ECNL moving to school year not calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So which kids now have the advantage? Which months are we talking about?

Previously using calendar which birth years had the advantage?

"Depending on the date, RAE will be reduced for kids born from Jan-July and increased for those from August-December."

So now Jan-June has a sliding scale of age advantage and July-August has a sliding scale of disadvantage.

So my 6 year old was born in April 2018.

He plays 2 years up and is the best on the team.

I’m new to this so please explain what advantage he would be getting?

It’s a little confusing 😂

You are right in this unique situation. Your child's issue will not be dealing with age cutoffs, it will be dealing with a smug idiotic parent. Youth soccer lords can't help here.

Are all 6 year olds playing 2 years up?

Sometimes, it depends on how big they are and if there's other opportunities to play or not.

Sometimes All 6 year olds are playing 2 years up??
Which alternate universe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much astroturfing going on.

There's 4 "trapped" players on my daughters 2010 team and nobody is excited about playing down with the 2011s.

Not sure how the people are that are rejoicing in the street but it's not my experience with trapped player parents.

Said by a parent who does not have a trapped player…you have no idea what those parents are saying behind closed doors. Our teams four trapped players are all talking amongst ourselves but we are def not sharing our plans with the rest of the team and we are pretending to be sad so as to not offend.

Don’t get me wrong- we love the team. But at the end of the day the kid wants to play in college and being a trapped player on a team with kids outside your recruiting year is shit.

Peace out- cant wait for SY teams…

Agreed. I'm not sitting around with my current kids team telling everyone we're excited for her to move down an age group but like, yeah, we're excited for that opportunity! Struggling on the bubble of the top team against kids basically a year older has been good for her, but like, being a really impactful player at the top of the age group an age down will be fun in a different way!

No your kid will likely struggle on the bubble but a year down.

Age makes a difference but top players will filter to the top no matter what. Also mid level players will be mid level players no matter what.

Your assumption will be proved wrong very quickly.

No it won't.

The same parents that think playing down and doing SY so recruiters can see their kid easier will move onto something else when they continue to suck as soccer.

If you actually believed this you wouldn't be so worried as to get angry at the switch from CY to SY. The change in relative age for kids will be a real motivator for kids playing against relatively younger kids and a demotivator for others.

I do actually believe this and I do think marginal year up players will be marginal when they play down.

They might get a 6 month boost. But over time they'll end up exactly where they started just on a year down team.

Well, you don't have to believe that RAE is real but science proves it is.

RAE has already happened by the time players are U11. After U11 the effects of RAE diminish exponentially.

This is why when your kid is young the best way to make the top competitive teams is to make sure the coach sees you drive a fancy/expensive car and be tall/ in shape.

Really now.
Kids are past puberty at 11 and by 12 years old maturation and physical differences even out?

[Anonymous]

lol. I'm getting a kick out the 'playing down' comments as well. My daughter will finally be able to play against girls in her class. No...not her literal classroom. Girls that she'll be recruited with and compared to come scholarship time. We're in SoCal and my daughter is an amazing 6th grade trapped December baby and it hasn't been ideal. Its very simple, no matter what dates you pick someone is going to lose/gain an advantage. Obviously the girls she's been forced to play with that are 11 months older have been taller, faster and more emotionally mature since she started soccer at 4 yo. My daughter has a gift, has always been the best on her team and we resigned ourselves to being at a disadvantage until full maturity, then being at another disadvantage come recruiting time. If you don't know how things work at an elite level then you don't understand, being a trapped player is a big disadvantage. Its one thing to keep up with older kids and hang on a good ECNL team. It's another to be a dominant force in ECNL, opening up incredible opportunities. There's a politics/marketing aspect at this level that get's easier once you're tagged a phenom. There's a mindset in all athletics that will shift for my daughter. And there are life experiences ahead that just weren't options before. You guys are talking about playing time. For elite kids, we're talking about worldwide opportunities you may not even be aware of. I'm sorry for the Q1/Q2 parents out there. May/June/July babies are gonna get crushed by this. Your 2013 July baby is going to go up against my 2012 daughter next year? lol....I'd be pissed too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol. I'm getting a kick out the 'playing down' comments as well. My daughter will finally be able to play against girls in her class. No...not her literal classroom. Girls that she'll be recruited with and compared to come scholarship time. We're in SoCal and my daughter is an amazing 6th grade trapped December baby and it hasn't been ideal. Its very simple, no matter what dates you pick someone is going to lose/gain an advantage. Obviously the girls she's been forced to play with that are 11 months older have been taller, faster and more emotionally mature since she started soccer at 4 yo. My daughter has a gift, has always been the best on her team and we resigned ourselves to being at a disadvantage until full maturity, then being at another disadvantage come recruiting time. If you don't know how things work at an elite level then you don't understand, being a trapped player is a big disadvantage. Its one thing to keep up with older kids and hang on a good ECNL team. It's another to be a dominant force in ECNL, opening up incredible opportunities. There's a politics/marketing aspect at this level that get's easier once you're tagged a phenom. There's a mindset in all athletics that will shift for my daughter. And there are life experiences ahead that just weren't options before. You guys are talking about playing time. For elite kids, we're talking about worldwide opportunities you may not even be aware of. I'm sorry for the Q1/Q2 parents out there. May/June/July babies are gonna get crushed by this. Your 2013 July baby is going to go up against my 2012 daughter next year? lol....I'd be pissed too.

