Exactly players clubs and leagues want to play with their grade in school.
But of course many will be forced to play down a grade based on their age and clubs/leagues don't like to have players play up except for the rare exception.

No, clubs will play players with their grade whenever possible. This is because when they get older playing down makes players unrecruitable by college coaches and scouts.


Really kids who are 13 and 14 months younger? Those will be kids on b and c teams.

Maybe, but playing on the B team with players your grade is 100x better for player development than playing on a team a grade down.


This is the wrong take. Being the youngest on the team often means less attention and potentially an earlier exit from playing, even from the B team. If these kids play in their AGE group, they'd be the oldest and perhaps get the attention and play at a level where they can thrive and have confidence. That's why -- if given a choice -- parents will opt for the age group.

Nobody wants your older B team player on their younger A team. Play with your grade or go away.


Except the coach and club and the whole team. You see a lost spot. They might see a player who helps them win and become better because all those players train with that player.

This is a littles parent attitude.

Once you get to HS everyone fights fot position and recruiting. Nobody wants a grade older unrecruitable player on their team stealing minutes from those that matter.


There is no such thing as an unrecruitable player. There are red flags that may cause college coaches to pass on a player… a big one is completely crazy parents.

An unrecruitable player is someone that's graduating in X year but playing on a team that competes in Y grade. How would a college coach evaluate a player like that? They might look good but they're also worse than every other player in grade X. If they were any good why wouldn't they play in grade X? See what I mean? Unrecruitable


Except maybe that player is scoring all the goals OR making all the saves and that team is one of the best in the country. It's not hard to figure out. Chances are, also, that player is seen in other recruiting situations with other groups of players. Plenty to evaluate on. I mean, how do these coaches evaluate international players? It's not like they play in any class or grade that's consistent with a domestic recruiting class.

But in that situation you're not the best in the country. Youre the best in the country thats playing down a grade. Which makes you the first in line after all other recruits that are playing with their grade.
What? Do you read what you wrtte?
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Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
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Anonymous wrote:My son’s coach at a large and top Texas ECNL club told me the club is already populating teams for next season in advance of the transition. He said the tricky situation is when an Aug - December kid is doing well on his current team but there may not be enough room for him in the higher level team in his new age category. For example, a good ECRL player that may not be able to move up to ECNL next season. This type of player would just stay on his team next season and would technically be playing up.

I assume the club will have the August - December boys train with teams of different levels in the spring to finish populating teams prior to open try outs in May.


Thats an interesting conundrum but if the good ECRL player Q4 kid still cant make the ECNL team in his new age group, why not play RL in his new age group? Why stay with the RL team a year up? Do we think that is better from a player development perspective?

This is a possibility. But its always been a possibility because nobody has an issue with players playing up.

The more obvious problem situation is Aug birthday players in BY playing with their correct grade. Will these players be forced to play on a grade down SY team?


What about Sept and Oct birthdays?

Could go either way.

If players are older and the team is winning most likely they'll keep everything as is.

If the playera are younger it will be like every season when teams are shuffled after tryouts.


It won't go either way. All players (with rare exceptions just like now) will play in their new age grouping. Just like now. Excepting of course for small-time clubs. All of this talk about about players deciding to play up, or coaches talking about keeping certain players up (or teams up) will all disappear as evals and tryouts roll around. It is just lip service to keep parents calm and from coaches who don't even get to make the decisions.


My daughter’s coach (MVLA) told us they plan on allowing current Aug-Dec players within the club to stay up. However that will be something they determined fully after tryouts.


You say MVLA like that means anything. No one knows what you are talking about.

I think you're lieing but whatever. Their teams are listed as "Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club" in the ranking app.


Ugh thinks everyone is lying… what a sourpuss.

Whats wrong? One of the top clubs in the country saying that they'll probabaly leave established BY teams alone not aligning with what you thought would happen?
Not PP but I fully expected clubs to mislead existing players and then demoted a bunch after tryouts. And a bunch are going to voluntarily go down to lock in top teams anyway. Existing teams will not exist. That's what it seems from the comment.

