US soccer rumors of changing back age groups?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The old way works better for 98% of American youth soccer players who are not national team candidates or likely to become professionals. Why doesn't that matter?

Personally, having seen how the switchover played out, some really athletic kids gave up soccer for other sports, and the attrition seemed more pronounced on the girls' side. The best will rise to the top eventually, but no one becomes the best at soccer unless they start play soccer when they are kids. Most often, kids start because they want to play with their friends.

It should, but the pompous crooks of youth soccer don’t care about the youth.

[Anonymous]

I’d welcome the change back to align with the soccer season (August - May) which happens to be the school calendar year . I have a U11 player. She will be 10 throughout the entire u11 season. What’s the point of playing u11 when she’ll never be 11 on a u11 team? The four months (Aug-Sept) at U9 -U13 makes a huge difference as far as size, speed, and maturity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The old way works better for 98% of American youth soccer players who are not national team candidates or likely to become professionals. Why doesn't that matter?

Personally, having seen how the switchover played out, some really athletic kids gave up soccer for other sports, and the attrition seemed more pronounced on the girls' side. The best will rise to the top eventually, but no one becomes the best at soccer unless they start play soccer when they are kids. Most often, kids start because they want to play with their friends.

It should, but the pompous crooks of youth soccer don’t care about the youth.

Please quit.

[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:I really hope they do switch back to the age groupings aligning with school year. This current system of birth year is not pretty when they are in HS and have a fall birthday. My daughter's team is mostly a grade ahead, she will be playing with a completely different team her senior year as the rest of the team will have graduated.

Translation, my kid is a September born kid.

I love people who throw this out there as though parents of kids with fall birth dates are looking for an advantage. I'm not the PP, but my daughter is a late October birthday. She plays ECNL at a top club and has totally benefited from playing with "older" players the past few years. That being said, it sucks for these kids when they are in 8th grade and there is no fall club season (our state plays HS in the fall) because the majority of their teammates are playing HS. Moving to grad year lets every kid have a team to play on every year. What is the negative? And if your kid is good enough for YNT camp invites, changing to grad year won't hurt them--they are already known.

Aww poor 8th grade.

Blame HS soccer. The passion to play crappy HS soccer is your problem not the age cutoff.

Facts. HS soccer is dead weight for top players.

Tell that to some of the GDA YNT players that still play HS. Doesn't seem to be hurting their standing with US Soccer.... Leading scorer in U18/19 GDA last year played HS.

Wrong again. 95% of YNT players are coming from the DA. The U16 team is entirely DA. US Soccer will continue to phase out those types of players. Every year, they select less and less. This is no accident either.

You clearly did not read the comment... There are YNT players that are playing in GDA but are on waivers every season to allow them to play HS. They are not phasing those kids out. The leading scorer from last year in GDA (18/19) is from NEFC. She plays HS soccer in the fall and has every year. She was called in to the U20's in December. She's not being phased out.

What I didn't add is what I said after that. It starts with phasing out the ECNL. Then they go for the part timers. And nobody is talking about U20s. Legacy YNT players that came up through the ECNL are what was the top at the time. They will do it through the younger age groups.

Sorry, but you are completely wrong. The kids that are top players will continue to receive waivers. This does not apply to players 6-20 on a GDA roster. Those kids are not getting a look for YNT camps anyway. South Shore Select has a U16 player that plays up 2 years on the U18 YNT--some would argue that the club is in GDA because of this player. She plays HS and will continue to receive a waiver for as long as she wants. And US Soccer will continue to call her in. The top players can do whatever they want.

It doesn't apply to the top 1-2 players. On that I agree. It will apply to everyone else, which is the vast majority. If you are Tobin Heath outstanding, then you are in. But even in YNT players, those are few and very far between. In fact, most YNT players don't make it to U23 and beyond. I know several players, good players, who were going to YNT events, camps, going out to California, and then slowly found themselves phased out.

Your argument is weak. Anyone below top 5 on a GDA roster isn't getting a look for YNT call ups. And if the kids that are top 1-2 are the ones that are getting called in AND can still play in HS if they choose (and many do), then US Soccer is not taking the stand that you claim. So players 5-20 on the GDA roster follow the rules in order to preserve a potential YNT camp invite that will never happen anyway. Makes total sense.

I was talking top 1-2 of a YNT roster, not a GDA roster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The old way works better for 98% of American youth soccer players who are not national team candidates or likely to become professionals. Why doesn't that matter?

