Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

Where's the proof, except an oblique reference to it in 1 post here? The FAQ, you have to admit, is far more comprehensive and it is definitely real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

But you were the one going on and on and on and on about how it was going to be and had to be a rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

Where's the proof, except an oblique reference to it in 1 post here? The FAQ, you have to admit, is far more comprehensive and it is definitely real.

I do agree the Arlington faq is terrible but it doesnt really matter.

The reason I know Clubs will make young players play with their grade is because they are greedy and they pretend to care about players but really dont. On the scale of importance college commitments and connections are more important than a single win. This is because a single college committment to a top school can be used as a marketing tool for several years. A win is forgotten 30 minutes after you leave the field. To make commitments happen clubs will need to group ALL players by grade asap. This will allow them to be is a single player pool all with a common goal. Also this is how things worked before 2017

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

But you were the one going on and on and on and on about how it was going to be and had to be a rule.

There might be a rule we dont know yet. But either way it doesn't matter. Clubs will group young Aug/Sept players by grade.

[Anonymous]

Since Im pontificating...

If MLS stays BY theres a very good chance that GA creates an equivalent "Homegrown" league thats BY on top of its current league.

I also think theres a good chance that MLSN p2p level breaks out as completely seperate and grouped as SY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since Im pontificating...

If MLS stays BY theres a very good chance that GA creates an equivalent "Homegrown" league thats BY on top of its current league.

I also think theres a good chance that MLSN p2p level breaks out as completely seperate and grouped as SY.

The reason for GA creating a BY Homegrown league is because theres a lot of overlap between MLS and NWSL. Eventually NWSL will need to address the youth to pro player pathway.

The reason I think MLS p2p will switch to SY is because this would make it much easier for ECNL clubs to switch over to MLS/GA. None of the teams would need to be rerostered. If new clubs did well they woukd be offered an Academy team which they would create new as BY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

But you were the one going on and on and on and on about how it was going to be and had to be a rule.

There might be a rule we dont know yet. But either way it doesn't matter. Clubs will group young Aug/Sept players by grade.

Doubtful, maybe the ballers will play up. Some clubs might entertain more lenient standards of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

But you were the one going on and on and on and on about how it was going to be and had to be a rule.

There might be a rule we dont know yet. But either way it doesn't matter. Clubs will group young Aug/Sept players by grade.

Doubtful, maybe the ballers will play up. Some clubs might entertain more lenient standards of course.

When players are young you might see grade older kids playing down at tournaments. But for league clubs will try to align everyone by grade. Its just easier. Think about it. At tryouts all you need to do is ask a group of kids what grade they're in and thats the group they play with. The only situation you need to worry about is holdbacks trying to play down. Which will get addressed when you review birthcerts later in the office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

But you were the one going on and on and on and on about how it was going to be and had to be a rule.

There might be a rule we dont know yet. But either way it doesn't matter. Clubs will group young Aug/Sept players by grade.

This is your main problem. You take 1 anonymous post and assume that's how it'll be everywhere whereas we have a major club saying it'll be case-by-case and you don't believe it. Confirmation bias at it's finest. That said, I'm willing to admit some or many clubs might generally force players up more as a wink and a nod. You seem not be able to handle such nuance just because you want to argue. That's why so many people find these back-and-forths not helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

But you were the one going on and on and on and on about how it was going to be and had to be a rule.

There might be a rule we dont know yet. But either way it doesn't matter. Clubs will group young Aug/Sept players by grade.

This is your main problem. You take 1 anonymous post and assume that's how it'll be everywhere whereas we have a major club saying it'll be case-by-case and you don't believe it. Confirmation bias at it's finest. That said, I'm willing to admit some or many clubs might generally force players up more as a wink and a nod. You seem not be able to handle such nuance just because you want to argue. That's why so many people find these back-and-forths not helpful.

Im not trying to argue Im explaining what WILL happen at the most competitive clubs. You might see smaller less competitive clubs try to cut corners by playing players down a grade for wins but everyone knows eventually those players will need to play with their grade if they want to get recruited to play in college. Top clubs will want to invest in players that will stay with the club and their team. Also they dont want to deal with the drama that comes with grade older players playing down. Its just more trouble than its worth. If you have 5-10 potential players for each position theres no need to allow playing down a grade. Once a couple of top clubs ban playing down. Other clubs will adopt the same policies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

But you were the one going on and on and on and on about how it was going to be and had to be a rule.

