ECNL moving to school year not calendar

[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:Didn't see this posted yet. It's a must watch.

https://youtu.be/Scr1UOywbQI?si=GC9Nno7lCnmasMlQ

No one in this thread is going to listen to that guy as soon as they hear him say stop thinking your 8 year old is going pro.

"We have 2.6 million players and most are playing for fun"

US Youth Soccer is a rec league..

So true. And now add the expected change to playdate soccer and truly it will be entrenching a rec league mentality.

Of course all of youth soccer is rec and playdate soccer as none of the kids in these youth leagues get paid. Its kids playing for fun. Seriously, well adjusted adults know this.

No, a small part of youth soccer is rec and baby soccer. Competitive soccer with older teams is how leagues and clubs get their rankings and status and how they draw in more paying customers at a younger age. But it sounds like if the priority is now going to be on rec playdate soccer then leagues and clubs will watch their competitive teams and players leave. Doesn’t seem like a good business model but at least the kids will all be playing with friends and getting participation trophies.

What are you even talking about? This isn't going to end "competitive" soccer.

Why does the BY crowd say a SY registration is “rec” soccer and not competitive?

The people chasing after SY are Rec minded is the sentiment

How are they “rec minded?”

They are pushing for little Timmy to play with his cafeteria buddy on the same team

It's more than that.

Certain parents want to make youth soccer their social outlet. They want to keep their kids on the same teams as kids in their grade at school which is also a parent social outlet + where they spend their time on the PTA.

All of this is done so they can have a tight social circle. With a tight social circle they can control the team working as a group going as far as telling the coach who makes the team and who doesn't.

Very true
The entitlement clique posse

At higher levels, clubs find themselves going to surrounding communities to be able to compete. Sure you could have a close-knit, parent-controlled squad. They won't be winning very much, tho, unless the parents keep the team at the lowest levels in order to win.

This is what the BY people are talking about.

SY creates a link with a school grade. This encourages parernt controlling behavior on teams.

Also I agree with you about controlling parent cliques creating losses. My oldest had to put up with this kind of cr@p for multiple years. It was frustrating watching the losses pile up.

It’s even worse for the playing up. My kid has always played up a year or two, and the kids used to love it because she’d win for them. Then the parents started to get bitter, then the kids did too. YNT has been a godsend, because her club team is just awful due to parent cliques that resent her for “taking their kids playing time” and “thinking she is better than she is” 🫠

And completely relevant for the SY vs BY discussion l, but i guess you got an anonymous brag in.

[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:Didn't see this posted yet. It's a must watch.

https://youtu.be/Scr1UOywbQI?si=GC9Nno7lCnmasMlQ

No one in this thread is going to listen to that guy as soon as they hear him say stop thinking your 8 year old is going pro.

"We have 2.6 million players and most are playing for fun"

US Youth Soccer is a rec league..

So true. And now add the expected change to playdate soccer and truly it will be entrenching a rec league mentality.

Of course all of youth soccer is rec and playdate soccer as none of the kids in these youth leagues get paid. Its kids playing for fun. Seriously, well adjusted adults know this.

No, a small part of youth soccer is rec and baby soccer. Competitive soccer with older teams is how leagues and clubs get their rankings and status and how they draw in more paying customers at a younger age. But it sounds like if the priority is now going to be on rec playdate soccer then leagues and clubs will watch their competitive teams and players leave. Doesn’t seem like a good business model but at least the kids will all be playing with friends and getting participation trophies.

What are you even talking about? This isn't going to end "competitive" soccer.

Why does the BY crowd say a SY registration is “rec” soccer and not competitive?

The people chasing after SY are Rec minded is the sentiment

How are they “rec minded?”

They are pushing for little Timmy to play with his cafeteria buddy on the same team

It's more than that.

Certain parents want to make youth soccer their social outlet. They want to keep their kids on the same teams as kids in their grade at school which is also a parent social outlet + where they spend their time on the PTA.