Personally, having seen how the switchover played out, some really athletic kids gave up soccer for other sports, and the attrition seemed more pronounced on the girls' side. The best will rise to the top eventually, but no one becomes the best at soccer unless they start play soccer when they are kids. Most often, kids start because they want to play with their friends.

The fall kids quit just like the summer kids who quit during the years of school year you just didn’t care to notice.

You are talking about a different issue. There will always be a relative age effect and those born at the end of the cutoff will are more likely to have a hard time. However, RAE can be addressed with awareness and good coaching, both of which are difficult to find.

For most recreational and non-elite players. the draw of playing with their friends is greater than a desire to be a star at an elite club. The natural grouping of kids by school year makes more sense from a social perspective.


The large majority of American youth suffer because the "experts" can't identify and develop world class talent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The old way works better for 98% of American youth soccer players who are not national team candidates or likely to become professionals. Why doesn't that matter?

Personally, having seen how the switchover played out, some really athletic kids gave up soccer for other sports, and the attrition seemed more pronounced on the girls' side. The best will rise to the top eventually, but no one becomes the best at soccer unless they start play soccer when they are kids. Most often, kids start because they want to play with their friends.

The fall kids quit just like the summer kids who quit during the years of school year you just didn’t care to notice.

You are talking about a different issue. There will always be a relative age effect and those born at the end of the cutoff will are more likely to have a hard time. However, RAE can be addressed with awareness and good coaching, both of which are difficult to find.

For most recreational and non-elite players. the draw of playing with their friends is greater than a desire to be a star at an elite club. The natural grouping of kids by school year makes more sense from a social perspective.


The large majority of American youth suffer because the "experts" can't identify and develop world class talent.

You don’t necessarily get to play with your friends or classmates at club. People confuse rec with travel soccer. There might be two kids on any given travel team who go to the same school. The more competitive the travel team the less likely you will be playing with friends or classmates.

Again, I’m sorry your kid is now an overlooked October born player.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The old way works better for 98% of American youth soccer players who are not national team candidates or likely to become professionals. Why doesn't that matter?

Personally, having seen how the switchover played out, some really athletic kids gave up soccer for other sports, and the attrition seemed more pronounced on the girls' side. The best will rise to the top eventually, but no one becomes the best at soccer unless they start play soccer when they are kids. Most often, kids start because they want to play with their friends.

The fall kids quit just like the summer kids who quit during the years of school year you just didn’t care to notice.

You are talking about a different issue. There will always be a relative age effect and those born at the end of the cutoff will are more likely to have a hard time. However, RAE can be addressed with awareness and good coaching, both of which are difficult to find.

For most recreational and non-elite players. the draw of playing with their friends is greater than a desire to be a star at an elite club. The natural grouping of kids by school year makes more sense from a social perspective.


The large majority of American youth suffer because the "experts" can't identify and develop world class talent.

You don’t necessarily get to play with your friends or classmates at club. People confuse rec with travel soccer. There might be two kids on any given travel team who go to the same school. The more competitive the travel team the less likely you will be playing with friends or classmates.

Again, I’m sorry your kid is now an overlooked October born player.

Ok, Mr. Travel Team, do you realize that the rules apply to recreational players too??????

[Anonymous]

[
Well said! Sampson’s with brains
quote=Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where exactly have you been hearing this? I cannot imagine US Soccer would put everyone through a change again so soon, esp given that the rest of the world uses the current system.

Until I see it from the source, this just a rumor.

While I tend to agree it is probably a rumor, I have heard it from a number of different places in the last month or two. I am not sure where there is smoke there may not be a bit of fire. A decision may not be made, but I definitely believe it is being spoken about.

Birth year grouping creates "trapped players" in 8th grade and again in junior year of high school for players that are born Sept-Dec. My daughter plays at a big ECNL club (not in the DC area) and a coach recently alluded to a possible change to grad year. I would not be surprised to see this happen, and it might be driven by ECNL. Dealing with trapped players and creating composite teams for juniors and seniors is something that I'm sure they'd love to do away with. Additionally, it makes college recruiting much easier--coaches at showcases can watch a game where every kid has the same grad year.

