Anonymous wrote:My ds is playing up around that age you all are speaking of. He was on the B team previously on age and went to an A team a year up. He needed to be with kids who were playing faster and more skilled than him. It is working out great. Many players and competition are a little bigger, stronger and faster and it has forced him to improve which I knew he could do. He is not the best on the team which is fine, he falls in the middle. Im not sure how long we will play up but it has worked great in our favor this year.

I am not a fan of playing up to a weaker team than you left. If the playing up team is in 3rd division for example, this will be weaker than your 1st or 2nd division team even a year down. Your kid may play with players with bad form, passes, touches and low game iq. You should watch the team and make sure it's one your child can learn from, not one that will make them play worse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My ds is playing up around that age you all are speaking of. He was on the B team previously on age and went to an A team a year up. He needed to be with kids who were playing faster and more skilled than him. It is working out great. Many players and competition are a little bigger, stronger and faster and it has forced him to improve which I knew he could do. He is not the best on the team which is fine, he falls in the middle. Im not sure how long we will play up but it has worked great in our favor this year.

I am not a fan of playing up to a weaker team than you left. If the playing up team is in 3rd division for example, this will be weaker than your 1st or 2nd division team even a year down. Your kid may play with players with bad form, passes, touches and low game iq. You should watch the team and make sure it's one your child can learn from, not one that will make them play worse.

-1. My son is also precocious but I never played him up - I found him a better squad at his age. Don’t be lazy, Dad. If the kid is as talented as his coaches think find him equal talent at his age (so as not to bring poor habits: flopping, giving up, inability to process information as fast).

Anonymous wrote:OP here,

I am confused how playing with older kids is going to hurt my kid’s processing speed. Can you explain?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here,

I am confused how playing with older kids is going to hurt my kid’s processing speed. Can you explain?

Sometimes they play kids up that are mature enough to handle it. They might have the size but not the understanding of the game.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here,

I am confused how playing with older kids is going to hurt my kid’s processing speed. Can you explain?

Sometimes they play kids up that are mature enough to handle it. They might have the size but not the understanding of the game.

I am not understanding this and how it connects to processing speed.

Anonymous wrote:Majority miss the fact that playing up should be reserved for players who are head & shoulders above their age group in skills, IQ and athleticism.
Kids that are 'good' at U12 shouldn't play U13 to try and get them better. That's a high probability confidence killer.
When all of a sudden he/she can't dribble past two defenders or score goals like they did against their own age.

There is also no point in playing up in age with/against 'C' team players.
'Up' is not about age, it's about level of skills.

SocAnon wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Majority miss the fact that playing up should be reserved for players who are head & shoulders above their age group in skills, IQ and athleticism.
Kids that are 'good' at U12 shouldn't play U13 to try and get them better. That's a high probability confidence killer.
When all of a sudden he/she can't dribble past two defenders or score goals like they did against their own age.

There is also no point in playing up in age with/against 'C' team players.
'Up' is not about age, it's about level of skills.

You make a good point, we are playing up now... but it has been a confidence killer. We are looking to switch teams and play in our own age bracket again next year. We left our age group as the coaching was sub-par and my kid showed lots of talent. But now, the coaching is better, but the other kids are faster, stronger, mentally quicker and make quicker decisions. My kid has learned how to play quicker but is not a starter now and is no where as confident as they were.