All of this is done so they can have a tight social circle. With a tight social circle they can control the team working as a group going as far as telling the coach who makes the team and who doesn't.

Very true
The entitlement clique posse

At higher levels, clubs find themselves going to surrounding communities to be able to compete. Sure you could have a close-knit, parent-controlled squad. They won't be winning very much, tho, unless the parents keep the team at the lowest levels in order to win.

This is what the BY people are talking about.

SY creates a link with a school grade. This encourages parernt controlling behavior on teams.

Also I agree with you about controlling parent cliques creating losses. My oldest had to put up with this kind of cr@p for multiple years. It was frustrating watching the losses pile up.

It’s even worse for the playing up. My kid has always played up a year or two, and the kids used to love it because she’d win for them. Then the parents started to get bitter, then the kids did too. YNT has been a godsend, because her club team is just awful due to parent cliques that resent her for “taking their kids playing time” and “thinking she is better than she is” 🫠

Well, let her play with girls on age and see if she can make some friends. Sounds like this might be better for her. I'm sure you'll figure something out, good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone said something earlier about lacrosse, and I think that’s a great place to look for age cutoff, etc. It made me google their cutoff and this is what it says:

https://www.usalacrosse.com/sites/default/files/documents/Games/USAL-AgeGroupChart-15mo-24-25.pdf

15 month window that allows June/July/Aug to play with graduation year. Makes all the sense in the world and would eliminate trapped players and keeps kids in their grade.

Absolutely agree this 15-month approach would be a great solution. But US Soccer has already announced two SY options for fall 2026, with SY 8/1 cutoff or SY 9/1 cutoff. While it would be wonderful if additional, “creative” solutions like this were discussed/adopted at the big national meeting in late February, I doubt that happens. In which case 8/1 is the lesser evil of the 2 SY pathways offered.

That isn’t was USSF announced. They announced a BY and SY option, and the SY option is still being decided between 9/1 and 8/1.

Read it again and let me know what you think.

“ There is recognition that there are many leagues and clubs at the recreational level who currently organize around the school year – which could mean August 1 or September 1. Organizing around school year should be a local market / member decision”


“ Members and leagues will have reasonable flexibility to choose between birth year or school year for the 2026-2027 season. We are conducting a thorough review of considerations and best practices to equip members, leagues, and clubs with making the right registration choice for the 2026-2027 season. This includes understanding more about the implications between various school year start dates (e.g., 8/1 vs. 9/1) and how to resolve instances where teams organized with different registration calendars want to
compete.”

BY or SY option. And they are unsure which SY option to prescribe….pretty straightforward.

Ehh, I sort of agree but also think there is flexibility in what they decide. If they’re going for a true school year option, it would seem that the release gives a league/association/etc. the leeway to do what they feel is best to accomplish their goal. That’s why it says they have reasonable flexibility with the suggestion of 8/1 and 9/1. But we will see what happens.

They didn’t use the word AND, they used OR.

And you can’t have national classic tournaments if some states are 9/1 and others are 8/1. Hence, why USSF said “or”

Of course you can. It’s 30 days difference! It’s meaningless.

LMAO, can't wait for the parents that complain that other team only won because they an August girl that was older than their September girls!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone said something earlier about lacrosse, and I think that’s a great place to look for age cutoff, etc. It made me google their cutoff and this is what it says:

https://www.usalacrosse.com/sites/default/files/documents/Games/USAL-AgeGroupChart-15mo-24-25.pdf

15 month window that allows June/July/Aug to play with graduation year. Makes all the sense in the world and would eliminate trapped players and keeps kids in their grade.

Absolutely agree this 15-month approach would be a great solution. But US Soccer has already announced two SY options for fall 2026, with SY 8/1 cutoff or SY 9/1 cutoff. While it would be wonderful if additional, “creative” solutions like this were discussed/adopted at the big national meeting in late February, I doubt that happens. In which case 8/1 is the lesser evil of the 2 SY pathways offered.

