ECNL moving to school year not calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rumor around town is ECNL is going to allow the middle school ages some extra flexibility next fall. With full implementation y Fall 26. US Club will also offer flexibility for next year’s trapped players while teammates are playing high school. Sounds like tournament will be advised to all trapped players to participate as well.

Sounds like the podcast will start to address this with additional details to come from us club in early to late January.

So…basically what most solid clubs are already doing for the 8th graders?

I swear it’s like none of these posters have kids in ECNL and it’s just a whole bunch of NPL parents.

What are you talking about? The best clubs in the country can't mitigate the experience of being trapped. In fact 8th grade is the worse. Guesting with another team (which then consists of BY players a year younger) or doing some futsal to keep you active is not a remotely effective stop gap. If you're going into 8th grade next year and you get the opportunity to join a team for the entire season that's a game changer.

And since you have no clue what you're talking about I'll educate you that the current options for trapped players almost universally ensures they aren't going to tournaments in a meaningful way. Soccer's a team sport if you haven't noticed and when your team leaves you it creates tons of issues. Re-read the post before you respond on subjects you know nothing about.

You’ve got no idea what the top clubs do for their kids.

Yup! PP is the one that has no clue. Competitive ECNL teams do not encourage HS soccer and the team continued with club training and other opportunities created on the schedule (deliberately) during HS soccer season. Teams that are in nationals and playoffs have seasons that continue through the summer (which means will conflict with any Soring HS soccer season).

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rumor around town is ECNL is going to allow the middle school ages some extra flexibility next fall. With full implementation y Fall 26. US Club will also offer flexibility for next year’s trapped players while teammates are playing high school. Sounds like tournament will be advised to all trapped players to participate as well.

Sounds like the podcast will start to address this with additional details to come from us club in early to late January.

So…basically what most solid clubs are already doing for the 8th graders?

I swear it’s like none of these posters have kids in ECNL and it’s just a whole bunch of NPL parents.

What are you talking about? The best clubs in the country can't mitigate the experience of being trapped. In fact 8th grade is the worse. Guesting with another team (which then consists of BY players a year younger) or doing some futsal to keep you active is not a remotely effective stop gap. If you're going into 8th grade next year and you get the opportunity to join a team for the entire season that's a game changer.

And since you have no clue what you're talking about I'll educate you that the current options for trapped players almost universally ensures they aren't going to tournaments in a meaningful way. Soccer's a team sport if you haven't noticed and when your team leaves you it creates tons of issues. Re-read the post before you respond on subjects you know nothing about.

You’ve got no idea what the top clubs do for their kids.

Yup! PP is the one that has no clue. Competitive ECNL teams do not encourage HS soccer and the team continued with club training and other opportunities created on the schedule (deliberately) during HS soccer season. Teams that are in nationals and playoffs have seasons that continue through the summer (which means will conflict with any Soring HS soccer season).

Huh?? Not sure where you are in the country but we live in the mecca for soccer and play with a top team. Just because your small town club mandates no HS soccer and you're in a unique situation, stop making statements that start with 'top clubs in the country'. You have no idea what you're talking about. Take your BY ambitions somewhere else. Face it, you lost. Trying to frame the mish mash of trapped player waivers and exceptions as some sort of solution better than simply moving to SY is ludicrous for anyone that knows what they're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rumor around town is ECNL is going to allow the middle school ages some extra flexibility next fall. With full implementation y Fall 26. US Club will also offer flexibility for next year’s trapped players while teammates are playing high school. Sounds like tournament will be advised to all trapped players to participate as well.



Sounds like the podcast will start to address this with additional details to come from us club in early to late January.

So…basically what most solid clubs are already doing for the 8th graders?

I swear it’s like none of these posters have kids in ECNL and it’s just a whole bunch of NPL parents.

What are you talking about? The best clubs in the country can't mitigate the experience of being trapped. In fact 8th grade is the worse. Guesting with another team (which then consists of BY players a year younger) or doing some futsal to keep you active is not a remotely effective stop gap. If you're going into 8th grade next year and you get the opportunity to join a team for the entire season that's a game changer.