How's she both the best on her team and also at a disadvantage simultaneously?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol. I'm getting a kick out the 'playing down' comments as well. My daughter will finally be able to play against girls in her class. No...not her literal classroom. Girls that she'll be recruited with and compared to come scholarship time. We're in SoCal and my daughter is an amazing 6th grade trapped December baby and it hasn't been ideal. Its very simple, no matter what dates you pick someone is going to lose/gain an advantage. Obviously the girls she's been forced to play with that are 11 months older have been taller, faster and more emotionally mature since she started soccer at 4 yo. My daughter has a gift, has always been the best on her team and we resigned ourselves to being at a disadvantage until full maturity, then being at another disadvantage come recruiting time. If you don't know how things work at an elite level then you don't understand, being a trapped player is a big disadvantage. Its one thing to keep up with older kids and hang on a good ECNL team. It's another to be a dominant force in ECNL, opening up incredible opportunities. There's a politics/marketing aspect at this level that get's easier once you're tagged a phenom. There's a mindset in all athletics that will shift for my daughter. And there are life experiences ahead that just weren't options before. You guys are talking about playing time. For elite kids, we're talking about worldwide opportunities you may not even be aware of. I'm sorry for the Q1/Q2 parents out there. May/June/July babies are gonna get crushed by this. Your 2013 July baby is going to go up against my 2012 daughter next year? lol....I'd be pissed too.

Besides the trolling, very good perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So which kids now have the advantage? Which months are we talking about?

Previously using calendar which birth years had the advantage?

"Depending on the date, RAE will be reduced for kids born from Jan-July and increased for those from August-December."

So now Jan-June has a sliding scale of age advantage and July-August has a sliding scale of disadvantage.

So my 6 year old was born in April 2018.

He plays 2 years up and is the best on the team.

I’m new to this so please explain what advantage he would be getting?

It’s a little confusing 😂

You are right in this unique situation. Your child's issue will not be dealing with age cutoffs, it will be dealing with a smug idiotic parent. Youth soccer lords can't help here.

Are all 6 year olds playing 2 years up?

Sometimes, it depends on how big they are and if there's other opportunities to play or not.

Yeah he is big but also very physical.

But seriously though what advantage would be getting born in April? Let’s just forget that he plays 2 years up for now. I thought providing that info would be helpful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol. I'm getting a kick out the 'playing down' comments as well. My daughter will finally be able to play against girls in her class. No...not her literal classroom. Girls that she'll be recruited with and compared to come scholarship time. We're in SoCal and my daughter is an amazing 6th grade trapped December baby and it hasn't been ideal. Its very simple, no matter what dates you pick someone is going to lose/gain an advantage. Obviously the girls she's been forced to play with that are 11 months older have been taller, faster and more emotionally mature since she started soccer at 4 yo. My daughter has a gift, has always been the best on her team and we resigned ourselves to being at a disadvantage until full maturity, then being at another disadvantage come recruiting time. If you don't know how things work at an elite level then you don't understand, being a trapped player is a big disadvantage. Its one thing to keep up with older kids and hang on a good ECNL team. It's another to be a dominant force in ECNL, opening up incredible opportunities. There's a politics/marketing aspect at this level that get's easier once you're tagged a phenom. There's a mindset in all athletics that will shift for my daughter. And there are life experiences ahead that just weren't options before. You guys are talking about playing time. For elite kids, we're talking about worldwide opportunities you may not even be aware of. I'm sorry for the Q1/Q2 parents out there. May/June/July babies are gonna get crushed by this. Your 2013 July baby is going to go up against my 2012 daughter next year? lol....I'd be pissed too.