That isn’t was USSF announced. They announced a BY and SY option, and the SY option is still being decided between 9/1 and 8/1.

Read it again and let me know what you think.

“ There is recognition that there are many leagues and clubs at the recreational level who currently organize around the school year – which could mean August 1 or September 1. Organizing around school year should be a local market / member decision”


“ Members and leagues will have reasonable flexibility to choose between birth year or school year for the 2026-2027 season. We are conducting a thorough review of considerations and best practices to equip members, leagues, and clubs with making the right registration choice for the 2026-2027 season. This includes understanding more about the implications between various school year start dates (e.g., 8/1 vs. 9/1) and how to resolve instances where teams organized with different registration calendars want to
compete.”

BY or SY option. And they are unsure which SY option to prescribe….pretty straightforward.

Ehh, I sort of agree but also think there is flexibility in what they decide. If they’re going for a true school year option, it would seem that the release gives a league/association/etc. the leeway to do what they feel is best to accomplish their goal. That’s why it says they have reasonable flexibility with the suggestion of 8/1 and 9/1. But we will see what happens.

They didn’t use the word AND, they used OR.

And you can’t have national classic tournaments if some states are 9/1 and others are 8/1. Hence, why USSF said “or”

Of course you can. It’s 30 days difference! It’s meaningless.

LMAO, can't wait for the parents that complain that other team only won because they an August girl that was older than their September girls!

Califirnia = August

Guaranteed to be the excuse.

[Anonymous]

Are they really doing August to December?

I thought it was school year so September to December?

[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:Didn't see this posted yet. It's a must watch.

https://youtu.be/Scr1UOywbQI?si=GC9Nno7lCnmasMlQ

No one in this thread is going to listen to that guy as soon as they hear him say stop thinking your 8 year old is going pro.

"We have 2.6 million players and most are playing for fun"

US Youth Soccer is a rec league..

So true. And now add the expected change to playdate soccer and truly it will be entrenching a rec league mentality.

Of course all of youth soccer is rec and playdate soccer as none of the kids in these youth leagues get paid. Its kids playing for fun. Seriously, well adjusted adults know this.

No, a small part of youth soccer is rec and baby soccer. Competitive soccer with older teams is how leagues and clubs get their rankings and status and how they draw in more paying customers at a younger age. But it sounds like if the priority is now going to be on rec playdate soccer then leagues and clubs will watch their competitive teams and players leave. Doesn’t seem like a good business model but at least the kids will all be playing with friends and getting participation trophies.

What are you even talking about? This isn't going to end "competitive" soccer.

Why does the BY crowd say a SY registration is “rec” soccer and not competitive?

The people chasing after SY are Rec minded is the sentiment

How are they “rec minded?”

They are pushing for little Timmy to play with his cafeteria buddy on the same team

It's more than that.

Certain parents want to make youth soccer their social outlet. They want to keep their kids on the same teams as kids in their grade at school which is also a parent social outlet + where they spend their time on the PTA.

All of this is done so they can have a tight social circle. With a tight social circle they can control the team working as a group going as far as telling the coach who makes the team and who doesn't.

Very true
The entitlement clique posse

At higher levels, clubs find themselves going to surrounding communities to be able to compete. Sure you could have a close-knit, parent-controlled squad. They won't be winning very much, tho, unless the parents keep the team at the lowest levels in order to win.

This is what the BY people are talking about.

SY creates a link with a school grade. This encourages parernt controlling behavior on teams.

Also I agree with you about controlling parent cliques creating losses. My oldest had to put up with this kind of cr@p for multiple years. It was frustrating watching the losses pile up.

It’s even worse for the playing up. My kid has always played up a year or two, and the kids used to love it because she’d win for them. Then the parents started to get bitter, then the kids did too. YNT has been a godsend, because her club team is just awful due to parent cliques that resent her for “taking their kids playing time” and “thinking she is better than she is” 🫠

And completely relevant for the SY vs BY discussion l, but i guess you got an anonymous brag in.

😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they really doing August to December?

