Anonymous wrote:If you want him to get better as a defender you need to play him on the top team even if it means not as much game time. Big difference practicing against 1st team players vs 2nd team players. I would also suggest to your kid to have him volunteer to go against the top skilled ball handler for any one on one drills. I wouldn't pay much attention to the scores when they scrimmage to gauge their level of play. I have had kids on both first and 2nd team. During those scrimmages most of the time the 1st team players are not trying nearly as hard as the 2nd team kids. The largest gap between teams at most large clubs are usually between the 1st team and the 2nd.

I tend to agree with this. What level teams is your kid playing now as pre RL?
Is it a mix of teams that will be RL next year and teams that will be ECNL? That’s how the teams in VA are in the “pre” league and there’s a definite difference between the two. I have a kid who is tall and played CB for a few years at that age. I think it was good for development but his defending skills all of a sudden didn’t look as strong once up against future ECNL/MLSNext players, including his own teammates. He is actually more suited for a different position now that he’s playing higher competition.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also have your son be flexible and play other positions when he can as a backup. As they get older, coaches like CBs to be big and tall. Even if he's good as a CB now but if he's not going to be at least 6' by u15 for the 1st team...coaches will start moving him to other positions. Speaking from experience, my DS who was a very good CB at u11. He gets asked to play CB to this day when playing outside his home club, but at home, only in a pinch. 1st team can be cut throat to maintain competitiveness. My DS has been on the 1st team playing top league since U11 fwiw. Best of luck to your DS.

OP here. My son is the tallest kid in his team currently. He will probably grow to be 6 feet tall, but not more than that.

If he loves CB, expect for his movement to be elite or his max ceiling to be D1. I see 6 foot CB in MLS Next U14. The top CB in Europe are 6' 3" + on average. I would get him time as a holding midfielder.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. For perspective, the RL team played two scrimmages against the ECNL team. They lost 2-1 the first game and lost 1-0 the second game.

All I needed to read above. Depending on who you are with, the top team may not be better than an EDP team in MD. The talent gap is not great. My only experience with ECNL-RL level was Villareal and I was horrified by the training. However, if you are only a goal difference down from your club's top team, Stay and Play.

My kid made EVERY A team U12 Pre-MLS team he tried out for last spring coming from a small club. If we were to ever cross over, he has a spot with Arlington on the A team available for him. Don't listen to these folks. During tryouts, parents came up to my son trying to look at his backpack to see where he was from because we have no IG, came from a small club and don't really flash. He let's his play talk. When you play, you learn.

There is a speed difference between most 1st and 2nd teams but if your team is within a goal of the top team, the speed difference is not that great to sacrifice 60% of playing time. You can also supplement with futsal and small group training with top players to keep getting adjusted to the speed.

My comments will be murdered by the DCUM mob but my kid no longer has to try out for the majority of the clubs in the area because he PLAYED ALOT on a small club and has surpassed most of the kids in the U12 Pre-MLS and Pre-ECNL brackets.

you obviously don’t know what will happen for your kid both in terms of physical growth and soccer growth right now. So thinking anything bc he’s tall now would be a mistake in my opinion. ESP bc 6’0” is average at best for a CB. So what you should be doing is not letting your kid get boxed into being a CB because he’s the tallest on the team. Everyone is telling you to move up but what does your kid want? Has he even played with them to see if he gels with them?

Try to do both. Play up and guest play for RL for additional minutes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also have your son be flexible and play other positions when he can as a backup. As they get older, coaches like CBs to be big and tall. Even if he's good as a CB now but if he's not going to be at least 6' by u15 for the 1st team...coaches will start moving him to other positions. Speaking from experience, my DS who was a very good CB at u11. He gets asked to play CB to this day when playing outside his home club, but at home, only in a pinch. 1st team can be cut throat to maintain competitiveness. My DS has been on the 1st team playing top league since U11 fwiw. Best of luck to your DS.

OP here. My son is the tallest kid in his team currently. He will probably grow to be 6 feet tall, but not more than that.

DP - Don’t let him get locked in as a CB. 6’0 is decent height, but it’ll be an uphill battle to compete with 6’2+ CBs when he gets to u17/u19 and beyond. My boys are older and you see kids who are really talented, undersized CBs but it’s a struggle for them to win roster spots and get minutes against bigger CBs. Exceptional speed can help make up the difference, but even with that, if you can’t win the aerial battles, it can be tough.

