Has your child gone through puberty yet?

That's one of the biggest difference at this age and you can see huge physical differences between kids just a year or two apart.

Anonymous wrote:So, the kid is a U14 who's being offered a chance to play up at U15? This isn't a big deal...

I am reading:
- Stay at U14 non-MLS team
or
- Play up at U15 MLS team

I would say definitely have your son play up on the U15 MLS league team, if he wants to maximize his development.

So, the kid is a U14 who's being offered a chance to play up at U15? This isn't a big deal...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old son 2007 has the opportunity to play in a U15 team on the new league. Most of the kids on the team will be 2006s. Is this a good idea? bad idea? I’m thinking he probably won’t get tons of playing time. Is practicing with the older kids beneficial for him? Trying to see if this is a good idea. Or should he stay on current team (not in mls)?

Is the opportunity because he's a really good player or because they don't have enough players to fill the team?

Playing up is usually a good idea if the player gets equal playing time.

I’m going to say he will have less playing time than the other 2006s.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia does not have MLS teams. DC United does not have U13 (2007) team.

Troll alarm.

Thank you. I was holding out just waiting to see how many ppl would post... haha
Pretty sure that had to be a LS NON-PAID employee, uhm sorry, volunteer.
Trying real hard to plague the the forum with new threads in hopes to bury the backlash from Spring funds.

Can the two of you please take your conspiracy theories and troll-hunting elsewhere? OP has indicated that the question is about playing up on a non-MLS team, and does not mention VA. It’s a perfectly reasonable think to ask about.

I am the op. I completely forgot to mention in my post that we are Not in the DC area. I come on the DCUM forum because I like the advice here!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia does not have MLS teams. DC United does not have U13 (2007) team.

Troll alarm.

Thank you. I was holding out just waiting to see how many ppl would post... haha
Pretty sure that had to be a LS NON-PAID employee, uhm sorry, volunteer.
Trying real hard to plague the the forum with new threads in hopes to bury the backlash from Spring funds.

Can the two of you please take your conspiracy theories and troll-hunting elsewhere? OP has indicated that the question is about playing up on a non-MLS team, and does not mention VA. It’s a perfectly reasonable think to ask about.

Anonymous wrote:Virginia does not have MLS teams. DC United does not have U13 (2007) team.

Troll alarm.

Try reading the original post again!

Anonymous wrote:Virginia does not have MLS teams. DC United does not have U13 (2007) team.

Troll alarm.

Thank you. I was holding out just waiting to see how many ppl would post... haha
Pretty sure that had to be a LS NON-PAID employee, uhm sorry, volunteer.
Trying real hard to plague the the forum with new threads in hopes to bury the backlash from Spring funds.

Virginia does not have MLS teams. DC United does not have U13 (2007) team.

Troll alarm.

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old son 2007 has the opportunity to play in a U15 team on the new league. Most of the kids on the team will be 2006s. Is this a good idea? bad idea? I’m thinking he probably won’t get tons of playing time. Is practicing with the older kids beneficial for him? Trying to see if this is a good idea. Or should he stay on current team (not in mls)?

I've had two sons go through the DA system; one is now at an MLS academy. From experience, I'd say the over-under is: are the in the top half of players on their (older) team? If so, that means they should be starter-quality, and it probably makes sense to play up. If not, they should probably play on-age and play a lot more.

This is especially important at the age you mentioned--U14 playing up to U15. This is the year when the gaps in size/speed/strength really open up. We had a player successfully play up U13->U14 and do really well; but then the next year (U14->U15) it was so obvious they were behind physically. If that's the case, they need to be one of the very best technical players to be able to hang.

Also, note that if the club has both age groups in the new MLS league, they can move your son up or down pretty easily (though it can be deflating to get "moved down". So any decision can be provisional. Talk to the coach about all of this. If they want your son (which they must), they will talk candidly about all this.

Just my two cents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old son 2007 has the opportunity to play in a U15 team on the new league. Most of the kids on the team will be 2006s. Is this a good idea? bad idea? I’m thinking he probably won’t get tons of playing time. Is practicing with the older kids beneficial for him? Trying to see if this is a good idea. Or should he stay on current team (not in mls)?

Is the opportunity because he's a really good player or because they don't have enough players to fill the team?

Playing up is usually a good idea if the player gets equal playing time.

Agree this is a good question. In DA, the kids who played up and started on good teams tended to get a lot of recruiting interest. It’s usually fairly obvious if a team is using play ups just to fill roster holes, though it can still be a good experience for the kid if he gets a lot of playing time.

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old son 2007 has the opportunity to play in a U15 team on the new league. Most of the kids on the team will be 2006s. Is this a good idea? bad idea? I’m thinking he probably won’t get tons of playing time. Is practicing with the older kids beneficial for him? Trying to see if this is a good idea. Or should he stay on current team (not in mls)?

Is the opportunity because he's a really good player or because they don't have enough players to fill the team?

Playing up is usually a good idea if the player gets equal playing time.

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old son 2007 has the opportunity to play in a U15 team on the new league. Most of the kids on the team will be 2006s. Is this a good idea? bad idea? I’m thinking he probably won’t get tons of playing time. Is practicing with the older kids beneficial for him? Trying to see if this is a good idea. Or should he stay on current team (not in mls)?

Play Up if he is good enough to get playing time. Have a discussion with coach to see where he sees him fitting in and how. You can't guarantees but should get an idea if just looking to add to roster or actually use him. Why can't he play on U14 team of the MLS league club? If it only starts at U15 (I don't know) then maybe he plays up this year and his age group next year. Will definitely benefit from the experience of higher level competition.

Who the hell knows if it's a good idea or not? No one has played in the MLS league yet.

My opinion go for it because at least he puts his name out there and if it turns out bad then they know he will be good for his own age group come next year. Just my 2 cents

My 13 year old son 2007 has the opportunity to play in a U15 team on the new league. Most of the kids on the team will be 2006s. Is this a good idea? bad idea? I’m thinking he probably won’t get tons of playing time. Is practicing with the older kids beneficial for him? Trying to see if this is a good idea. Or should he stay on current team (not in mls)?