And since you have no clue what you're talking about I'll educate you that the current options for trapped players almost universally ensures they aren't going to tournaments in a meaningful way. Soccer's a team sport if you haven't noticed and when your team leaves you it creates tons of issues. Re-read the post before you respond on subjects you know nothing about.

You’ve got no idea what the top clubs do for their kids.

Yup! PP is the one that has no clue. Competitive ECNL teams do not encourage HS soccer and the team continued with club training and other opportunities created on the schedule (deliberately) during HS soccer season. Teams that are in nationals and playoffs have seasons that continue through the summer (which means will conflict with any Soring HS soccer season).

Huh?? Not sure where you are in the country but we live in the mecca for soccer and play with a top team. Just because your small town club mandates no HS soccer and you're in a unique situation, stop making statements that start with 'top clubs in the country'. You have no idea what you're talking about. Take your BY ambitions somewhere else. Face it, you lost. Trying to frame the mish mash of trapped player waivers and exceptions as some sort of solution better than simply moving to SY is ludicrous for anyone that knows what they're talking about.

Same area .. right here. So many have no clue about what is actually communicated about HS soccer internally on competitive teams.

[Anonymous]

My daughter’s club team made the semi finals at nationals last year 80% of the team is going to play high school. Our coach doesn’t discourage it. He’s not overall fond of it but many of the girls play on great high school teams with solid competition.

So even at the elite level girls like playing sports with friends from school.

[Anonymous]

Same here. Maybe someone on here is talking about boys ECNL? Not sure how it works on that side of the house.

If they don't think elite level girls play HS, they are gravely mistaken. Perhaps they need to look up how ECNL came to be so powerful in the first place. Hint, hint....its HS participation.

Or lookup bio's on any power 5 roster. All HS teams listed along with championship status. Its a resume builder no key prospect would dare miss.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RAE is the same under BY as it is under SY.

Under BY birthdays close to and in December are most affected.

Under SY birthdays close to and in July are most affected.

Don't let the SY cultists convince you that RAE is somehow changed with SY it is not.

Thank you, I was wondering about this. It didn't make sense that RAE was somehow addressed with SY.

No problem, the SY parents are trying to spin RAE into something that it is not. RAE under BY is exactly the same as under SY if the eligibility window (365 days) is the same. The player affected are just shifted by 6 months from Dec to July.

Ironically, USSF said RAE would be better addressed with the change to birth year 8 years ago and of course it wasn't. This was discussed on an ECNL podcast.

But if the leagues have the choice of birth year and school year and different ones get picked, it can create a possibility for RAE to be reduced as kids can pick the one that suits their situation.

Ok, but nobody cares but you.

After u14 RAE doesn't matter.

Are you trying to guess that additional RAE does not occur after age 13 or are you trying to guess that RAE from previous years wears off like it never happened and goes away forever?

Yes, I'm saying that after u14 everyone has to grow up and RAE no longer matters.

Either you're in it to win at u14 or you don't matter.

Sorry to be the one that breaks the truth to you.

So your saying the kids that left soccer in the prior years because they were on the younger side of the age group come back to playing soccer? Seems far fetched.

Nobody leaves soccer because they’re ok the younger side.

They leave because it’s not fun, or it’s too hard, or their parents / coach are awful despite their having fun. They don’t leave because they’re a few months younger than another kid.

And the ages in which the majority of kids quit are before soccer gets serious. The vast vast majority of youth soccer players play grassroots / rec level. Don’t get stuck thinking the ECNL / GA / MLSN bubble is all of soccer.

Ok, maybe it is more accurate to say the sport quit on the younger players in an age group rather than the other way around. And coaches quiting on younger players by picking older players is reinforcing RAE.

You understand that RAE is an individual effect, relative to the group. It’s not a blanket, nor a cause.

No kid quits soccer “because of RAE.”

And about 95-98% of soccer players play grassroots, where RAE isn’t coming into factor on individual outcomes through ID, team formation and coaching decisions.

The definition of RAE and research disagrees with you, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0273229700905161?via%3Dihub

RAE is not a motivation. It’s an effect. You all are excuse hunting.

Right, it is the effect on motivation that matters.

🤦‍♂️ just a kite in the hurricane of life…they have no agency, it’s always something or someone else’s fault. Can’t be tha the kids just don’t like the sport for one reason or another.

