ECNL moving to school year part 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is, it’s not very realistic to think that a kid playing on a team with players in a lower grade will be viewed exactly the same as one playing with kids in their own grade. People say college coaches don’t pay attention to that, but common sense tells you it probably matters at least a little. It’s hard not to think those statements are partly meant to ease everyone’s anxiety about the changes.

That being said, this isn’t about telling anyone their kid should play up. The age groups are what they are, and every player has the right to play in their correct age group. And yes, there will still be opportunities to play in college. It just might not always be at the exact level some families are hoping for—and that’s the honest part of the conversation

Translation, shoot low and you'll always be on target.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is, it’s not very realistic to think that a kid playing on a team with players in a lower grade will be viewed exactly the same as one playing with kids in their own grade. People say college coaches don’t pay attention to that, but common sense tells you it probably matters at least a little. It’s hard not to think those statements are partly meant to ease everyone’s anxiety about the changes.

That being said, this isn’t about telling anyone their kid should play up. The age groups are what they are, and every player has the right to play in their correct age group. And yes, there will still be opportunities to play in college. It just might not always be at the exact level some families are hoping for—and that’s the honest part of the conversation

The reality is if you are the star (or average) player playing on age in ECNL or the star (or average) player playing a year up for an ECRL team, college coaches know you are the same player. You will be viewed exactly the same and will have to do the same leg work to let colleges know you are interested. Playing in ECNL vs ECRL will give advantages though and playing as the oldest for years will also give players cumulative advantages. So realistically, you will be the better player playing on age for many years than a player playing up on a non top team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is, it’s not very realistic to think that a kid playing on a team with players in a lower grade will be viewed exactly the same as one playing with kids in their own grade. People say college coaches don’t pay attention to that, but common sense tells you it probably matters at least a little. It’s hard not to think those statements are partly meant to ease everyone’s anxiety about the changes.

That being said, this isn’t about telling anyone their kid should play up. The age groups are what they are, and every player has the right to play in their correct age group. And yes, there will still be opportunities to play in college. It just might not always be at the exact level some families are hoping for—and that’s the honest part of the conversation

Translation, shoot low and you'll always be on target.

No reason to judge a kid for "shooting low" by playing up on a lower tier team to play with mates. Playing soccer just for fun soccer should be respected not attacked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

If you want to play in college you need to align to a grade in school / graduating year mentality. Because this is how they function.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

If you want to play in college you need to align to a grade in school / graduating year mentality. Because this is how they function.

True, but that doesn't mean being misaligned will ruin your chances. For some players, they can't play on their grade. They won't just give up. Pretty much every soccer player has some challenge they need to overcome. For some players, it may be this in terms of winning over coaches who may be biased (other coaches won't care).

[Anonymous]

Some players have to play the hand they're dealt and for some misaligned players that may mean playing on age to get to a top team, especially this year when it's their best shot to go to national showcases vs. local ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

If you want to play in college you need to align to a grade in school / graduating year mentality. Because this is how they function.

Then how do you explain how they function under BY across 2 grades per age group, how they can evaluate International players that don't neatly line up with grade (often older), players on bad teams and players on great teams. College coaches have to evaluate players in all these scenarios but now for some reason they blackball players playing in their own age group? And college coaches said the opposite of blackballing them. They don't care what age group you are in.

Your spitting out opinion without facts that goes against what is known, college coaches can evaluate players in many situations and they evaluate players not teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some players have to play the hand they're dealt and for some misaligned players that may mean playing on age to get to a top team, especially this year when it's their best shot to go to national showcases vs. local ones.

These players have been dealt a great hand by becoming the oldest and having the best shot at excelling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

If you want to play in college you need to align to a grade in school / graduating year mentality. Because this is how they function.

Then how do you explain how they function under BY across 2 grades per age group, how they can evaluate International players that don't neatly line up with grade (often older), players on bad teams and players on great teams. College coaches have to evaluate players in all these scenarios but now for some reason they blackball players playing in their own age group? And college coaches said the opposite of blackballing them. They don't care what age group you are in.

Your spitting out opinion without facts that goes against what is known, college coaches can evaluate players in many situations and they evaluate players not teams.