You're talking about a top 10 team in the nation at multiple age groups. This is not a B team or Town team. They've spent years recruiting and developing talent. Do you really think they'd just replace trapped players on winning teams with unknowns?
Trapped players going down an age group will be the first move upsetting the apple cart. Then everyone has to jump to maintain positions, playing time, etc. Any ehn clubs have to fill in holes. Existing teams will not exist.

OK it seems like you think you know how things will go.

Watch what actually happens.
Clubs wanted SY, trapped players looking to get on the right recruiting year wanted SY, the leagues wanted SY, many players want to play on grade. The rules are changing so everyone adjusts.

Exactly players clubs and leagues want to play with their grade in school.
But of course many will be forced to play down a grade based on their age and clubs/leagues don't like to have players play up except for the rare exception.

No, clubs will play players with their grade whenever possible. This is because when they get older playing down makes players unrecruitable by college coaches and scouts.


Really kids who are 13 and 14 months younger? Those will be kids on b and c teams.

Maybe, but playing on the B team with players your grade is 100x better for player development than playing on a team a grade down.


This is the wrong take. Being the youngest on the team often means less attention and potentially an earlier exit from playing, even from the B team. If these kids play in their AGE group, they'd be the oldest and perhaps get the attention and play at a level where they can thrive and have confidence. That's why -- if given a choice -- parents will opt for the age group.

Nobody wants your older B team player on their younger A team. Play with your grade or go away.


Except the coach and club and the whole team. You see a lost spot. They might see a player who helps them win and become better because all those players train with that player.

This is a littles parent attitude.

Once you get to HS everyone fights fot position and recruiting. Nobody wants a grade older unrecruitable player on their team stealing minutes from those that matter.


There is no such thing as an unrecruitable player. There are red flags that may cause college coaches to pass on a player… a big one is completely crazy parents.

An unrecruitable player is someone that's graduating in X year but playing on a team that competes in Y grade. How would a college coach evaluate a player like that? They might look good but they're also worse than every other player in grade X. If they were any good why wouldn't they play in grade X? See what I mean? Unrecruitable


Except maybe that player is scoring all the goals OR making all the saves and that team is one of the best in the country. It's not hard to figure out. Chances are, also, that player is seen in other recruiting situations with other groups of players. Plenty to evaluate on. I mean, how do these coaches evaluate international players? It's not like they play in any class or grade that's consistent with a domestic recruiting class.

But in that situation you're not the best in the country. Youre the best in the country thats playing down a grade. Which makes you the first in line after all other recruits that are playing with their grade.


This is a false statement.
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Anonymous wrote:My son’s coach at a large and top Texas ECNL club told me the club is already populating teams for next season in advance of the transition. He said the tricky situation is when an Aug - December kid is doing well on his current team but there may not be enough room for him in the higher level team in his new age category. For example, a good ECRL player that may not be able to move up to ECNL next season. This type of player would just stay on his team next season and would technically be playing up.

I assume the club will have the August - December boys train with teams of different levels in the spring to finish populating teams prior to open try outs in May.


Thats an interesting conundrum but if the good ECRL player Q4 kid still cant make the ECNL team in his new age group, why not play RL in his new age group? Why stay with the RL team a year up? Do we think that is better from a player development perspective?

This is a possibility. But its always been a possibility because nobody has an issue with players playing up.

The more obvious problem situation is Aug birthday players in BY playing with their correct grade. Will these players be forced to play on a grade down SY team?


What about Sept and Oct birthdays?

Could go either way.

If players are older and the team is winning most likely they'll keep everything as is.

If the playera are younger it will be like every season when teams are shuffled after tryouts.


It won't go either way. All players (with rare exceptions just like now) will play in their new age grouping. Just like now. Excepting of course for small-time clubs. All of this talk about about players deciding to play up, or coaches talking about keeping certain players up (or teams up) will all disappear as evals and tryouts roll around. It is just lip service to keep parents calm and from coaches who don't even get to make the decisions.