Well, yeah, kids don't like sports when they tend not to be very good which is more likely if they are younger than their peers/competition.

Genetics are some else's fault, rules are made by people. And rules can change.

If getting on the #1 (or best) ECNL teams is the goal then simply being content to play ‘at age or grade’ or even standing out among younger players is not going to cut it. Top ECNL teams and players train and scrimmage regularly against teams 1-2 years older than them. None of these players compete just at their age or grade - they have to be competitive with older and stronger players on a regular basis in order stand out in their own age group.

Yes, ECNL doesn't worry about RAE. That's why it focuses more on recruiting than player development.

Does this mean we will get Grad Year for ECNL!?

So you want to cheat? Join MLSN and do biobanding to play f**king down.

These are the times we live in. Can you imagine what this guy's son endures?

My son's MLS team has 20 players and we don't do biobanding, so we have two players sit out for every game.

I see, so maybe you need to accept that your son isn't good enough for MLS Next and roster him on a team where he can play. Or, you can stop acting like a lunatic here and go on with your life. Screaming about everyone else cheating makes you sound like the deranged Trump supporter you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What ECNL should do is not have A/B teams, but teams that are Q1/Q2-focused and Q3/Q4-focused. The better players in year 12-year window should play with the other grouping. So, the best Q3/Q4 play on the Q1/Q2-focused and the best Q1-Q2, play on the Q3/Q4 focused. Increase participation and help minimize RAE.

Not all clubs have multiple teams or even Regional level teams. There are clubs that have only 1 (ECNL) national team per age.

Right, because the player pool isn't big enough. Maybe it would be if we could minimize RAE better. These solutions could be perhaps achieved by having different leagues focused this way. The challenge, though, is instead of focusing on these type of solutions, we hear too much of the crap (the my kid will crush your kid stuff) about how clubs will be looking for a temporary edge as the teams get jumbled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm done with this topic.

Too many wuss B team parents that don't understand how high level sports work.

If you cant hang with the rest of the players on the team because of whatever excuse dejour it won't matter because your kid is going to quit playing soon anyway.

Unfortunate there's a very vocal group of numbnuts that don't matter crying on this thread

This toxic attitude is why soccer participation suffers, not so much whether a league is BY vs. SY.

No has nothing to do with either BY or SY.

People like you think you can snowplow your kid into a position on XYZ team and you pave the way with $$$ and nonstop complaints to club leadership.

As your kid gets older they will be filtered out. Most likely this will happen when they're forced to swim on their own.

Newsflash, everyone, even the best, are eventually humbled. I agree pushy parents are a problem, but arrogrant ones of talented players are, too. You should care about the entire eco-system and not punch down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rumor around town is ECNL is going to allow the middle school ages some extra flexibility next fall. With full implementation y Fall 26. US Club will also offer flexibility for next year’s trapped players while teammates are playing high school. Sounds like tournament will be advised to all trapped players to participate as well.

Sounds like the podcast will start to address this with additional details to come from us club in early to late January.

So…basically what most solid clubs are already doing for the 8th graders?

I swear it’s like none of these posters have kids in ECNL and it’s just a whole bunch of NPL parents.

What are you talking about? The best clubs in the country can't mitigate the experience of being trapped. In fact 8th grade is the worse. Guesting with another team (which then consists of BY players a year younger) or doing some futsal to keep you active is not a remotely effective stop gap. If you're going into 8th grade next year and you get the opportunity to join a team for the entire season that's a game changer.

And since you have no clue what you're talking about I'll educate you that the current options for trapped players almost universally ensures they aren't going to tournaments in a meaningful way. Soccer's a team sport if you haven't noticed and when your team leaves you it creates tons of issues. Re-read the post before you respond on subjects you know nothing about.

What state are you in? Many have trapped leagues with the top clubs in them where sometimes whole teams (including the 9th graders stay together and play). Also, how long is the trapped season? 2-3 months? In a worse-case scenario, maybe the kid could use some time off from soccer OR something new (like playing with boys if a top girl). The competition might not be the same in these leagues, but that's often also true for HS.

