Anonymous
11/27/2025 19:34
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
Try reading it again, and use your finger to go over each word.
“Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.“
"Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged."
It could go either way.
Dude, if the player would be playing with their proper grade, why would they be ‘trapped’? That would only occur if they were playing with the grade up. This isn’t rocket science.
A younger than the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31 player but a grade up in school (likely Aug/Sept birthday) wouldn't be "playing up" the would be playing with their grade. Which would make HS soccer at 9th grade work.
The player is a fall birthday currently playing in the BY system with players who are all a grade older (something very common right now). Hence ‘younger’ than teammates and they would be trapped if they played ‘up’ next year (instead of playing ‘down’ with their actual grade).
That’s literally what they wrote. I don’t understand how you can’t understand their own words.
Again, please read the word they wrote man. I’m not making this up-
‘Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?’
Please explain the above statement in your scenario.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 19:24
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
Try reading it again, and use your finger to go over each word.
“Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.“
"Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged."
It could go either way.
Dude, if the player would be playing with their proper grade, why would they be ‘trapped’? That would only occur if they were playing with the grade up. This isn’t rocket science.
A younger than the eligibility window of 8/1-7/31 player but a grade up in school (likely Aug/Sept birthday) wouldn't be "playing up" the would be playing with their grade. Which would make HS soccer at 9th grade work.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 18:28
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
Try reading it again, and use your finger to go over each word.
“Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.“
"Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged."
It could go either way.
Dude, if the player would be playing with their proper grade, why would they be ‘trapped’? That would only occur if they were playing with the grade up. This isn’t rocket science.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 18:20
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
Try reading it again, and use your finger to go over each word.
“Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.“
"Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged."
It could go either way.
lol, it is okay man. We all make mistakes and assume things at times. They literally say this-
“Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.”
Go ahead and read this out loud to yourself if needed.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 18:18
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Responding to the misinformation campaign to try to shame kids to play up when it isn't even an option.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I could see them playing on age, like clubs said that is how they are going to roster kids. On age. Oldest is a gift not to be thrown away to advantage some guy's Sept daughter who keeps trying to reverse engineer the rules to help his DD at the expense of others.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:School years are dates set by state/school district. So soccer had to create a compromise school year at the national level. Hence 8/1 to 7/31. Always been dates, this grades thing is just someone constantly throwing a dead cat on the table to take the oxygen out of the room.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone going to mention the first two tiers of boys college recruiting are MLS Club academies then MLS Next teams
Both are BY and school grades are not on anyone's radar
Its because with BY "trapped" players are playing up not down.
Playing up means playing in an older age group
Trapped players today hardly ever play up since they are the youngest in their age group
Yeah, for the vast majority of fall/q4 players they will actually be playing with kids in their own grade for once in their playing careers. The focus on a tiny number of August kids who might play with kids a grade lower than them is purely caused by on one Mr Delusional August Guy.
It will be interesting to see how these players do and how they’ll adapt. Many will be put into leadership positions they don’t have prior experience with having always been the youngest.
My Q4 player on a MLS Next team has one kid from his school on his team and they're in different grades
Why people keeping talking about being friends in the same grade when the players go to all different schools is ludicrously silly
I don't mean playing with kids from their school, I mean Q4s getting to play with kids their age or younger instead of being the youngest... Everyone knows at these big clubs most of the kids are coming from different schools. I don't see anyone talking about playing with friends from school here (at least within the last 20 or so pages). Though, it is US Soccer's theory that, for the very small percentage that can/will do that, it will keep them invested in soccer longer than the BY cohorts.
It's for the ulittles - for them to all be on grade.
It also settles 80% of trapped player issues.
It was NOT done to fix RAE, as it does not, just shifts the window.
This was discussed unto death in the original 1000 page opus thread. You may not agree with it, but it is a done deal.
100% reguarding "on grade" exactly what people have been saying for over a year.