My daughter’s coach (MVLA) told us they plan on allowing current Aug-Dec players within the club to stay up. However that will be something they determined fully after tryouts.


You say MVLA like that means anything. No one knows what you are talking about.

I think you're lieing but whatever. Their teams are listed as "Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club" in the ranking app.


Ugh thinks everyone is lying… what a sourpuss.

Whats wrong? One of the top clubs in the country saying that they'll probabaly leave established BY teams alone not aligning with what you thought would happen?
Not PP but I fully expected clubs to mislead existing players and then demoted a bunch after tryouts. And a bunch are going to voluntarily go down to lock in top teams anyway. Existing teams will not exist. That's what it seems from the comment.

You're talking about a top 10 team in the nation at multiple age groups. This is not a B team or Town team. They've spent years recruiting and developing talent. Do you really think they'd just replace trapped players on winning teams with unknowns?
Trapped players going down an age group will be the first move upsetting the apple cart. Then everyone has to jump to maintain positions, playing time, etc. Any ehn clubs have to fill in holes. Existing teams will not exist.

OK it seems like you think you know how things will go.

Watch what actually happens.
Clubs wanted SY, trapped players looking to get on the right recruiting year wanted SY, the leagues wanted SY, many players want to play on grade. The rules are changing so everyone adjusts.

Exactly players clubs and leagues want to play with their grade in school.
But of course many will be forced to play down a grade based on their age and clubs/leagues don't like to have players play up except for the rare exception.

No, clubs will play players with their grade whenever possible. This is because when they get older playing down makes players unrecruitable by college coaches and scouts.


Really kids who are 13 and 14 months younger? Those will be kids on b and c teams.

Maybe, but playing on the B team with players your grade is 100x better for player development than playing on a team a grade down.


This is the wrong take. Being the youngest on the team often means less attention and potentially an earlier exit from playing, even from the B team. If these kids play in their AGE group, they'd be the oldest and perhaps get the attention and play at a level where they can thrive and have confidence. That's why -- if given a choice -- parents will opt for the age group.

Nobody wants your older B team player on their younger A team. Play with your grade or go away.


Except the coach and club and the whole team. You see a lost spot. They might see a player who helps them win and become better because all those players train with that player.

This is a littles parent attitude.

Once you get to HS everyone fights fot position and recruiting. Nobody wants a grade older unrecruitable player on their team stealing minutes from those that matter.


There is no such thing as an unrecruitable player. There are red flags that may cause college coaches to pass on a player… a big one is completely crazy parents.

An unrecruitable player is someone that's graduating in X year but playing on a team that competes in Y grade. How would a college coach evaluate a player like that? They might look good but they're also worse than every other player in grade X. If they were any good why wouldn't they play in grade X? See what I mean? Unrecruitable


Except maybe that player is scoring all the goals OR making all the saves and that team is one of the best in the country. It's not hard to figure out. Chances are, also, that player is seen in other recruiting situations with other groups of players. Plenty to evaluate on. I mean, how do these coaches evaluate international players? It's not like they play in any class or grade that's consistent with a domestic recruiting class.

But in that situation you're not the best in the country. Youre the best in the country thats playing down a grade. Which makes you the first in line after all other recruits that are playing with their grade.

International players come from Acadamies and Acadamies value playing up not playing down. Also most of the Academy players college coaches recruit are 24 year old washouts. How would a HS senior playing club at the Junior level in any way shape or form compare to a 24 year old Academy player? This is who you're competing for college roster spots with.
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Anonymous wrote:My son’s coach at a large and top Texas ECNL club told me the club is already populating teams for next season in advance of the transition. He said the tricky situation is when an Aug - December kid is doing well on his current team but there may not be enough room for him in the higher level team in his new age category. For example, a good ECRL player that may not be able to move up to ECNL next season. This type of player would just stay on his team next season and would technically be playing up.