I thought it was school year so September to December?

Nobody knows yet, and Skip Gilbert implied on a podcast the other day that for USYS at least it would likely vary state by state.

30 days is completely meaningless in my opinion, I would hope ECNL would just let it float state by state, or set it at September but allow for August kids to align with their grade.

[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:Didn't see this posted yet. It's a must watch.

https://youtu.be/Scr1UOywbQI?si=GC9Nno7lCnmasMlQ

No one in this thread is going to listen to that guy as soon as they hear him say stop thinking your 8 year old is going pro.

"We have 2.6 million players and most are playing for fun"

US Youth Soccer is a rec league..

So true. And now add the expected change to playdate soccer and truly it will be entrenching a rec league mentality.

Of course all of youth soccer is rec and playdate soccer as none of the kids in these youth leagues get paid. Its kids playing for fun. Seriously, well adjusted adults know this.

No, a small part of youth soccer is rec and baby soccer. Competitive soccer with older teams is how leagues and clubs get their rankings and status and how they draw in more paying customers at a younger age. But it sounds like if the priority is now going to be on rec playdate soccer then leagues and clubs will watch their competitive teams and players leave. Doesn’t seem like a good business model but at least the kids will all be playing with friends and getting participation trophies.

What are you even talking about? This isn't going to end "competitive" soccer.

Why does the BY crowd say a SY registration is “rec” soccer and not competitive?

The people chasing after SY are Rec minded is the sentiment

How are they “rec minded?”

They are pushing for little Timmy to play with his cafeteria buddy on the same team

It's more than that.

Certain parents want to make youth soccer their social outlet. They want to keep their kids on the same teams as kids in their grade at school which is also a parent social outlet + where they spend their time on the PTA.

All of this is done so they can have a tight social circle. With a tight social circle they can control the team working as a group going as far as telling the coach who makes the team and who doesn't.

Very true
The entitlement clique posse

At higher levels, clubs find themselves going to surrounding communities to be able to compete. Sure you could have a close-knit, parent-controlled squad. They won't be winning very much, tho, unless the parents keep the team at the lowest levels in order to win.

This is what the BY people are talking about.

SY creates a link with a school grade. This encourages parernt controlling behavior on teams.

Also I agree with you about controlling parent cliques creating losses. My oldest had to put up with this kind of cr@p for multiple years. It was frustrating watching the losses pile up.

It’s even worse for the playing up. My kid has always played up a year or two, and the kids used to love it because she’d win for them. Then the parents started to get bitter, then the kids did too. YNT has been a godsend, because her club team is just awful due to parent cliques that resent her for “taking their kids playing time” and “thinking she is better than she is” 🫠

X2

[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:Didn't see this posted yet. It's a must watch.

https://youtu.be/Scr1UOywbQI?si=GC9Nno7lCnmasMlQ

No one in this thread is going to listen to that guy as soon as they hear him say stop thinking your 8 year old is going pro.

"We have 2.6 million players and most are playing for fun"

US Youth Soccer is a rec league..

So true. And now add the expected change to playdate soccer and truly it will be entrenching a rec league mentality.

Of course all of youth soccer is rec and playdate soccer as none of the kids in these youth leagues get paid. Its kids playing for fun. Seriously, well adjusted adults know this.

No, a small part of youth soccer is rec and baby soccer. Competitive soccer with older teams is how leagues and clubs get their rankings and status and how they draw in more paying customers at a younger age. But it sounds like if the priority is now going to be on rec playdate soccer then leagues and clubs will watch their competitive teams and players leave. Doesn’t seem like a good business model but at least the kids will all be playing with friends and getting participation trophies.

What are you even talking about? This isn't going to end "competitive" soccer.

Why does the BY crowd say a SY registration is “rec” soccer and not competitive?

The people chasing after SY are Rec minded is the sentiment

How are they “rec minded?”

They are pushing for little Timmy to play with his cafeteria buddy on the same team

It's more than that.

