Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think Arlington's approach makes sense. Our club does not allow play ups to non-1st teams, which makes sense as a policy. They will now allow misaligned August kids to request to play up with their academic year and participate in tryouts normally. For our club, this will make a big difference for the 2nd teams and lower. There are lots of 1st team kids who could make the 2nd or 3rd or 4th team of the year ahead of them and now, for certain kids, that's allowed. It makes complete sense to me. If August/September kids prefer to stay on their existing team even though the kids on it are a grade behind in school (perhaps because they'd rather play on a 1st team than a 2nd one, or perhaps because they're small for their age and don't want to exacerbate the issue), that's completely fine too.
Arlington is BY right now. This fall they will change to SY and magically more players will be playing up on top teams so they're on the correct grade team for college recruiting.
For next fall Arlington has been very transparent. Playing up on age is mainly based on talent and will be the exception. As they said, not some hope for magic.
Q: Can players play up an age group?
A: Playing up is a coaching and technical decision based primarily on the player’s skill level, soccer maturity, and overall development needs. While Arlington Soccer allows flexibility in certain cases, playing up is the exception rather than the rule. Each situation is carefully evaluated by the technical staff to ensure it is in the best interest of both the individual player and the team.
Q: Can a player born between August 1 and September 30 play up if they are in the higher school grade?
A: School grade may be considered as part of the evaluation, but the decision to allow a player to play up is ultimately based on technical criteria including the player’s skill, maturity, and readiness for the older age group. Grade alone does not guarantee that a player will play up.