DA/GDA kids don't play high school (except those on waivers), so they don't deal with the trapped player issue. However, if college coaches preferred showcases where players are grouped by grad year, that would certainly be something to think abouAs for the fact that the rest of the world follows birth year--the rest of the world isn't a crazy pay to play system and for academies in other countries, college placement is not a priority like it is for clubs here.

[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:I really hope they do switch back to the age groupings aligning with school year. This current system of birth year is not pretty when they are in HS and have a fall birthday. My daughter's team is mostly a grade ahead, she will be playing with a completely different team her senior year as the rest of the team will have graduated.

Translation, my kid is a September born kid.

I love people who throw this out there as though parents of kids with fall birth dates are looking for an advantage. I'm not the PP, but my daughter is a late October birthday. She plays ECNL at a top club and has totally benefited from playing with "older" players the past few years. That being said, it sucks for these kids when they are in 8th grade and there is no fall club season (our state plays HS in the fall) because the majority of their teammates are playing HS. Moving to grad year lets every kid have a team to play on every year. What is the negative? And if your kid is good enough for YNT camp invites, changing to grad year won't hurt them--they are already known.

Aww poor 8th grade.

Blame HS soccer. The passion to play crappy HS soccer is your problem not the age cutoff.

Facts. HS soccer is dead weight for top players.

Tell that to some of the GDA YNT players that still play HS. Doesn't seem to be hurting their standing with US Soccer.... Leading scorer in U18/19 GDA last year played HS.

Wrong again. 95% of YNT players are coming from the DA. The U16 team is entirely DA. US Soccer will continue to phase out those types of players. Every year, they select less and less. This is no accident either.

You clearly did not read the comment... There are YNT players that are playing in GDA but are on waivers every season to allow them to play HS. They are not phasing those kids out. The leading scorer from last year in GDA (18/19) is from NEFC. She plays HS soccer in the fall and has every year. She was called in to the U20's in December. She's not being phased out.

What I didn't add is what I said after that. It starts with phasing out the ECNL. Then they go for the part timers. And nobody is talking about U20s. Legacy YNT players that came up through the ECNL are what was the top at the time. They will do it through the younger age groups.

Sorry, but you are completely wrong. The kids that are top players will continue to receive waivers. This does not apply to players 6-20 on a GDA roster. Those kids are not getting a look for YNT camps anyway. South Shore Select has a U16 player that plays up 2 years on the U18 YNT--some would argue that the club is in GDA because of this player. She plays HS and will continue to receive a waiver for as long as she wants. And US Soccer will continue to call her in. The top players can do whatever they want.

It doesn't apply to the top 1-2 players. On that I agree. It will apply to everyone else, which is the vast majority. If you are Tobin Heath outstanding, then you are in. But even in YNT players, those are few and very far between. In fact, most YNT players don't make it to U23 and beyond. I know several players, good players, who were going to YNT events, camps, going out to California, and then slowly found themselves phased out.

Your argument is weak. Anyone below top 5 on a GDA roster isn't getting a look for YNT call ups. And if the kids that are top 1-2 are the ones that are getting called in AND can still play in HS if they choose (and many do), then US Soccer is not taking the stand that you claim. So players 5-20 on the GDA roster follow the rules in order to preserve a potential YNT camp invite that will never happen anyway. Makes total sense.

I was talking top 1-2 of a YNT roster, not a GDA roster.

So what is your point? The top 1-2 on a YNT roster accounts for about .000001% of kids playing soccer. If your argument is that only those GDA kids are granted waivers and/or using the roster loophole to play HS, you'd be wrong.

The replaceable kids follow the rules, the top 3-4 at any GDA club can do whatever they want. US Soccer allows it, so GDA will never have every player give up HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Birth Year, clubs ask for a copy of birth certificates or passports. For Grade Year, what do clubs ask to see to verify?

It's not what grade they are in, it's that the year will be August 1 - July 31st, insteat of Jan 1 - Dec 31st.

Why would this be an improvement? A cut off is a cut off. Some kids will fall on either side of it whatever date it is.

Well, my August kid will finally get a leg up in life. Our school cut off is September.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[
Well said! Sampson’s with brains
quote=Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where exactly have you been hearing this? I cannot imagine US Soccer would put everyone through a change again so soon, esp given that the rest of the world uses the current system.

Until I see it from the source, this just a rumor.

While I tend to agree it is probably a rumor, I have heard it from a number of different places in the last month or two. I am not sure where there is smoke there may not be a bit of fire. A decision may not be made, but I definitely believe it is being spoken about.