Don't get me wrong, structurally, it's an improvement to allow leagues and clubs move to SY, so they can skip this so-called speed bump. But a trapped situation isn't necessarily a bad experience and it's all about what you can make of it. It seems like thinking it will stink, ends up making it stink.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rumor around town is ECNL is going to allow the middle school ages some extra flexibility next fall. With full implementation y Fall 26. US Club will also offer flexibility for next year’s trapped players while teammates are playing high school. Sounds like tournament will be advised to all trapped players to participate as well.

Sounds like the podcast will start to address this with additional details to come from us club in early to late January.

So…basically what most solid clubs are already doing for the 8th graders?

I swear it’s like none of these posters have kids in ECNL and it’s just a whole bunch of NPL parents.

What are you talking about? The best clubs in the country can't mitigate the experience of being trapped. In fact 8th grade is the worse. Guesting with another team (which then consists of BY players a year younger) or doing some futsal to keep you active is not a remotely effective stop gap. If you're going into 8th grade next year and you get the opportunity to join a team for the entire season that's a game changer.

And since you have no clue what you're talking about I'll educate you that the current options for trapped players almost universally ensures they aren't going to tournaments in a meaningful way. Soccer's a team sport if you haven't noticed and when your team leaves you it creates tons of issues. Re-read the post before you respond on subjects you know nothing about.

You’ve got no idea what the top clubs do for their kids.

Yup! PP is the one that has no clue. Competitive ECNL teams do not encourage HS soccer and the team continued with club training and other opportunities created on the schedule (deliberately) during HS soccer season. Teams that are in nationals and playoffs have seasons that continue through the summer (which means will conflict with any Soring HS soccer season).

Huh?? Not sure where you are in the country but we live in the mecca for soccer and play with a top team. Just because your small town club mandates no HS soccer and you're in a unique situation, stop making statements that start with 'top clubs in the country'. You have no idea what you're talking about. Take your BY ambitions somewhere else. Face it, you lost. Trying to frame the mish mash of trapped player waivers and exceptions as some sort of solution better than simply moving to SY is ludicrous for anyone that knows what they're talking about.

The real solution is beyond allowing SY. It's encouraging leagues and clubs to create a system where RAE is minimized. Forcing BY failed at that. Maybe the path we are on will get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm done with this topic.

Too many wuss B team parents that don't understand how high level sports work.

If you cant hang with the rest of the players on the team because of whatever excuse dejour it won't matter because your kid is going to quit playing soon anyway.

Unfortunate there's a very vocal group of numbnuts that don't matter crying on this thread

Fun to listen to parents call B team parents and kids wusses and bad players and when all we are saying is let my kid compete with yours for a spot. Why you so scared? I can only imagine how scared you are of the A team Q3/4 kids that can also compete with your kids.

The real Q1/2 studs and their parents also want a switch to school year and have the confidence their player can handle competing with older kids.

It’s the Q1/2 parents who can barely make and play that are nervous.

🤦‍♂️ this is a dumb take. The studs don’t give an S if it’s SY or BY. They’re eating everyone else’s breakfast, lunch and dinner in the opportunities game. That isn’t a birth month issue.

The parent or kid, regardless of birth month, who can “barely make and play” also don’t care about BY or SY…because they’re always nervous (they’re also probably not in ECNL).

Only these weird bubble parents and kids care either way about SY or BY on either side of the debate. But news flash! It still doesn’t matter! Nothing replaces doing the hard work. An age cutoff change doesn’t make anyone better or worse, the work still has to be done.

And just a quick point of correction - every single Q4 ECNL top team family I know is pissed about this change.

Weird to get angry and pretend to flex when as you say age cutoffs don't matter. They matter enough to you.

? No, they don’t. They have zero impact on my kid or me. My kid already plays up and starts on her ECNL team, that won’t change. She’s one of the best in the country at her position. And college probably isn’t her play.

Cutoffs don’t matter.

Cutoffs don't matter for a kid like yours, but they do for the large majority, especially when making a huge change that's appears ahead. For the humbled masses, it would be better if we had a system where maybe the better younger players played with the average older ones where both SY and BY still existed. Maybe we need half the country to do school by BY, so the benefits can go beyond sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rumor around town is ECNL is going to allow the middle school ages some extra flexibility next fall. With full implementation y Fall 26. US Club will also offer flexibility for next year’s trapped players while teammates are playing high school. Sounds like tournament will be advised to all trapped players to participate as well.