2 grades works in BY because the lower grade players are playing up a level and because of this are interesting to college coaches.

August birthdays playing down in SY is looked at as pathetic and players that choose this pathway will be ignored by college coaches

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

If you want to play in college you need to align to a grade in school / graduating year mentality. Because this is how they function.

Then how do you explain how they function under BY across 2 grades per age group, how they can evaluate International players that don't neatly line up with grade (often older), players on bad teams and players on great teams. College coaches have to evaluate players in all these scenarios but now for some reason they blackball players playing in their own age group? And college coaches said the opposite of blackballing them. They don't care what age group you are in.

Your spitting out opinion without facts that goes against what is known, college coaches can evaluate players in many situations and they evaluate players not teams.

2 grades works in BY because the lower grade players are playing up a level and because of this are interesting to college coaches.

August birthdays playing down in SY is looked at as pathetic and players that choose this pathway will be ignored by college coaches

Not to everyone -- maybe for people who like to paint people with a broad brush and say nasty things about them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

If you want to play in college you need to align to a grade in school / graduating year mentality. Because this is how they function.

Then how do you explain how they function under BY across 2 grades per age group, how they can evaluate International players that don't neatly line up with grade (often older), players on bad teams and players on great teams. College coaches have to evaluate players in all these scenarios but now for some reason they blackball players playing in their own age group? And college coaches said the opposite of blackballing them. They don't care what age group you are in.

Your spitting out opinion without facts that goes against what is known, college coaches can evaluate players in many situations and they evaluate players not teams.

2 grades works in BY because the lower grade players are playing up a level and because of this are interesting to college coaches.

August birthdays playing down in SY is looked at as pathetic and players that choose this pathway will be ignored by college coaches

They never were playing up, they were playing on age. If you think that way, then the Jan-Aug players were/are playing down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

If you want to play in college you need to align to a grade in school / graduating year mentality. Because this is how they function.

Then how do you explain how they function under BY across 2 grades per age group, how they can evaluate International players that don't neatly line up with grade (often older), players on bad teams and players on great teams. College coaches have to evaluate players in all these scenarios but now for some reason they blackball players playing in their own age group? And college coaches said the opposite of blackballing them. They don't care what age group you are in.

Your spitting out opinion without facts that goes against what is known, college coaches can evaluate players in many situations and they evaluate players not teams.

2 grades works in BY because the lower grade players are playing up a level and because of this are interesting to college coaches.

August birthdays playing down in SY is looked at as pathetic and players that choose this pathway will be ignored by college coaches

Not to everyone -- maybe for people who like to paint people with a broad brush and say nasty things about them.

If a college coach has 100s of players reaching out to them to play on their team They're not going to waste their time messing around with an Aug birthday that chose to play down a grade.

Sorry that reality doesnt align with the candyland you've put together in your head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

If you want to play in college you need to align to a grade in school / graduating year mentality. Because this is how they function.

Then how do you explain how they function under BY across 2 grades per age group, how they can evaluate International players that don't neatly line up with grade (often older), players on bad teams and players on great teams. College coaches have to evaluate players in all these scenarios but now for some reason they blackball players playing in their own age group? And college coaches said the opposite of blackballing them. They don't care what age group you are in.

Your spitting out opinion without facts that goes against what is known, college coaches can evaluate players in many situations and they evaluate players not teams.

2 grades works in BY because the lower grade players are playing up a level and because of this are interesting to college coaches.

August birthdays playing down in SY is looked at as pathetic and players that choose this pathway will be ignored by college coaches

The 2-grade dynamic will continue to exist in SY but the number of outliers will be smaller. Last time roughly 5% of all players were misaligned or an average of 1 per team. The only way you can completely eliminate it would be to have a GY system -- which would completely blow up any 12-month window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heres my family situation. My high flyer female with a decmber birthday and a potential in playing in college will age down for maximum visibility. My August boy who plays hg dev will stay with his age to be an older for the time ever. No aspirations other than playing good soccer and translating his level of travel to the hs game. Both win

I dont know if "age down" is the correct terminology although I get what you're saying. In BY your December birthday player was forced to play up a grade. Now since we're switching back to SY again they'll be grouped with players their grade in school which should be fun for them. This was/is the whole intent of switching back from BY to SY.

