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[quote=Anonymous]It's a matter of perspective.  Under the old system my DS (DOB:7/25/04)  tried out in the Spring when he was 7 to be on a U9 team.  At the first practice, he had been 8 all of 3 weeks when some of the boys were turning 9.  As time went on, these older, faster, more developed boys (the current crop of boys who are forced to skip a year of development and go from U12 to U14 with the birth year change) were selected for the A team and got the better coaching and competition where my DS was on a lower team because he could not keep up physically.  There were no kids in the last third of the year (April to July) on the A team.  The second team, while quite good, was not given the same time and resources, but we supplemented with extra training and he improved and eventually made the A team as the first player off the bench.  With the birth year change, my DS is still on the younger end of the age group but he is closer to the middle and not at the very end.  The fall 03 birthdays who used to be his teammates were moved to U14 are enormous compared to him -- this change was a positive thing for him. That said, I realize how difficult it is for the fall birthdays who were moved form the front of the timeline to the end.  The relative age effect is real -- but it can be mitigated with extra training or a coaching staff that is aware and takes age into account in their coaching.  US Soccer at he higher levels has programs specifically for July to December birthdays.[/quote]

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