Certain parents want to make youth soccer their social outlet. They want to keep their kids on the same teams as kids in their grade at school which is also a parent social outlet + where they spend their time on the PTA.

All of this is done so they can have a tight social circle. With a tight social circle they can control the team working as a group going as far as telling the coach who makes the team and who doesn't.

Very true
The entitlement clique posse

At higher levels, clubs find themselves going to surrounding communities to be able to compete. Sure you could have a close-knit, parent-controlled squad. They won't be winning very much, tho, unless the parents keep the team at the lowest levels in order to win.

This is what the BY people are talking about.

SY creates a link with a school grade. This encourages parernt controlling behavior on teams.

Also I agree with you about controlling parent cliques creating losses. My oldest had to put up with this kind of cr@p for multiple years. It was frustrating watching the losses pile up.

It’s even worse for the playing up. My kid has always played up a year or two, and the kids used to love it because she’d win for them. Then the parents started to get bitter, then the kids did too. YNT has been a godsend, because her club team is just awful due to parent cliques that resent her for “taking their kids playing time” and “thinking she is better than she is” 🫠

Well, let her play with girls on age and see if she can make some friends. Sounds like this might be better for her. I'm sure you'll figure something out, good luck.

You're suggesting that a player that is doing well playing a year or two up should stop doing that because parents on those teams don't like it?

This is exactly why you don't want to link club level with grade level for competitive teams.

This is exactly why BY leagues will draw higher levels of play then SY over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are they really doing August to December?

I thought it was school year so September to December?

Nobody knows yet, and Skip Gilbert implied on a podcast the other day that for USYS at least it would likely vary state by state.

30 days is completely meaningless in my opinion, I would hope ECNL would just let it float state by state, or set it at September but allow for August kids to align with their grade.

I hope they just pick one date and go with that. The whole 30 or 60 before for waivers is not the way to go. If that’s the case make that the date and stick with it. Set the rule or standard and that is it.

[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:Didn't see this posted yet. It's a must watch.

https://youtu.be/Scr1UOywbQI?si=GC9Nno7lCnmasMlQ

No one in this thread is going to listen to that guy as soon as they hear him say stop thinking your 8 year old is going pro.

"We have 2.6 million players and most are playing for fun"

US Youth Soccer is a rec league..

So true. And now add the expected change to playdate soccer and truly it will be entrenching a rec league mentality.

Of course all of youth soccer is rec and playdate soccer as none of the kids in these youth leagues get paid. Its kids playing for fun. Seriously, well adjusted adults know this.

No, a small part of youth soccer is rec and baby soccer. Competitive soccer with older teams is how leagues and clubs get their rankings and status and how they draw in more paying customers at a younger age. But it sounds like if the priority is now going to be on rec playdate soccer then leagues and clubs will watch their competitive teams and players leave. Doesn’t seem like a good business model but at least the kids will all be playing with friends and getting participation trophies.

What are you even talking about? This isn't going to end "competitive" soccer.

Why does the BY crowd say a SY registration is “rec” soccer and not competitive?

The people chasing after SY are Rec minded is the sentiment

How are they “rec minded?”

They are pushing for little Timmy to play with his cafeteria buddy on the same team

It's more than that.

Certain parents want to make youth soccer their social outlet. They want to keep their kids on the same teams as kids in their grade at school which is also a parent social outlet + where they spend their time on the PTA.

All of this is done so they can have a tight social circle. With a tight social circle they can control the team working as a group going as far as telling the coach who makes the team and who doesn't.

Very true
The entitlement clique posse

At higher levels, clubs find themselves going to surrounding communities to be able to compete. Sure you could have a close-knit, parent-controlled squad. They won't be winning very much, tho, unless the parents keep the team at the lowest levels in order to win.

This is what the BY people are talking about.

SY creates a link with a school grade. This encourages parernt controlling behavior on teams.

Also I agree with you about controlling parent cliques creating losses. My oldest had to put up with this kind of cr@p for multiple years. It was frustrating watching the losses pile up.