I assume the club will have the August - December boys train with teams of different levels in the spring to finish populating teams prior to open try outs in May.


Thats an interesting conundrum but if the good ECRL player Q4 kid still cant make the ECNL team in his new age group, why not play RL in his new age group? Why stay with the RL team a year up? Do we think that is better from a player development perspective?

This is a possibility. But its always been a possibility because nobody has an issue with players playing up.

The more obvious problem situation is Aug birthday players in BY playing with their correct grade. Will these players be forced to play on a grade down SY team?


What about Sept and Oct birthdays?

Could go either way.

If players are older and the team is winning most likely they'll keep everything as is.

If the playera are younger it will be like every season when teams are shuffled after tryouts.


It won't go either way. All players (with rare exceptions just like now) will play in their new age grouping. Just like now. Excepting of course for small-time clubs. All of this talk about about players deciding to play up, or coaches talking about keeping certain players up (or teams up) will all disappear as evals and tryouts roll around. It is just lip service to keep parents calm and from coaches who don't even get to make the decisions.


My daughter’s coach (MVLA) told us they plan on allowing current Aug-Dec players within the club to stay up. However that will be something they determined fully after tryouts.


You say MVLA like that means anything. No one knows what you are talking about.

I think you're lieing but whatever. Their teams are listed as "Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club" in the ranking app.


Ugh thinks everyone is lying… what a sourpuss.

Whats wrong? One of the top clubs in the country saying that they'll probabaly leave established BY teams alone not aligning with what you thought would happen?
Not PP but I fully expected clubs to mislead existing players and then demoted a bunch after tryouts. And a bunch are going to voluntarily go down to lock in top teams anyway. Existing teams will not exist. That's what it seems from the comment.

You're talking about a top 10 team in the nation at multiple age groups. This is not a B team or Town team. They've spent years recruiting and developing talent. Do you really think they'd just replace trapped players on winning teams with unknowns?
Trapped players going down an age group will be the first move upsetting the apple cart. Then everyone has to jump to maintain positions, playing time, etc. Any ehn clubs have to fill in holes. Existing teams will not exist.

OK it seems like you think you know how things will go.

Watch what actually happens.
Clubs wanted SY, trapped players looking to get on the right recruiting year wanted SY, the leagues wanted SY, many players want to play on grade. The rules are changing so everyone adjusts.

Exactly players clubs and leagues want to play with their grade in school.
But of course many will be forced to play down a grade based on their age and clubs/leagues don't like to have players play up except for the rare exception.

No, clubs will play players with their grade whenever possible. This is because when they get older playing down makes players unrecruitable by college coaches and scouts.


Really kids who are 13 and 14 months younger? Those will be kids on b and c teams.

Maybe, but playing on the B team with players your grade is 100x better for player development than playing on a team a grade down.


This is the wrong take. Being the youngest on the team often means less attention and potentially an earlier exit from playing, even from the B team. If these kids play in their AGE group, they'd be the oldest and perhaps get the attention and play at a level where they can thrive and have confidence. That's why -- if given a choice -- parents will opt for the age group.

Nobody wants your older B team player on their younger A team. Play with your grade or go away.


Except the coach and club and the whole team. You see a lost spot. They might see a player who helps them win and become better because all those players train with that player.

This is a littles parent attitude.

Once you get to HS everyone fights fot position and recruiting. Nobody wants a grade older unrecruitable player on their team stealing minutes from those that matter.


There is no such thing as an unrecruitable player. There are red flags that may cause college coaches to pass on a player… a big one is completely crazy parents.

An unrecruitable player is someone that's graduating in X year but playing on a team that competes in Y grade. How would a college coach evaluate a player like that? They might look good but they're also worse than every other player in grade X. If they were any good why wouldn't they play in grade X? See what I mean? Unrecruitable


Except maybe that player is scoring all the goals OR making all the saves and that team is one of the best in the country. It's not hard to figure out. Chances are, also, that player is seen in other recruiting situations with other groups of players. Plenty to evaluate on. I mean, how do these coaches evaluate international players? It's not like they play in any class or grade that's consistent with a domestic recruiting class.