General fyi but did you know the reason BY works for other countries is because school cutoff for a certain grade is 1/1. However school start dates are usually around Aug Sept. When you think about it this makes it easier because all you need to do is ask a kid what year they were born and that tells you their grade in school. In America we combine school start date with cutoff date this is why BY doesnt work and SY better aligns all players to a specific grade here.

My December kid is in MLS Next and committed to a D1 school

I can't recall us having any discussions about school grade

Be obtuse if you want.

I guarantee at some point graduating year aka grade in school was discussed or your kids college coach wouldn't know what year to expect to see them on campus.

They of course knew his graduating year.

We provided that when we reached out and they also knew it before we gave them.

My point is that for his soccer development journey, school grade being different than his teammates was never an issue.

The situation is different now. Birth year created a situation where players in a specific grade had to play with kids in a higher grade because they missed the school cutoff. No one minded this because playing with kids in a higher grade feels more challenging and acceptable (of course depends on the players themselves being good, but just generally, a 9th grader playing with 10th graders was fine) College scouts looking at 10th graders might also see the 9th grader and just keep them in mind for the next recruiting year. All good there.

Now, you have a few months of kids who could potentially have to play with a team that is primarily a lower grade. So in this scenario, you have a 10th grader playing on a team full of 9th graders. College scouts aren't looking at 9th graders and probably aren't going to make a special trip over to a field full of 9th graders just to see the 1 or 2 10th graders.

It doesn't change the fact that most recruiting is done by the player/parents, with outreach and direct attendance at ID camps where coaches are - where of course you are aligned by graduation year. But the scenario above isn't really helping player development or recruiting - just clubs who potentially want to win more games. For younger grades, it's fine because maybe some smaller kids need more time in 7v7, 9v9 etc. But by high school, kids should be aligned with grad year if at all possible.

You do know the colleges are only looking at a few people to fill the small amount of available freshman spaces on their roster?

They aren't trawling the ocean

You are correct - it is such a small number that a kid playing with a younger grade will literally never end up playing college soccer. Hence the reason that even to have a remote chance, you have to play with your grad year.

The 10th grader with the skills, potential and attitude the college recruiter wants will get recruited if they are on a team with some 9th graders

Because the college recruiter is a soccer person, not guidance counselor

Why only play down in soccer?

Just hold your Aug birthday back in school and they'll be aligned and everything works. Why would you want to be s square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

Why do my child a disservice by holding them back in school while kids their age are a year advanced academically and in maturity?
Also, they can only play with their age group or up. So what's gained?
No one can play down

RAE says that being the oldest will give them an academic advantage over all the other students.

Or ore you one of those selective RAE people that only uses it to get what you want?

Wow, to brazenly flaunt ignorance and stupidity with such pride

So, my kid being the oldest in 9th grade learning Economics 1 while kids her age are doing Economics 2/3 in 10th grade is a win for her?

RAE says that oldest is always better. Its science.

You just dont like it when you cant use RAE to get what you want.

If I was a club owner I say sure your August birthday can play down a grade. You just need to hold them back.

You are making up something that's not there.

Sure you can say playing with a lower grade may affect college recruiting, but to claim players HAVE to play with their grade is just not in the rule book. It is based on birth date.

If you want to play in college you need to align to a grade in school / graduating year mentality. Because this is how they function.

Then how do you explain how they function under BY across 2 grades per age group, how they can evaluate International players that don't neatly line up with grade (often older), players on bad teams and players on great teams. College coaches have to evaluate players in all these scenarios but now for some reason they blackball players playing in their own age group? And college coaches said the opposite of blackballing them. They don't care what age group you are in.

Your spitting out opinion without facts that goes against what is known, college coaches can evaluate players in many situations and they evaluate players not teams.

2 grades works in BY because the lower grade players are playing up a level and because of this are interesting to college coaches.

August birthdays playing down in SY is looked at as pathetic and players that choose this pathway will be ignored by college coaches

They never were playing up, they were playing on age. If you think that way, then the Jan-Aug players were/are playing down.

College coaches dont care about club rules. All they care about is graduating year and when players are Juniors in school because this is when they can communicate directly with them.