It’s even worse for the playing up. My kid has always played up a year or two, and the kids used to love it because she’d win for them. Then the parents started to get bitter, then the kids did too. YNT has been a godsend, because her club team is just awful due to parent cliques that resent her for “taking their kids playing time” and “thinking she is better than she is” 🫠

Well, let her play with girls on age and see if she can make some friends. Sounds like this might be better for her. I'm sure you'll figure something out, good luck.

You're suggesting that a player that is doing well playing a year or two up should stop doing that because parents on those teams don't like it?

This is exactly why you don't want to link club level with grade level for competitive teams.

This is exactly why BY leagues will draw higher levels of play then SY over time.

You were on target until you brought in this is why BY is better. Since you can play up in both scenarios neither "draws" a higher level of play. The league that provides the most for their customers will win out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are they really doing August to December?

I thought it was school year so September to December?

Nobody knows yet, and Skip Gilbert implied on a podcast the other day that for USYS at least it would likely vary state by state.

30 days is completely meaningless in my opinion, I would hope ECNL would just let it float state by state, or set it at September but allow for August kids to align with their grade.

I hope they just pick one date and go with that. The whole 30 or 60 before for waivers is not the way to go. If that’s the case make that the date and stick with it. Set the rule or standard and that is it.

They will pick a date, but the practical thing to do would be to allow for some flexibility around that based on what has been discussed over, and over, and over, and over in this forum. Like what Lacrosse has adopted.

[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:Didn't see this posted yet. It's a must watch.

https://youtu.be/Scr1UOywbQI?si=GC9Nno7lCnmasMlQ

No one in this thread is going to listen to that guy as soon as they hear him say stop thinking your 8 year old is going pro.

"We have 2.6 million players and most are playing for fun"

US Youth Soccer is a rec league..

So true. And now add the expected change to playdate soccer and truly it will be entrenching a rec league mentality.

Of course all of youth soccer is rec and playdate soccer as none of the kids in these youth leagues get paid. Its kids playing for fun. Seriously, well adjusted adults know this.

No, a small part of youth soccer is rec and baby soccer. Competitive soccer with older teams is how leagues and clubs get their rankings and status and how they draw in more paying customers at a younger age. But it sounds like if the priority is now going to be on rec playdate soccer then leagues and clubs will watch their competitive teams and players leave. Doesn’t seem like a good business model but at least the kids will all be playing with friends and getting participation trophies.

What are you even talking about? This isn't going to end "competitive" soccer.

Why does the BY crowd say a SY registration is “rec” soccer and not competitive?

The people chasing after SY are Rec minded is the sentiment

How are they “rec minded?”

They are pushing for little Timmy to play with his cafeteria buddy on the same team

It's more than that.

Certain parents want to make youth soccer their social outlet. They want to keep their kids on the same teams as kids in their grade at school which is also a parent social outlet + where they spend their time on the PTA.

All of this is done so they can have a tight social circle. With a tight social circle they can control the team working as a group going as far as telling the coach who makes the team and who doesn't.

Very true
The entitlement clique posse

At higher levels, clubs find themselves going to surrounding communities to be able to compete. Sure you could have a close-knit, parent-controlled squad. They won't be winning very much, tho, unless the parents keep the team at the lowest levels in order to win.

This is what the BY people are talking about.

SY creates a link with a school grade. This encourages parernt controlling behavior on teams.

Also I agree with you about controlling parent cliques creating losses. My oldest had to put up with this kind of cr@p for multiple years. It was frustrating watching the losses pile up.

It’s even worse for the playing up. My kid has always played up a year or two, and the kids used to love it because she’d win for them. Then the parents started to get bitter, then the kids did too. YNT has been a godsend, because her club team is just awful due to parent cliques that resent her for “taking their kids playing time” and “thinking she is better than she is” 🫠

Well, let her play with girls on age and see if she can make some friends. Sounds like this might be better for her. I'm sure you'll figure something out, good luck.

