Anonymous
Post 06/01/2024 12:14     Subject: Re:ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Anonymous wrote:Why did US soccer switch in the first place? It seems like it would make the most sense to have August 1 so college recruiting aligns with school calendar not calendar year.


Because their scouts were too lazy to see a player and then ask for that player's birth year. They wanted to see a 2006 team and know that they were all 2006s.

It was a clueless, tone-deaf, idiotic move made by people who only deal with the top 0.01% of players and felt perfectly happy ruining it for everyone else.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2024 00:02     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Yall. This thread and the union thread need to die. ONE PODCAST suggested this. Now everyone is making plans. Some of you guys need to step away from your echo chambers. You are becoming the people you mock
Anonymous
Post 05/29/2024 23:23     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Are there ECNL teams which have players a year older from August - December? I've not heard of this in my daughter's age group. If this is already allowed, I wonder why I've not seen teams do it? If they did, I'm sure all the parent gossiping would say who those older year girls are on every team. "There's the 2 over aged girls. See how they're bigger and faster than the rest on the field?"

Maybe 2 players isn't enough to make enough of a difference, so clubs don't add these players? If ECNL allowed 6 trapped players, maybe the whole league then changes where every team has 6 girls from the older year? All the May - July players drop a level?
Anonymous
Post 05/29/2024 23:13     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Anonymous wrote:If any league were to do it, it would be the ECNL and it would be done for their benefit because their whole league is built on college placement and the college game, not the FIFA game.


Colleges must be telling ECNL to make recruiting easier. College is what ECNL sells to girls parents. Follow the money trail. . .
Anonymous
Post 05/29/2024 07:53     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
If any league were to do it, it would be the ECNL and it would be done for their benefit because their whole league is built on college placement and the college game, not the FIFA game.
Anonymous
Post 05/29/2024 02:44     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
It was chaos for the kids when they switched from school year am a I'd expect reticence to swapping back when MLS Next will hold the course. Maybe a marketing move?

My kids a late November birth so he's always among the younger kids, but like others this isn't his future so not too concerned either way. He's among the older for his school team regardless.

The thing that bugs me is the seasons are Spring/Fall but the kids are under the age only in the Fall and can be equal to in the Spring.
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2024 14:31     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Anonymous wrote:Likely Not going to happen, this would go against FIFA Standards, US Soccer Standards, US Youth National Team Standards, Olympics Standards and almost all International level sports governing body grouping standards.

This is why US Soccer moved to the birth year standard.


It used to be birth year, then moved to the August-July school year calendar in the late 90's before it moved back ~15 years later to the birth year standard we have now.
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2024 14:29     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Anonymous wrote:Likely Not going to happen, this would go against FIFA Standards, US Soccer Standards, US Youth National Team Standards, Olympics Standards and almost all International level sports governing body grouping standards.

This is why US Soccer moved to the birth year standard.


Unless colleges somehow align with birth year, why should a league focused on college recruitment care about FIFA standards?
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2024 14:26     Subject: Re:ECNL moving to school year not calendar
I would love this. My DS is a December birthday and while I’m not concerned with college recruiting etc it would be lovely to not be the youngest (or close to it) and to play with mostly kids in his grade.

It would allow him to play with the kids he will go to HS with prior potentially. As of now he is tiny compared to others on the field.


Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Would this affect all of travel?


It's not going to happen, so no. However, most clubs mix NCSL and ECNL, and NCSL would have to go along with it as well for it to work. Otherwise, clubs would break off and just have an ECNL side and am NCSL side.

The only way it would happen is if US Soccer switched back, which would be a shocking move at this point given the initial move to birth year.


I’m the op and have a trapped player and an August player (she would be moved to a younger grade year because our school cut off is Sept 1 so she would go to one of the youngest to the oldest) so I’m just trying to see if it could happen.

Why did US soccer switch in the first place? It seems like it would make the most sense to have August 1 so college recruiting aligns with school calendar not calendar year.