Now we have crazy crazytown trying to change SY (School Year) to SY (Seasonal Year) so after they get what they want (changing from BY to SY) they can move the goalposts again trying to say grade in school isnt important. When in reality is is very important and what was used to justify the change from BY to SY (school year) in the first place.
So dishonest.
What is your agenda? You sit on this thread all day long
Yeah, you figured that guy out! He has the evil agenda of providing accurate and correct information on an online discussion board. Dun dun dun! You cracked the case Sherlock!
You sound like you have issues.
This whole thread has issues. Who gives a sh*t about the age shift? It ain’t the kids…
The only people who should give a shit are the Aug kids who are really young for their grade. Throws a wrench in things but it’s not the end of the world. Certainly not worth pages and pages of discussion.
Its worth understanding what being a young Aug or even Sept birthday means. If your kid is good and shows talent It's better for them to roster on the grade up team so things dont get weird when its time for college recruiting. Players like this can and likely will guest with the grade down team at tournamants. I could also see them being added to the younger group for things like Talent IDs. It would be ironic if young Aug/Sept birthdays as long as they were rostered on a team thats a grade up would get more opportunities because they could play on grade down teams for special events.
What are you talking about?
Time to take a step back.
The sooner you realize that you are the misinformation campaign the better.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 18:16
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
Try reading it again, and use your finger to go over each word.
“Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.“
"Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged."
It could go either way.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 18:16
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
This is bad advice as it doesn't follow the RAE literature. Being the oldest helps development not being the youngest in an age group up.Anonymous wrote:The best situation if you had a younger than the eligibility window but grade up player would be to roster them "up" on the correct grade level team for development.
Ideally your club would be aware that your kid could also play down. This way they'd have 2x the number of teams they could play with for tournamants. Also for things like Talent IDs they'd be pretty much guaranteed an invite at the lover level bevause they're playing and developing at a higher level than everyone else their age.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 18:09
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Responding to the misinformation campaign to try to shame kids to play up when it isn't even an option.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I could see them playing on age, like clubs said that is how they are going to roster kids. On age. Oldest is a gift not to be thrown away to advantage some guy's Sept daughter who keeps trying to reverse engineer the rules to help his DD at the expense of others.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:School years are dates set by state/school district. So soccer had to create a compromise school year at the national level. Hence 8/1 to 7/31. Always been dates, this grades thing is just someone constantly throwing a dead cat on the table to take the oxygen out of the room.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone going to mention the first two tiers of boys college recruiting are MLS Club academies then MLS Next teams
Both are BY and school grades are not on anyone's radar
Its because with BY "trapped" players are playing up not down.
Playing up means playing in an older age group
Trapped players today hardly ever play up since they are the youngest in their age group
Yeah, for the vast majority of fall/q4 players they will actually be playing with kids in their own grade for once in their playing careers. The focus on a tiny number of August kids who might play with kids a grade lower than them is purely caused by on one Mr Delusional August Guy.
It will be interesting to see how these players do and how they’ll adapt. Many will be put into leadership positions they don’t have prior experience with having always been the youngest.
My Q4 player on a MLS Next team has one kid from his school on his team and they're in different grades
Why people keeping talking about being friends in the same grade when the players go to all different schools is ludicrously silly
I don't mean playing with kids from their school, I mean Q4s getting to play with kids their age or younger instead of being the youngest... Everyone knows at these big clubs most of the kids are coming from different schools. I don't see anyone talking about playing with friends from school here (at least within the last 20 or so pages). Though, it is US Soccer's theory that, for the very small percentage that can/will do that, it will keep them invested in soccer longer than the BY cohorts.
It's for the ulittles - for them to all be on grade.
It also settles 80% of trapped player issues.
It was NOT done to fix RAE, as it does not, just shifts the window.
This was discussed unto death in the original 1000 page opus thread. You may not agree with it, but it is a done deal.
100% reguarding "on grade" exactly what people have been saying for over a year.