You're suggesting that a player that is doing well playing a year or two up should stop doing that because parents on those teams don't like it?

This is exactly why you don't want to link club level with grade level for competitive teams.

This is exactly why BY leagues will draw higher levels of play then SY over time.

You were on target until you brought in this is why BY is better. Since you can play up in both scenarios neither "draws" a higher level of play. The league that provides the most for their customers will win out.

Win what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are they really doing August to December?

I thought it was school year so September to December?

Nobody knows yet, and Skip Gilbert implied on a podcast the other day that for USYS at least it would likely vary state by state.

30 days is completely meaningless in my opinion, I would hope ECNL would just let it float state by state, or set it at September but allow for August kids to align with their grade.

I hope they just pick one date and go with that. The whole 30 or 60 before for waivers is not the way to go. If that’s the case make that the date and stick with it. Set the rule or standard and that is it.

It wouldn't be waivers. Players would just need to prove the grade level that they're enrolled in if it's 30 or 60 days before the cutoff.

The reason for this is you don't want players a grade older choosing to play down a grade.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Didn't see this posted yet. It's a must watch.

https://youtu.be/Scr1UOywbQI?si=GC9Nno7lCnmasMlQ

No one in this thread is going to listen to that guy as soon as they hear him say stop thinking your 8 year old is going pro.

"We have 2.6 million players and most are playing for fun"

US Youth Soccer is a rec league..

So true. And now add the expected change to playdate soccer and truly it will be entrenching a rec league mentality.

Of course all of youth soccer is rec and playdate soccer as none of the kids in these youth leagues get paid. Its kids playing for fun. Seriously, well adjusted adults know this.

No, a small part of youth soccer is rec and baby soccer. Competitive soccer with older teams is how leagues and clubs get their rankings and status and how they draw in more paying customers at a younger age. But it sounds like if the priority is now going to be on rec playdate soccer then leagues and clubs will watch their competitive teams and players leave. Doesn’t seem like a good business model but at least the kids will all be playing with friends and getting participation trophies.

What are you even talking about? This isn't going to end "competitive" soccer.

Why does the BY crowd say a SY registration is “rec” soccer and not competitive?

The people chasing after SY are Rec minded is the sentiment

How are they “rec minded?”

They are pushing for little Timmy to play with his cafeteria buddy on the same team

It's more than that.

Certain parents want to make youth soccer their social outlet. They want to keep their kids on the same teams as kids in their grade at school which is also a parent social outlet + where they spend their time on the PTA.

All of this is done so they can have a tight social circle. With a tight social circle they can control the team working as a group going as far as telling the coach who makes the team and who doesn't.

Very true
The entitlement clique posse

At higher levels, clubs find themselves going to surrounding communities to be able to compete. Sure you could have a close-knit, parent-controlled squad. They won't be winning very much, tho, unless the parents keep the team at the lowest levels in order to win.

This is what the BY people are talking about.

SY creates a link with a school grade. This encourages parernt controlling behavior on teams.

Also I agree with you about controlling parent cliques creating losses. My oldest had to put up with this kind of cr@p for multiple years. It was frustrating watching the losses pile up.

It’s even worse for the playing up. My kid has always played up a year or two, and the kids used to love it because she’d win for them. Then the parents started to get bitter, then the kids did too. YNT has been a godsend, because her club team is just awful due to parent cliques that resent her for “taking their kids playing time” and “thinking she is better than she is” 🫠

Well, let her play with girls on age and see if she can make some friends. Sounds like this might be better for her. I'm sure you'll figure something out, good luck.

You're suggesting that a player that is doing well playing a year or two up should stop doing that because parents on those teams don't like it?

This is exactly why you don't want to link club level with grade level for competitive teams.

This is exactly why BY leagues will draw higher levels of play then SY over time.

You were on target until you brought in this is why BY is better. Since you can play up in both scenarios neither "draws" a higher level of play. The league that provides the most for their customers will win out.

Win what?

The most customers.