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[quote=Anonymous]Firsthand experience here... if I am incorrect or off base here, please jump in. (my comment is in reference to the girls program)

Some soccer teams that are U9-U12 have "that one player" who should be "playing up" a year because of their athletic ability.

This player scores a chunk of the team's goals because they can kick/pass/shoot harder, run faster, shield the ball better with their body, intercept passes better because of speed, and wins most tackles and 50/50 ball situations.

Dealing with one of these type of players on the other team in 7 versus 7 during U9-U10 can be a handful and change the game. Dealing with 2 or 3 players on the other team in 9 versus 9 can also be a handful and will easily swing the game in one direction.

When you have a club the size of Arlington (or Loudon), instead of having a team with 1-3 players that fit this description, ALL the players on the top team fit this description of being in the early developer category. They also have *some* level of skill, but there are actually more skillful players on the second tier teams.

The only clubs that can put together teams that can compete on an even playing field against another team of 100% overgrown kids for their age are other clubs that draw from a big area, or a "destination" club that people are willing to drive to from other areas.

One argument is that these teams full of players who are ahead of their peers is that there are only a handful of local teams that provide even competition for them to actually play with skills and tactics.

The top tier girls teams in CCL at the younger ages (from the bigger clubs) almost always have bigger-sized players who could play a year above their age group without anyone noticing.

This advantage lasts through U15. Size matters at U9-U12 when the entire team (not just 1,2 or 3 players) is big sized. At U13 and U14, it definitely factors in. At U15/U16, for the first time the game is about the speed of play and "real" soccer.

Players who have had the early physical advantage for 6 or more years now have to play the "right" way, but players who didn't have the early size advantage have been learning the right way from the beginning because they could not dominate games with size.

Being on one of these "bigger sized" teams leads to sloppy individual habits and a false sense of superiority with some players. Some of these players get displaced by more skilled ones (from the same club or from somewhere else) when the physical differences are not as drastic by U15 or U16.[/quote]

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