There might be a rule we dont know yet. But either way it doesn't matter. Clubs will group young Aug/Sept players by grade.

This is your main problem. You take 1 anonymous post and assume that's how it'll be everywhere whereas we have a major club saying it'll be case-by-case and you don't believe it. Confirmation bias at it's finest. That said, I'm willing to admit some or many clubs might generally force players up more as a wink and a nod. You seem not be able to handle such nuance just because you want to argue. That's why so many people find these back-and-forths not helpful.

Im not trying to argue Im explaining what WILL happen at the most competitive clubs. You might see smaller less competitive clubs try to cut corners by playing players down a grade for wins but everyone knows eventually those players will need to play with their grade if they want to get recruited to play in college. Top clubs will want to invest in players that will stay with the club and their team. Also they dont want to deal with the drama that comes with grade older players playing down. Its just more trouble than its worth. If you have 5-10 potential players for each position theres no need to allow playing down a grade. Once a couple of top clubs ban playing down. Other clubs will adopt the same policies.

It's also drama forcing players to play up an age group. Neither situation is ideal. It's lesser known reason why people didn't like SY in the first place and welcomed BY (beyond the whole it's for the national team thing). You chide people for not looking at what happened before but you also have rose-colored glasses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

But you were the one going on and on and on and on about how it was going to be and had to be a rule.

There might be a rule we dont know yet. But either way it doesn't matter. Clubs will group young Aug/Sept players by grade.

This is your main problem. You take 1 anonymous post and assume that's how it'll be everywhere whereas we have a major club saying it'll be case-by-case and you don't believe it. Confirmation bias at it's finest. That said, I'm willing to admit some or many clubs might generally force players up more as a wink and a nod. You seem not be able to handle such nuance just because you want to argue. That's why so many people find these back-and-forths not helpful.

Im not trying to argue Im explaining what WILL happen at the most competitive clubs. You might see smaller less competitive clubs try to cut corners by playing players down a grade for wins but everyone knows eventually those players will need to play with their grade if they want to get recruited to play in college. Top clubs will want to invest in players that will stay with the club and their team. Also they dont want to deal with the drama that comes with grade older players playing down. Its just more trouble than its worth. If you have 5-10 potential players for each position theres no need to allow playing down a grade. Once a couple of top clubs ban playing down. Other clubs will adopt the same policies.

If you are right, Arlington would have made "forcing up" clear from the jump. They didn't. They're making it case-by-case for a reason.

[Anonymous]

And Arlington has been around since 1970, so they well know how went before and that's infused with why they are doing what they are doing now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Ahhh.... So the hill you've chosen to die on is that its not a written rule. But, you dont know this because the 2026/27 season rulebook hasn't been released yet.

Nevermind that clubs are grouping young Aug/Sept birthdays by grade.

But you were the one going on and on and on and on about how it was going to be and had to be a rule.

There might be a rule we dont know yet. But either way it doesn't matter. Clubs will group young Aug/Sept players by grade.

This is your main problem. You take 1 anonymous post and assume that's how it'll be everywhere whereas we have a major club saying it'll be case-by-case and you don't believe it. Confirmation bias at it's finest. That said, I'm willing to admit some or many clubs might generally force players up more as a wink and a nod. You seem not be able to handle such nuance just because you want to argue. That's why so many people find these back-and-forths not helpful.

Im not trying to argue Im explaining what WILL happen at the most competitive clubs. You might see smaller less competitive clubs try to cut corners by playing players down a grade for wins but everyone knows eventually those players will need to play with their grade if they want to get recruited to play in college. Top clubs will want to invest in players that will stay with the club and their team. Also they dont want to deal with the drama that comes with grade older players playing down. Its just more trouble than its worth. If you have 5-10 potential players for each position theres no need to allow playing down a grade. Once a couple of top clubs ban playing down. Other clubs will adopt the same policies.

I'll put it a different way say you have a grade up young Aug/Sept player thats really good. With A teams players one level/grade appart can usually scrimmage each other and provide relatively equivalent competition. How would you roster this player? Would you play them down a grade and diminish their development for win knowing that eventually they'll need to play with their grade to get recruited for college. Or, do you bite the bullet when they're young and play them with their grade allowing them to develop to a higher level at a younger age?

The rest of the young grade up Aug/Sept birthdays should play on their grade B team so they're not taking spots from players the correct grade on the A team.