But in that situation you're not the best in the country. Youre the best in the country thats playing down a grade. Which makes you the first in line after all other recruits that are playing with their grade.


This is a false statement.

No, it's 100% true.

You just dont like reality pushed in your face.
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Anonymous wrote:My son’s coach at a large and top Texas ECNL club told me the club is already populating teams for next season in advance of the transition. He said the tricky situation is when an Aug - December kid is doing well on his current team but there may not be enough room for him in the higher level team in his new age category. For example, a good ECRL player that may not be able to move up to ECNL next season. This type of player would just stay on his team next season and would technically be playing up.

I assume the club will have the August - December boys train with teams of different levels in the spring to finish populating teams prior to open try outs in May.


Thats an interesting conundrum but if the good ECRL player Q4 kid still cant make the ECNL team in his new age group, why not play RL in his new age group? Why stay with the RL team a year up? Do we think that is better from a player development perspective?

This is a possibility. But its always been a possibility because nobody has an issue with players playing up.

The more obvious problem situation is Aug birthday players in BY playing with their correct grade. Will these players be forced to play on a grade down SY team?


What about Sept and Oct birthdays?

Could go either way.

If players are older and the team is winning most likely they'll keep everything as is.

If the playera are younger it will be like every season when teams are shuffled after tryouts.


It won't go either way. All players (with rare exceptions just like now) will play in their new age grouping. Just like now. Excepting of course for small-time clubs. All of this talk about about players deciding to play up, or coaches talking about keeping certain players up (or teams up) will all disappear as evals and tryouts roll around. It is just lip service to keep parents calm and from coaches who don't even get to make the decisions.


My daughter’s coach (MVLA) told us they plan on allowing current Aug-Dec players within the club to stay up. However that will be something they determined fully after tryouts.


You say MVLA like that means anything. No one knows what you are talking about.

I think you're lieing but whatever. Their teams are listed as "Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club" in the ranking app.


Ugh thinks everyone is lying… what a sourpuss.

Whats wrong? One of the top clubs in the country saying that they'll probabaly leave established BY teams alone not aligning with what you thought would happen?
Not PP but I fully expected clubs to mislead existing players and then demoted a bunch after tryouts. And a bunch are going to voluntarily go down to lock in top teams anyway. Existing teams will not exist. That's what it seems from the comment.

You're talking about a top 10 team in the nation at multiple age groups. This is not a B team or Town team. They've spent years recruiting and developing talent. Do you really think they'd just replace trapped players on winning teams with unknowns?
Trapped players going down an age group will be the first move upsetting the apple cart. Then everyone has to jump to maintain positions, playing time, etc. Any ehn clubs have to fill in holes. Existing teams will not exist.

OK it seems like you think you know how things will go.

Watch what actually happens.
Clubs wanted SY, trapped players looking to get on the right recruiting year wanted SY, the leagues wanted SY, many players want to play on grade. The rules are changing so everyone adjusts.

Exactly players clubs and leagues want to play with their grade in school.
But of course many will be forced to play down a grade based on their age and clubs/leagues don't like to have players play up except for the rare exception.

No, clubs will play players with their grade whenever possible. This is because when they get older playing down makes players unrecruitable by college coaches and scouts.


Really kids who are 13 and 14 months younger? Those will be kids on b and c teams.

Maybe, but playing on the B team with players your grade is 100x better for player development than playing on a team a grade down.


This is the wrong take. Being the youngest on the team often means less attention and potentially an earlier exit from playing, even from the B team. If these kids play in their AGE group, they'd be the oldest and perhaps get the attention and play at a level where they can thrive and have confidence. That's why -- if given a choice -- parents will opt for the age group.

Nobody wants your older B team player on their younger A team. Play with your grade or go away.


Except the coach and club and the whole team. You see a lost spot. They might see a player who helps them win and become better because all those players train with that player.