Sounds like the podcast will start to address this with additional details to come from us club in early to late January.

So…basically what most solid clubs are already doing for the 8th graders?

I swear it’s like none of these posters have kids in ECNL and it’s just a whole bunch of NPL parents.

What are you talking about? The best clubs in the country can't mitigate the experience of being trapped. In fact 8th grade is the worse. Guesting with another team (which then consists of BY players a year younger) or doing some futsal to keep you active is not a remotely effective stop gap. If you're going into 8th grade next year and you get the opportunity to join a team for the entire season that's a game changer.

And since you have no clue what you're talking about I'll educate you that the current options for trapped players almost universally ensures they aren't going to tournaments in a meaningful way. Soccer's a team sport if you haven't noticed and when your team leaves you it creates tons of issues. Re-read the post before you respond on subjects you know nothing about.

You’ve got no idea what the top clubs do for their kids.

Yup! PP is the one that has no clue. Competitive ECNL teams do not encourage HS soccer and the team continued with club training and other opportunities created on the schedule (deliberately) during HS soccer season. Teams that are in nationals and playoffs have seasons that continue through the summer (which means will conflict with any Soring HS soccer season).

Huh?? Not sure where you are in the country but we live in the mecca for soccer and play with a top team. Just because your small town club mandates no HS soccer and you're in a unique situation, stop making statements that start with 'top clubs in the country'. You have no idea what you're talking about. Take your BY ambitions somewhere else. Face it, you lost. Trying to frame the mish mash of trapped player waivers and exceptions as some sort of solution better than simply moving to SY is ludicrous for anyone that knows what they're talking about.

Same here. Not sure where pp lives or what league they are in, but our club doesn’t have any games/practices or in any way conflicts with HS teams until after the HS season is over in November.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rumor around town is ECNL is going to allow the middle school ages some extra flexibility next fall. With full implementation y Fall 26. US Club will also offer flexibility for next year’s trapped players while teammates are playing high school. Sounds like tournament will be advised to all trapped players to participate as well.

Sounds like the podcast will start to address this with additional details to come from us club in early to late January.

So…basically what most solid clubs are already doing for the 8th graders?

I swear it’s like none of these posters have kids in ECNL and it’s just a whole bunch of NPL parents.

What are you talking about? The best clubs in the country can't mitigate the experience of being trapped. In fact 8th grade is the worse. Guesting with another team (which then consists of BY players a year younger) or doing some futsal to keep you active is not a remotely effective stop gap. If you're going into 8th grade next year and you get the opportunity to join a team for the entire season that's a game changer.

And since you have no clue what you're talking about I'll educate you that the current options for trapped players almost universally ensures they aren't going to tournaments in a meaningful way. Soccer's a team sport if you haven't noticed and when your team leaves you it creates tons of issues. Re-read the post before you respond on subjects you know nothing about.

You’ve got no idea what the top clubs do for their kids.

Yup! PP is the one that has no clue. Competitive ECNL teams do not encourage HS soccer and the team continued with club training and other opportunities created on the schedule (deliberately) during HS soccer season. Teams that are in nationals and playoffs have seasons that continue through the summer (which means will conflict with any Soring HS soccer season).

Huh?? Not sure where you are in the country but we live in the mecca for soccer and play with a top team. Just because your small town club mandates no HS soccer and you're in a unique situation, stop making statements that start with 'top clubs in the country'. You have no idea what you're talking about. Take your BY ambitions somewhere else. Face it, you lost. Trying to frame the mish mash of trapped player waivers and exceptions as some sort of solution better than simply moving to SY is ludicrous for anyone that knows what they're talking about.

Same here. Not sure where pp lives or what league they are in, but our club doesn’t have any games/practices or in any way conflicts with HS teams until after the HS season is over in November.

No PP, but we live in a big metro. Players on the top local top ECNL club who play HS are on a 2nd team. Also, clubs stays on top largely by recruiting region's best players from surrounding clubs while doing all possible to limit other area top clubs from joining ECNL. in this world, really good players who want to play HS get replaced from the top team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm done with this topic.

Too many wuss B team parents that don't understand how high level sports work.