Because school districts have all different cutoffs, so you are never going to perfectly align school year and soccer year across the country. You will always have "trapped players", redshirted players, or players who aren't matched up with their school year. August 1 doesn't solve the problem.


no actually other sports do it based on birth year.

Every other sport in the US manages just fine with school year instead of birth year. US soccer wanted to pretend we're European, so they switched. ECNL is more focused on college, so they may switch back
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2024 14:25     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Anonymous wrote:I swear I am not generally dense but not getting this. Right now my August bday DD is entering 9th grade. She plays 2010. So what would happen? With a July 31 cutoff, she would be… what exactly?
Oldest in the group?


If she's in 9th grade, then nothing, her season will end in February-ish, play a showcase or two, maybe a tournament in the spring, but otherwise be off during the high school season (spring in Virginia, fall in Maryland). If she were in 8th grade AND post August birthday, then it means after March 1 of next year she could "play down" with the 2011 teams who are playing a full spring schedule while her 2010 team is off for the high school season.
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2024 14:23     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Likely Not going to happen, this would go against FIFA Standards, US Soccer Standards, US Youth National Team Standards, Olympics Standards and almost all International level sports governing body grouping standards.

This is why US Soccer moved to the birth year standard.
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2024 14:12     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
I swear I am not generally dense but not getting this. Right now my August bday DD is entering 9th grade. She plays 2010. So what would happen? With a July 31 cutoff, she would be… what exactly?
Oldest in the group?
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2024 13:26     Subject: Re:ECNL moving to school year not calendar
^ who don’t take seniors

Not sure what that autocorrect with ike was
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2024 13:26     Subject: ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:> A "Trapped Player" is any eighth grader who is a member of a U15 team, which typically consists of 9th graders. The player is called a "trapped" player because U15 club teams do not have a fall season, due to the fact that most players on a U15 team play high school soccer their freshman year

So is this really only a problem for 8th graders in travel playing up a year?


They aren't playing up. they play on age but they are younger side for soccer and older side for school. So think of a kid that's born between August and December of the year.


It happens to them again as high school seniors when the rest of their team has graduated


Yep. I have an 05 Senior where team is predominantly 06. It ruins college recruiting for the trapped players. They kind of get screwed in the front and screwed in the back. In the young ages- the teams don’t want the younger later bdays/grade lower since many are physically behind due to puberty timing. Then I’ve seen coaches not take se Ike’s because they want two years with juniors—or everyone on current team graduates and next group not as good and scrambling for a new U18/19 team.

My kid had this ^ and then injuries—every conceivable disadvantage —figures they’d change it back AFTER he graduates. Lol

He is playing in college next year but what a feat to get there.
Anonymous
Post 05/28/2024 12:46     Subject: Re:ECNL moving to school year not calendar
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Would this affect all of travel?


It's not going to happen, so no. However, most clubs mix NCSL and ECNL, and NCSL would have to go along with it as well for it to work. Otherwise, clubs would break off and just have an ECNL side and am NCSL side.

The only way it would happen is if US Soccer switched back, which would be a shocking move at this point given the initial move to birth year.


I’m the op and have a trapped player and an August player (she would be moved to a younger grade year because our school cut off is Sept 1 so she would go to one of the youngest to the oldest) so I’m just trying to see if it could happen.

Why did US soccer switch in the first place? It seems like it would make the most sense to have August 1 so college recruiting aligns with school calendar not calendar year.


Because school districts have all different cutoffs, so you are never going to perfectly align school year and soccer year across the country. You will always have "trapped players", redshirted players, or players who aren't matched up with their school year. August 1 doesn't solve the problem.


no actually other sports do it based on birth year.

Every other sport in the US manages just fine with school year instead of birth year. US soccer wanted to pretend we're European, so they switched. ECNL is more focused on college, so they may switch back