This is a littles parent attitude.

Once you get to HS everyone fights fot position and recruiting. Nobody wants a grade older unrecruitable player on their team stealing minutes from those that matter.


There is no such thing as an unrecruitable player. There are red flags that may cause college coaches to pass on a player… a big one is completely crazy parents.

An unrecruitable player is someone that's graduating in X year but playing on a team that competes in Y grade. How would a college coach evaluate a player like that? They might look good but they're also worse than every other player in grade X. If they were any good why wouldn't they play in grade X? See what I mean? Unrecruitable


Except maybe that player is scoring all the goals OR making all the saves and that team is one of the best in the country. It's not hard to figure out. Chances are, also, that player is seen in other recruiting situations with other groups of players. Plenty to evaluate on. I mean, how do these coaches evaluate international players? It's not like they play in any class or grade that's consistent with a domestic recruiting class.

But in that situation you're not the best in the country. Youre the best in the country thats playing down a grade. Which makes you the first in line after all other recruits that are playing with their grade.


This is a false statement.

No, it's 100% true.

You just dont like reality pushed in your face.
No, their is no recruiting line based on age groups. Suggesting their is is nuts.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
So it is a baby step to GY. Meaning it is GY.
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
So it is a baby step to GY. Meaning it is GY.

I get that you're intentionally saying GY to try and deflect. But most College Coaches want all players to be the same grade in school on the field. This is because it makes it easier for them to know what year players will graduate. Most Youth Coaches and DOCs dont know it yet unless they were around 2016 and before but SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule saying players must play on team their grade in school will make their lives 10x easier because everyone on the team is the same grade in school.

Think about it, if you have a freshman playing down on an 8th grade team they'll want to play HS soccer so they wont play on the club team during this time. What about HS homecoming, prom, etc all things 8th grade players dont do. What about recruiting seminars and classes? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the group was the same grade? The list goes on.
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
So it is a baby step to GY. Meaning it is GY.

I get that you're intentionally saying GY to try and deflect. But most College Coaches want all players to be the same grade in school on the field. This is because it makes it easier for them to know what year players will graduate. Most Youth Coaches and DOCs dont know it yet unless they were around 2016 and before but SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule saying players must play on team their grade in school will make their lives 10x easier because everyone on the team is the same grade in school.

Think about it, if you have a freshman playing down on an 8th grade team they'll want to play HS soccer so they wont play on the club team during this time. What about HS homecoming, prom, etc all things 8th grade players dont do. What about recruiting seminars and classes? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the group was the same grade? The list goes on.
That is the push for Gy. Most don't want it.
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
So it is a baby step to GY. Meaning it is GY.

I get that you're intentionally saying GY to try and deflect. But most College Coaches want all players to be the same grade in school on the field. This is because it makes it easier for them to know what year players will graduate. Most Youth Coaches and DOCs dont know it yet unless they were around 2016 and before but SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule saying players must play on team their grade in school will make their lives 10x easier because everyone on the team is the same grade in school.

Think about it, if you have a freshman playing down on an 8th grade team they'll want to play HS soccer so they wont play on the club team during this time. What about HS homecoming, prom, etc all things 8th grade players dont do. What about recruiting seminars and classes? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the group was the same grade? The list goes on.
That is the push for Gy. Most don't want it.

Nope. Seriously you need to pick up a calender. Because you just sound stupid.

8/1-7/31 is the eligibility window. This means nobody can be older that 8/1. Players in the grade but younger that 8/1-7/31 will need to play up with their grade

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
So it is a baby step to GY. Meaning it is GY.

I get that you're intentionally saying GY to try and deflect. But most College Coaches want all players to be the same grade in school on the field. This is because it makes it easier for them to know what year players will graduate. Most Youth Coaches and DOCs dont know it yet unless they were around 2016 and before but SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule saying players must play on team their grade in school will make their lives 10x easier because everyone on the team is the same grade in school.