To me, the only way I would stay with the RL coach is if he was giving my kid significant midfield minutes to help him develop technically and have the ability to play as a defensive midfielder/outside back, where he likely has more long-term potential. That said, though, I would be very much inclined to move him to an ECNL/MLS Next (HD) level team, if the opportunity is there. Practicing and playing at that level will require him to improve in those areas.

Anonymous wrote:Also have your son be flexible and play other positions when he can as a backup. As they get older, coaches like CBs to be big and tall. Even if he's good as a CB now but if he's not going to be at least 6' by u15 for the 1st team...coaches will start moving him to other positions. Speaking from experience, my DS who was a very good CB at u11. He gets asked to play CB to this day when playing outside his home club, but at home, only in a pinch. 1st team can be cut throat to maintain competitiveness. My DS has been on the 1st team playing top league since U11 fwiw. Best of luck to your DS.

OP here. My son is the tallest kid in his team currently. He will probably grow to be 6 feet tall, but not more than that.

Also have your son be flexible and play other positions when he can as a backup. As they get older, coaches like CBs to be big and tall. Even if he's good as a CB now but if he's not going to be at least 6' by u15 for the 1st team...coaches will start moving him to other positions. Speaking from experience, my DS who was a very good CB at u11. He gets asked to play CB to this day when playing outside his home club, but at home, only in a pinch. 1st team can be cut throat to maintain competitiveness. My DS has been on the 1st team playing top league since U11 fwiw. Best of luck to your DS.

Move him up now. ECNL clubs attract a lot of talent in the 1st 3 years. You run the risk of being iced out in 1 or 2 years as lots of new faces take up roster spots. But if you can have an honest conversation with the designated Coach next year, maybe that will answer your question.

Definitely move him up. Next year the quality of play in ECNL will be much higher than in RL. ANd if he wants to be one of the best CBs in the area he needs to play against the best competition he can.

If you want him to get better as a defender you need to play him on the top team even if it means not as much game time. Big difference practicing against 1st team players vs 2nd team players. I would also suggest to your kid to have him volunteer to go against the top skilled ball handler for any one on one drills. I wouldn't pay much attention to the scores when they scrimmage to gauge their level of play. I have had kids on both first and 2nd team. During those scrimmages most of the time the 1st team players are not trying nearly as hard as the 2nd team kids. The largest gap between teams at most large clubs are usually between the 1st team and the 2nd.

OP here. For perspective, the RL team played two scrimmages against the ECNL team. They lost 2-1 the first game and lost 1-0 the second game.

I’m guessing competition difference is going to be more than 10%. Regardless, do you have the opportunity to guest play with the higher level team so you can assess what the actual competition level would be and where your son fits within that competition level? Has your son gone to the practices with the higher level team to see how he does against the better competition? It might make sense to do these things before committing to jump, jumping to the higher team. And mentally is your son gonna have an issue playing less than half a game when he’s accustomed to playing 100% of the game? These are all things you really need to think about before making a change like this.

I would move him up. It is really hard to break into the top team, particularly after you have received an offer and turned it down. If the top team doesn't work out, it will be easier to find a spot on a top team with another club coming from a top team.

Training against better players will make your son a better player. Even if he isn't getting as many minutes in games, the time he spends in practice will be more productive. The top teams have better resources and are the priority in the club. You want your son to be where the resources are.

I have an 11 year old playing in the Pre-ECNL RL team. He loves playing CB and the coach has total confidence in him. He has played every minute of every game all season (we have 4 subs). After playing every position in the field during his younger ears, he started excelling in the CB position a year ago and never looked back. Coach has told me repeatedly that he loves his timing on the challenge.
The team usually plays with a 3 player defensive line and my son is always placed in the middle. He has great chemistry with his two defensive partners.
We have been approached about moving him to the top team (Pre ECNL), but we are unsure if it makes sense and I wondered your opinions on this.
The issue is that, at least initially, he would probably play 40% of the game (he currently plays 100%). Teammates and competitors would be about 10% better.
His goal is to be one of the areas top defenders in about 4 years (not next year).
Considering that a major component of becoming a great CB is field experience, would it make sense if he stays with the Pre-RL in his developmental years?
He currently trains 3 days a week with his team and 2 days of private lessons. He loves it and can't get enough. Obviously, training with a bit more talented players and competitors would be a plus, but getting to play every minute, having the coach's trust and not traveling less is also nice.
I welcome all opinions!