DA dropping the U12 age group?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am still confused. Does this mean that Arlington won't have U-12 DA academy next year? They will all now stay on the Red team vs being extracted for DA?

Yes, U12 DA is being eliminated. '08 players will tryout for DA at U14.

All DA clubs will still teach DA principals at all levels, but will not be DA.

Hmm. They didn’t teach DA principals before. Kickball 101. Punt it out of the back.

Maybe your not that informed. Direct play is an acceptable tactic.

Not at U12 it isn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I am still confused. Does this mean that Arlington won't have U-12 DA academy next year? They will all now stay on the Red team vs being extracted for DA?

Yes, U12 DA is being eliminated. '08 players will tryout for DA at U14.

All DA clubs will still teach DA principals at all levels, but will not be DA.

Has Arlington announced this yet to the 2008 year players yet (which by the way was the same age group that bore the brunt of the age group changes as well a few years ago)?

Tough luck for that age group overall with US Soccer it seems....

Every age group thought that they particularly suffered from the age change. Get over it already

[Anonymous]

Interesting they are terminating the u13 program as well, I understand just doing doing 11v11 at the DA level. Not sure why 13s will get cut in 2020

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Punting is a great tactic in possession soccer. When the other team is pressing a direct punt can serve as a great through ball to midfield where there is space.

Keeper distribution in possession soccer is about maintaining possession, not just playing from the back. Think of the keeper as a quarterback, what matters most is completion percentage when it comes to distribution. Turnovers are bad.

At th U9-U12 age it’s ridiculous. Tiny field and the big keeper punts it into the other box. Don’t get me wrong, I had a kid play striker that loved this because he could score a ton of goals, but it really wasn’t teaching a 10-year old anything.

Remember the context of this thread. Development at the 10/11/12 year old ages.

Unfortunately, the USMNT leaves 50-50 balls with this tactic that they can’t win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Punting is a great tactic in possession soccer. When the other team is pressing a direct punt can serve as a great through ball to midfield where there is space.

Keeper distribution in possession soccer is about maintaining possession, not just playing from the back. Think of the keeper as a quarterback, what matters most is completion percentage when it comes to distribution. Turnovers are bad.

At th U9-U12 age it’s ridiculous. Tiny field and the big keeper punts it into the other box. Don’t get me wrong, I had a kid play striker that loved this because he could score a ton of goals, but it really wasn’t teaching a 10-year old anything.

Remember the context of this thread. Development at the 10/11/12 year old ages.

Unfortunately, the USMNT leaves 50-50 balls with this tactic that they can’t win.

The issue is that parents that see a punt and think "Direct Soccer" are unaware what direct soccer is. It depends on the situation. The play from the back push is absolutely a good thing. Teams should not be blindly punting the ball down the field. Nor should field players be kicking the ball blindly towards the other goal. That's direct soccer and I completely agree it's bad at this age.

If you want to develop a good goalkeeper, they need to learn distribution. Goalkeepers should play to space. Job #1 is to keep possession. If you are familiar with Geggenpressing or any pressing tactic, some teams will put forwards and midfielders on every player near the keeper. Or the keeper may make a save and the other team is playing high leaving a big gap at midfield. If the keeper then forces the ball to a player near them that is well covered, that's not possession soccer.

If you want to judge a keeper - don't count the punts. Count the turnovers. That's what matters, especially at 11/12/13.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting they are terminating the u13 program as well, I understand just doing doing 11v11 at the DA level. Not sure why 13s will get cut in 2020

70% of kids quit organized sports by age 13, citing in many cases too rigid of a practice and game schedule, basically saying "it's not fun anymore". I think by cutting U12 and U13 they're going to let "kids be kids" a bit longer and try multiple sports rather than locking down to soccer at age 11.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting they are terminating the u13 program as well, I understand just doing doing 11v11 at the DA level. Not sure why 13s will get cut in 2020

Politics.

The trend in recent years has been for US Soccer to exert more and more control and influence over the youth game in this country. The age group change, small-sided game mandates, and expanding the DA were all part of that. Consequently, the control and influence of the state organizations was reduced, and they didn't like that.

In the last election cycle, Cordiero won their votes by promising to roll some of that back -- i.e., "decentralize" things more.

This is him fulfilling that campaign promise.

Biggest winners: ODP (run by state orgs) and tournament directors.

If anyone thinks the best u12s and U13s in the country aren't going to start running all over the place playing multiple tournaments again, without the DA mandate preventing them from doing so, you're smoking something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting they are terminating the u13 program as well, I understand just doing doing 11v11 at the DA level. Not sure why 13s will get cut in 2020

70% of kids quit organized sports by age 13, citing in many cases too rigid of a practice and game schedule, basically saying "it's not fun anymore". I think by cutting U12 and U13 they're going to let "kids be kids" a bit longer and try multiple sports rather than locking down to soccer at age 11.

On the girls side U13 is a pilot and almost every where else in the US girls wait for U14 to go all-in on soccer. So the 2007s in this area will have to do DA next year at clubs like FCV, even though U13 is a program USSDA has decided to end? How about just end the pilot after this year?

[Anonymous]

I hope this is all true, DA should be reserved for High School age players. My son is on a top team in the area and although he made 2 DA clubs, he ultimately decided to stay with his club and coach. We let the decision be his and it turned out he wasn't alone. He had a few friends that tried out and received offers but opted to stay in the non-DA environment.

It's too early and to assume a good player on a small field proves anything....is crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting they are terminating the u13 program as well, I understand just doing doing 11v11 at the DA level. Not sure why 13s will get cut in 2020

70% of kids quit organized sports by age 13, citing in many cases too rigid of a practice and game schedule, basically saying "it's not fun anymore". I think by cutting U12 and U13 they're going to let "kids be kids" a bit longer and try multiple sports rather than locking down to soccer at age 11.

On the girls side U13 is a pilot and almost every where else in the US girls wait for U14 to go all-in on soccer. So the 2007s in this area will have to do DA next year at clubs like FCV, even though U13 is a program USSDA has decided to end? How about just end the pilot after this year?

Looks like ECNL is the winner. Younger players will leave the DA teams now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting they are terminating the u13 program as well, I understand just doing doing 11v11 at the DA level. Not sure why 13s will get cut in 2020

I didn't see that in this announcement. Do you have an announcement that outlines that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting they are terminating the u13 program as well, I understand just doing doing 11v11 at the DA level. Not sure why 13s will get cut in 2020

I didn't see that in this announcement. Do you have an announcement that outlines that?

[Anonymous]

I think the U13 thing is a rumor for now. I haven't seen a formal announcement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the U13 thing is a rumor for now. I haven't seen a formal announcement.

The rumor makes sense though. US Soccer has said previously that scouting for National teams starts at U14. They do not track players until then. Better to focus resources on scouting the players when they reach that age across a wider group of clubs.

[Anonymous]

It’s interesting, hadn’t heard that rumor anywhere. It goes against piloting u13 in two age groups instead of one on the girls side, with potential full rollout next year and the common sense start at 11v11 for u13s.

What’s the source of the rumor? I don’t find it very believable