Think about it, if you have a freshman playing down on an 8th grade team they'll want to play HS soccer so they wont play on the club team during this time. What about HS homecoming, prom, etc all things 8th grade players dont do. What about recruiting seminars and classes? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the group was the same grade? The list goes on.
That is the push for Gy. Most don't want it.

Nope. Seriously you need to pick up a calender. Because you just sound stupid.

8/1-7/31 is the eligibility window. This means nobody can be older that 8/1. Players in the grade but younger that 8/1-7/31 will need to play up with their grade

Your arguing for GY.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
So it is a baby step to GY. Meaning it is GY.

I get that you're intentionally saying GY to try and deflect. But most College Coaches want all players to be the same grade in school on the field. This is because it makes it easier for them to know what year players will graduate. Most Youth Coaches and DOCs dont know it yet unless they were around 2016 and before but SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule saying players must play on team their grade in school will make their lives 10x easier because everyone on the team is the same grade in school.

Think about it, if you have a freshman playing down on an 8th grade team they'll want to play HS soccer so they wont play on the club team during this time. What about HS homecoming, prom, etc all things 8th grade players dont do. What about recruiting seminars and classes? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the group was the same grade? The list goes on.
That is the push for Gy. Most don't want it.

Nope. Seriously you need to pick up a calender. Because you just sound stupid.

8/1-7/31 is the eligibility window. This means nobody can be older that 8/1. Players in the grade but younger that 8/1-7/31 will need to play up with their grade

Your arguing for GY.

Its SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule that players must play on a team that's their grade in school.
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
So it is a baby step to GY. Meaning it is GY.

I get that you're intentionally saying GY to try and deflect. But most College Coaches want all players to be the same grade in school on the field. This is because it makes it easier for them to know what year players will graduate. Most Youth Coaches and DOCs dont know it yet unless they were around 2016 and before but SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule saying players must play on team their grade in school will make their lives 10x easier because everyone on the team is the same grade in school.

Think about it, if you have a freshman playing down on an 8th grade team they'll want to play HS soccer so they wont play on the club team during this time. What about HS homecoming, prom, etc all things 8th grade players dont do. What about recruiting seminars and classes? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the group was the same grade? The list goes on.
That is the push for Gy. Most don't want it.

Nope. Seriously you need to pick up a calender. Because you just sound stupid.

8/1-7/31 is the eligibility window. This means nobody can be older that 8/1. Players in the grade but younger that 8/1-7/31 will need to play up with their grade

Your arguing for GY.

Its SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule that players must play on a team that's their grade in school.
"Its SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule that players must play on a team that's their grade in school." is GY as the grade overrides the8/1-7/31 part. Your DD will survive being the 2nd oldest on the team but might have to find a new position and get less minutes.
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
So it is a baby step to GY. Meaning it is GY.

I get that you're intentionally saying GY to try and deflect. But most College Coaches want all players to be the same grade in school on the field. This is because it makes it easier for them to know what year players will graduate. Most Youth Coaches and DOCs dont know it yet unless they were around 2016 and before but SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule saying players must play on team their grade in school will make their lives 10x easier because everyone on the team is the same grade in school.

Think about it, if you have a freshman playing down on an 8th grade team they'll want to play HS soccer so they wont play on the club team during this time. What about HS homecoming, prom, etc all things 8th grade players dont do. What about recruiting seminars and classes? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the group was the same grade? The list goes on.
That is the push for Gy. Most don't want it.

Nope. Seriously you need to pick up a calender. Because you just sound stupid.

8/1-7/31 is the eligibility window. This means nobody can be older that 8/1. Players in the grade but younger that 8/1-7/31 will need to play up with their grade

Your arguing for GY.

Its SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule that players must play on a team that's their grade in school.