Now we have crazy crazytown trying to change SY (School Year) to SY (Seasonal Year) so after they get what they want (changing from BY to SY) they can move the goalposts again trying to say grade in school isnt important. When in reality is is very important and what was used to justify the change from BY to SY (school year) in the first place.
So dishonest.
What is your agenda? You sit on this thread all day long
Yeah, you figured that guy out! He has the evil agenda of providing accurate and correct information on an online discussion board. Dun dun dun! You cracked the case Sherlock!
You sound like you have issues.
This whole thread has issues. Who gives a sh*t about the age shift? It ain’t the kids…
The only people who should give a shit are the Aug kids who are really young for their grade. Throws a wrench in things but it’s not the end of the world. Certainly not worth pages and pages of discussion.
Its worth understanding what being a young Aug or even Sept birthday means. If your kid is good and shows talent It's better for them to roster on the grade up team so things dont get weird when its time for college recruiting. Players like this can and likely will guest with the grade down team at tournamants. I could also see them being added to the younger group for things like Talent IDs. It would be ironic if young Aug/Sept birthdays as long as they were rostered on a team thats a grade up would get more opportunities because they could play on grade down teams for special events.
What are you talking about?
Time to take a step back.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 18:06
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
You don’t know what trapped players are. I’ll explain. If the player plays up (with their old team that is the grade above them), that team would only play half the year (to allow for HS), meanwhile this player would be presumably in 8th grade, and trapped without a team during that HS season.
The assumption was that we were talking about young Aug/Sept grade up players. In this case they would not be trapped. They would be playing on the correct grade team for playing HS soccer and everything would work.
No, you made that assumption. This person specifically asked for advice on their player. And then people assumed something and didn’t actually read.
In this case they specifically said the player would be trapped. Feel free to go re-read the post or the one right above your comments.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 18:02
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
You don’t know what trapped players are. I’ll explain. If the player plays up (with their old team that is the grade above them), that team would only play half the year (to allow for HS), meanwhile this player would be presumably in 8th grade, and trapped without a team during that HS season.
The assumption was that we were talking about young Aug/Sept grade up players. In this case they would not be trapped. They would be playing on the correct grade team for playing HS soccer and everything would work.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 18:01
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
Try reading it again, and use your finger to go over each word.
“Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.“
Anonymous
11/27/2025 17:57
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
You don’t know what trapped players are. I’ll explain. If the player plays up (with their old team that is the grade above them), that team would only play half the year (to allow for HS), meanwhile this player would be presumably in 8th grade, and trapped without a team during that HS season.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 17:53
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
I’d say it depends on how much downward pressure she gets. Hard to know until it happens but there maybe a younger from the age up, same position that lessens her role.
Could also be girls that drop into the team below making it a good landing spot
Anonymous
11/27/2025 16:32
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.
How would a player be "trapped" by playing up on their correct grade team? I don't think you understand what you write.
Anonymous
11/27/2025 16:24
Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Need some advice. DD is a top player on a household name top team in ECNL and the only younger on her team.
Do I stay on current team and play against good players but be trapped?
Do I drop down to the grade level team and be their top player but not be as challenged.
I think the club would like her to drop down but think they would allow her to stay up if I pushed.
I am leaning towards pushing to keep her up and not sure how that will go over.
There are alternative clubs but none as good as our current one.
Recruiting will start so need to make the decision and just live with it.
Will coaches overlook her if she is trapped when very few off grade kids will be out there now with the age group changes.
Is it better to develop or stand out
Does it all really matter in the first place or is this not really a problem either way
It only matters if your kid is younger than their grade level SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window team.
If they're older than the SY 8/1-7/31 eligibility window likely from being held back they will have to play whatever grwade level team they're eligible for. What this means is in club soccer you cant gain any advantage over other players by degrading/regrading.
Play in the correct age bracket so the player isn’t trapped. This is a no-brainer and a big part of the reason for the changes. Then let her standout as a player and leader on the new team. Again, this is a no brainer. If the older team needs a guest player then step in when needed.