Birth year grouping creates "trapped players" in 8th grade and again in junior year of high school for players that are born Sept-Dec. My daughter plays at a big ECNL club (not in the DC area) and a coach recently alluded to a possible change to grad year. I would not be surprised to see this happen, and it might be driven by ECNL. Dealing with trapped players and creating composite teams for juniors and seniors is something that I'm sure they'd love to do away with. Additionally, it makes college recruiting much easier--coaches at showcases can watch a game where every kid has the same grad year.

DA/GDA kids don't play high school (except those on waivers), so they don't deal with the trapped player issue. However, if college coaches preferred showcases where players are grouped by grad year, that would certainly be something to think abouAs for the fact that the rest of the world follows birth year--the rest of the world isn't a crazy pay to play system and for academies in other countries, college placement is not a priority like it is for clubs here.

That is a plausible theory. Thanks.

Managing those 8th graders is a big problem for non-DA teams, even those who are not at the elite level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The old way works better for 98% of American youth soccer players who are not national team candidates or likely to become professionals. Why doesn't that matter?

Personally, having seen how the switchover played out, some really athletic kids gave up soccer for other sports, and the attrition seemed more pronounced on the girls' side. The best will rise to the top eventually, but no one becomes the best at soccer unless they start play soccer when they are kids. Most often, kids start because they want to play with their friends.

The fall kids quit just like the summer kids who quit during the years of school year you just didn’t care to notice.

You are talking about a different issue. There will always be a relative age effect and those born at the end of the cutoff will are more likely to have a hard time. However, RAE can be addressed with awareness and good coaching, both of which are difficult to find.

For most recreational and non-elite players. the draw of playing with their friends is greater than a desire to be a star at an elite club. The natural grouping of kids by school year makes more sense from a social perspective.


The large majority of American youth suffer because the "experts" can't identify and develop world class talent.

You don’t necessarily get to play with your friends or classmates at club. People confuse rec with travel soccer. There might be two kids on any given travel team who go to the same school. The more competitive the travel team the less likely you will be playing with friends or classmates.

Again, I’m sorry your kid is now an overlooked October born player.

Ok, Mr. Travel Team, do you realize that the rules apply to recreational players too??????

I think there are some clubs that still do grade year rec eventhough their travel follows birth year.

[Anonymous]

I think there are some clubs that still do grade year rec eventhough their travel follows birth year.

None that I am aware of in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The old way works better for 98% of American youth soccer players who are not national team candidates or likely to become professionals. Why doesn't that matter?

Personally, having seen how the switchover played out, some really athletic kids gave up soccer for other sports, and the attrition seemed more pronounced on the girls' side. The best will rise to the top eventually, but no one becomes the best at soccer unless they start play soccer when they are kids. Most often, kids start because they want to play with their friends.

The fall kids quit just like the summer kids who quit during the years of school year you just didn’t care to notice.

You are talking about a different issue. There will always be a relative age effect and those born at the end of the cutoff will are more likely to have a hard time. However, RAE can be addressed with awareness and good coaching, both of which are difficult to find.

For most recreational and non-elite players. the draw of playing with their friends is greater than a desire to be a star at an elite club. The natural grouping of kids by school year makes more sense from a social perspective.


The large majority of American youth suffer because the "experts" can't identify and develop world class talent.

You don’t necessarily get to play with your friends or classmates at club. People confuse rec with travel soccer. There might be two kids on any given travel team who go to the same school. The more competitive the travel team the less likely you will be playing with friends or classmates.

Again, I’m sorry your kid is now an overlooked October born player.

Ok, Mr. Travel Team, do you realize that the rules apply to recreational players too??????

I think there are some clubs that still do grade year rec eventhough their travel follows birth year.

No it doesn’t. Rec can do grade year if the club wants to.

[Anonymous]

I hope it does go through so this dumb ass ^^ that knows exactly what US soccer will and wont do can eat his dumb ass words. Shut the hell up and offer some real feedback and stop cutting people down with your stupid one line remarks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d welcome the change back to align with the soccer season (August - May) which happens to be the school calendar year . I have a U11 player. She will be 10 throughout the entire u11 season. What’s the point of playing u11 when she’ll never be 11 on a u11 team? The four months (Aug-Sept) at U9 -U13 makes a huge difference as far as size, speed, and maturity.

You are dumb