Yay your back. This is exhausting.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no good way to do this. There will always be either a month that is trapped, or two, or there will be people who game the system and hold their kids back. My DD is August bday and on grade for this area. Elsewhere in the country she might be a grade behind. But there are multiple girls on her varsity team who are Sept bdays so basically a year older, and even kids on grade with July or August bdays who were held back and are more than a year older. For club, there is no easy way to align. If SY, August has the issue. If GY, the held back kids have a huge advantage. If BY, we have all the fall trapped players. There is no perfect system. If they are strong enough, they can play up. Otherwise tough luck, including for my DD.

There's. multiple ways to address this. The easiest way to address is for SY 8/1-7/31 leagues to implement a rule that states when given the option players must play on the team thats predominately their grade in school. If you do this poof all issues go away. You have a type of modified GY where all players on the field are a specific grade. But holdbacks cant play on teams because they must be born within the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31. (or younger playing "up")
That's GY. Aug can play up. Going to 8-1 solved the problem.

Its not GY its SY with a rule that players must play on a team with players their grade in school. Do this and everyone is happy and all the playing down nonsense goes away.

I like this. It makes s lot of sense.

The only group that probably doesn't like it is the players that are youngest in their grade. But they're screwed either way unless their parents hold them back in school. Which solves the problem and the rule still works. Its like GY but without the holdbacks.
Once you start focusing of grade, it's GY with rules and not seasonal year anymore.


No one does nuance well, here, sadly. There truly is a middle way where a lot of Aug/Sep kids play up to stay with grade. When researching the switch, you can find references to how it was commonly done before -- which also may have caused angst, especially if forced (not clear that it was a hard and fast rule).

This is what people have been arguing about for over a year. If you've been around youth soccer for a while you already know where this will end up. Clubs want commitments so in the end players will be grouped by SY age and grade. Some parents have kids with Aug/Sept birthdays and know if they play with their grade they'll be the youngest. Since this is a site with parents the loudest ones will be screaming to let players play down a grade. Clubs, coaches, and recruiters arent commenting but if they were they'd all prefer that players play with their grade. In the end this is how things will end up.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

The big issue with traditional GY is parents will hold their kids back in school so they're two years older than everyone else on the team. It's what you see in HS sports a lot.

As long as soccer has an 8/1-7/31 eligibility windown parents cant hold their kids back and play them against younger players. If you add a rule to SY saying players must play on a team which is predominantly their grade in school. It forces players on the younger side of the eligibility window to play with their grade. So in the end leagues get games 100% a certain grade. Which is what recruiters want.
Why don't they group by grade now then?

Baby steps. You cant introduce too much too quickly.

Also nobody wants Traditional GY (which allows playing down). Everyone does want SY with a rule saying players must play with their grade.
So it is a baby step to GY. Meaning it is GY.

I get that you're intentionally saying GY to try and deflect. But most College Coaches want all players to be the same grade in school on the field. This is because it makes it easier for them to know what year players will graduate. Most Youth Coaches and DOCs dont know it yet unless they were around 2016 and before but SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule saying players must play on team their grade in school will make their lives 10x easier because everyone on the team is the same grade in school.

Think about it, if you have a freshman playing down on an 8th grade team they'll want to play HS soccer so they wont play on the club team during this time. What about HS homecoming, prom, etc all things 8th grade players dont do. What about recruiting seminars and classes? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the group was the same grade? The list goes on.
That is the push for Gy. Most don't want it.

Nope. Seriously you need to pick up a calender. Because you just sound stupid.

8/1-7/31 is the eligibility window. This means nobody can be older that 8/1. Players in the grade but younger that 8/1-7/31 will need to play up with their grade

Your arguing for GY.

Its SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule that players must play on a team that's their grade in school.
"Its SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule that players must play on a team that's their grade in school." is GY as the grade overrides the8/1-7/31 part. Your DD will survive being the 2nd oldest on the team but might have to find a new position and get less minutes.

GY allows ANYONE a certain grade to play

SY 8/1-7/31 with a rule that players must play on a team that's their grade in school. Does not allow holdbacks to participate and groups younger players in the grade on a team with their peers. (Very different from GY)
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