How's she both the best on her team and also at a disadvantage simultaneously?

Seriously, you can't think through your question to understand that the two don't have to be related?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol. I'm getting a kick out the 'playing down' comments as well. My daughter will finally be able to play against girls in her class. No...not her literal classroom. Girls that she'll be recruited with and compared to come scholarship time. We're in SoCal and my daughter is an amazing 6th grade trapped December baby and it hasn't been ideal. Its very simple, no matter what dates you pick someone is going to lose/gain an advantage. Obviously the girls she's been forced to play with that are 11 months older have been taller, faster and more emotionally mature since she started soccer at 4 yo. My daughter has a gift, has always been the best on her team and we resigned ourselves to being at a disadvantage until full maturity, then being at another disadvantage come recruiting time. If you don't know how things work at an elite level then you don't understand, being a trapped player is a big disadvantage. Its one thing to keep up with older kids and hang on a good ECNL team. It's another to be a dominant force in ECNL, opening up incredible opportunities. There's a politics/marketing aspect at this level that get's easier once you're tagged a phenom. There's a mindset in all athletics that will shift for my daughter. And there are life experiences ahead that just weren't options before. You guys are talking about playing time. For elite kids, we're talking about worldwide opportunities you may not even be aware of. I'm sorry for the Q1/Q2 parents out there. May/June/July babies are gonna get crushed by this. Your 2013 July baby is going to go up against my 2012 daughter next year? lol....I'd be pissed too.

How's she both the best on her team and also at a disadvantage simultaneously?

Seriously, you can't think through your question to understand that the two don't have to be related?

What's the disadvantage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

How's she both the best on her team and also at a disadvantage simultaneously?

It's a fair question for those truly trying to understand all the implications of this decision. I would frame it this way. My daughter is a very good player against 7th graders. She would be a woman amongst girls if allowed to play against 6th graders (her grade). The kids in school are in awe of her athletic ability but she doesnt know better because she's competing on weekends against 7-9th graders and always has. Its been fine developmentally and I wouldn't take it back. But the advantage she'll have on a newly formed ECNL team in SoCal in 7th grade is exciting. I'm not saying we deserve it but we are VERY happy its happening. The disadvantages to her if things don't change: mindset (she'll consider herself a good player, not a phenom), trapped player recruiting issues, exposure (things change when your kid is the best on a SoCal ECNL team, they just do), ECNL exposure through first team all regional access. She's not the best 2012 in SoCal but she'll be in the top 10 in SoCal for 6th grade. Hope that helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol. I'm getting a kick out the 'playing down' comments as well. My daughter will finally be able to play against girls in her class. No...not her literal classroom. Girls that she'll be recruited with and compared to come scholarship time. We're in SoCal and my daughter is an amazing 6th grade trapped December baby and it hasn't been ideal. Its very simple, no matter what dates you pick someone is going to lose/gain an advantage. Obviously the girls she's been forced to play with that are 11 months older have been taller, faster and more emotionally mature since she started soccer at 4 yo. My daughter has a gift, has always been the best on her team and we resigned ourselves to being at a disadvantage until full maturity, then being at another disadvantage come recruiting time. If you don't know how things work at an elite level then you don't understand, being a trapped player is a big disadvantage. Its one thing to keep up with older kids and hang on a good ECNL team. It's another to be a dominant force in ECNL, opening up incredible opportunities. There's a politics/marketing aspect at this level that get's easier once you're tagged a phenom. There's a mindset in all athletics that will shift for my daughter. And there are life experiences ahead that just weren't options before. You guys are talking about playing time. For elite kids, we're talking about worldwide opportunities you may not even be aware of. I'm sorry for the Q1/Q2 parents out there. May/June/July babies are gonna get crushed by this. Your 2013 July baby is going to go up against my 2012 daughter next year? lol....I'd be pissed too.

How's she both the best on her team and also at a disadvantage simultaneously?

Seriously, you can't think through your question to understand that the two don't have to be related?

What's the disadvantage?