If you cant hang with the rest of the players on the team because of whatever excuse dejour it won't matter because your kid is going to quit playing soon anyway.

Unfortunate there's a very vocal group of numbnuts that don't matter crying on this thread

Fun to listen to parents call B team parents and kids wusses and bad players and when all we are saying is let my kid compete with yours for a spot. Why you so scared? I can only imagine how scared you are of the A team Q3/4 kids that can also compete with your kids.

The real Q1/2 studs and their parents also want a switch to school year and have the confidence their player can handle competing with older kids.

It’s the Q1/2 parents who can barely make and play that are nervous.

🤦‍♂️ this is a dumb take. The studs don’t give an S if it’s SY or BY. They’re eating everyone else’s breakfast, lunch and dinner in the opportunities game. That isn’t a birth month issue.

The parent or kid, regardless of birth month, who can “barely make and play” also don’t care about BY or SY…because they’re always nervous (they’re also probably not in ECNL).

Only these weird bubble parents and kids care either way about SY or BY on either side of the debate. But news flash! It still doesn’t matter! Nothing replaces doing the hard work. An age cutoff change doesn’t make anyone better or worse, the work still has to be done.

And just a quick point of correction - every single Q4 ECNL top team family I know is pissed about this change.

Weird to get angry and pretend to flex when as you say age cutoffs don't matter. They matter enough to you.

? No, they don’t. They have zero impact on my kid or me. My kid already plays up and starts on her ECNL team, that won’t change. She’s one of the best in the country at her position. And college probably isn’t her play.

Cutoffs don’t matter.

Cutoffs don't matter for a kid like yours, but they do for the large majority, especially when making a huge change that's appears ahead. For the humbled masses, it would be better if we had a system where maybe the better younger players played with the average older ones where both SY and BY still existed. Maybe we need half the country to do school by BY, so the benefits can go beyond sports.

Most ECNL rosters are packed with early month players so cutoffs did matter for many of them. Worry that college will not be in play for a bunch of them after a few years of SY cutoffs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm done with this topic.

Too many wuss B team parents that don't understand how high level sports work.

If you cant hang with the rest of the players on the team because of whatever excuse dejour it won't matter because your kid is going to quit playing soon anyway.

Unfortunate there's a very vocal group of numbnuts that don't matter crying on this thread

Fun to listen to parents call B team parents and kids wusses and bad players and when all we are saying is let my kid compete with yours for a spot. Why you so scared? I can only imagine how scared you are of the A team Q3/4 kids that can also compete with your kids.

The real Q1/2 studs and their parents also want a switch to school year and have the confidence their player can handle competing with older kids.

It’s the Q1/2 parents who can barely make and play that are nervous.

🤦‍♂️ this is a dumb take. The studs don’t give an S if it’s SY or BY. They’re eating everyone else’s breakfast, lunch and dinner in the opportunities game. That isn’t a birth month issue.

The parent or kid, regardless of birth month, who can “barely make and play” also don’t care about BY or SY…because they’re always nervous (they’re also probably not in ECNL).

Only these weird bubble parents and kids care either way about SY or BY on either side of the debate. But news flash! It still doesn’t matter! Nothing replaces doing the hard work. An age cutoff change doesn’t make anyone better or worse, the work still has to be done.

And just a quick point of correction - every single Q4 ECNL top team family I know is pissed about this change.

Weird to get angry and pretend to flex when as you say age cutoffs don't matter. They matter enough to you.

? No, they don’t. They have zero impact on my kid or me. My kid already plays up and starts on her ECNL team, that won’t change. She’s one of the best in the country at her position. And college probably isn’t her play.

Cutoffs don’t matter.

Cutoffs don't matter for a kid like yours, but they do for the large majority, especially when making a huge change that's appears ahead. For the humbled masses, it would be better if we had a system where maybe the better younger players played with the average older ones where both SY and BY still existed. Maybe we need half the country to do school by BY, so the benefits can go beyond sports.

Most ECNL rosters are packed with early month players so cutoffs did matter for many of them. Worry that college will not be in play for a bunch of them after a few years of SY cutoffs.

That's why ECNL could be truly innovative if not just switching to SY, they did divisions of both BY and SY.