Work with me, think it through. You can do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much astroturfing going on.

There's 4 "trapped" players on my daughters 2010 team and nobody is excited about playing down with the 2011s.

Not sure how the people are that are rejoicing in the street but it's not my experience with trapped player parents.

Said by a parent who does not have a trapped player…you have no idea what those parents are saying behind closed doors. Our teams four trapped players are all talking amongst ourselves but we are def not sharing our plans with the rest of the team and we are pretending to be sad so as to not offend.

Don’t get me wrong- we love the team. But at the end of the day the kid wants to play in college and being a trapped player on a team with kids outside your recruiting year is shit.

Peace out- cant wait for SY teams…

Agreed. I'm not sitting around with my current kids team telling everyone we're excited for her to move down an age group but like, yeah, we're excited for that opportunity! Struggling on the bubble of the top team against kids basically a year older has been good for her, but like, being a really impactful player at the top of the age group an age down will be fun in a different way!

No your kid will likely struggle on the bubble but a year down.

Age makes a difference but top players will filter to the top no matter what. Also mid level players will be mid level players no matter what.

Your assumption will be proved wrong very quickly.

No it won't.

The same parents that think playing down and doing SY so recruiters can see their kid easier will move onto something else when they continue to suck as soccer.

If you actually believed this you wouldn't be so worried as to get angry at the switch from CY to SY. The change in relative age for kids will be a real motivator for kids playing against relatively younger kids and a demotivator for others.

I do actually believe this and I do think marginal year up players will be marginal when they play down.

They might get a 6 month boost. But over time they'll end up exactly where they started just on a year down team.

Well, you don't have to believe that RAE is real but science proves it is.

RAE has already happened by the time players are U11. After U11 the effects of RAE diminish exponentially.

This is why when your kid is young the best way to make the top competitive teams is to make sure the coach sees you drive a fancy/expensive car and be tall/ in shape.

Really now.
Kids are past puberty at 11 and by 12 years old maturation and physical differences even out?

What they're saying is the effects of RAE happen more dramatically before puberty. When coaches literally pick players based an their birthdate and size thats it. This becomes the core of the team. After u11 additional players will make the team but skills and ability will play a bigger role in the decision.

See how RAE applies less as they get older.

[Anonymous]

Ok, let's say you think your kid has some birthright with half the other kids to get free ice cream on Fridays. Now when the authorities take it away and give it to the kids who previously didn't get ice cream, who do you blame, the authorities who the kids that are now getting ice cream?

Blame US Soccer, USYS, club soccer, ECNL, etc. not the kid who got free ice cream by you saying they didn't want it, they don't need it, it won't make them happier, the lashing out does nothing at this point.

Other than a few important details, it is a done deal.

Attacking kids who gain in a age change is just sour grapes and bitterness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, let's say you think your kid has some birthright with half the other kids to get free ice cream on Fridays. Now when the authorities take it away and give it to the kids who previously didn't get ice cream, who do you blame, the authorities who the kids that are now getting ice cream?

Blame US Soccer, USYS, club soccer, ECNL, etc. not the kid who got free ice cream by you saying they didn't want it, they don't need it, it won't make them happier, the lashing out does nothing at this point.

Other than a few important details, it is a done deal.

Attacking kids who gain in a age change is just sour grapes and bitterness.

All you know is ECNL wants SY.

Everything else is TBD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So which kids now have the advantage? Which months are we talking about?

Previously using calendar which birth years had the advantage?

"Depending on the date, RAE will be reduced for kids born from Jan-July and increased for those from August-December."

So now Jan-June has a sliding scale of age advantage and July-August has a sliding scale of disadvantage.

So my 6 year old was born in April 2018.

He plays 2 years up and is the best on the team.

I’m new to this so please explain what advantage he would be getting?

It’s a little confusing 😂

You are right in this unique situation. Your child's issue will not be dealing with age cutoffs, it will be dealing with a smug idiotic parent. Youth soccer lords can't help here.

Are all 6 year olds playing 2 years up?

Sometimes, it depends on how big they are and if there's other opportunities to play or not.

Sometimes All 6 year olds are playing 2 years up??
Which alternate universe?

Yeah, the world of having a 6 year and 16 year old in this discussion are so different that many are having trouble seeing the big picture.

[Anonymous]

A lot of these issues are invented from over active adult brains and aren't real soccer problems for the kids