Anonymous wrote:This is certainly none of my business and I mean no disrespect to anyone, but every time I attend my son's practice I wonder:

They have a girl on his travel team that is called "Club Name/Year/Boys".

The girl is your regular "typical" 10 y.o. girl, curly longish hair, big eyes, etc. to me it is clear that it is just a girl (not a boy transitioning to girl or anything like that) with a girl name.

So I am just wondering if that's a thing - girls playing on boys' teams, etc. No judgment/honest question.

All ages. My daughter (now 30) played with the boys teams until she graduated. Granted, this was Rec. But the Girls were no challenge to her. She liked the rough and tumble and was good enough to keep up with them.

If you move to Connecticut, you can have your boys play on a girls team.

Anonymous wrote:I would say girls can play with the boys until U11. I think the girls are more technical than the boys at that age but physical play of the boys starts to kick in after U11-U12.

I think that is a good general rule of thumb, but have seen a few girls who have particular strength and power. One girl was a scorer for the boys' team she played on. I knew another who played center mid and was a play maker. In fact, I even recall a girl from a few years back who played in the back line. It really does depend on the girl's ability to physically keep up.

I would say girls can play with the boys until U11. I think the girls are more technical than the boys at that age but physical play of the boys starts to kick in after U11-U12.

It depends on the girl and the team too. Not all boys and coaches are receptive. I saw a girl playing through her high school years fairly competitively. Carli Lloyd did that as well. However, to do well, she needs some size, speed, and strength. She needs to be a standout. If she can contribute, great! On the other hand, I've seen bad examples too. Like one girl, who is actually a decent player among girls, but is petite. All she ever did was pass the ball backward when faced with any kind of real pressure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:Some women's national team players played on boys teams through much of their youth. Granted, some areas haven't had girls soccer all that long. I'm old enough to remember a girl playing on our high school boys team because that was the only option.

I can't find the link now, but I vaguely recall some suggestions from reputable sources that kids should play coed at the earliest ages.

How old are you and wth did you grow up??

Women’s soccer was big here in the 80s. We had National team player on my HS soccer and club team.

50, Georgia.

I’m in my late 30s and when I start high school in Philly suburbs we still had no girls soccer team, we got it while I was there. So there were always 1-2 girls on the “boys” team bc it was the only option.

A post did remind me - there is a span of time, maybe u10-11 where the boys cannot stay on their feet. Slide tackle after tackle. Not so much used on the girls side. They get over it pretty quick.

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:Some women's national team players played on boys teams through much of their youth. Granted, some areas haven't had girls soccer all that long. I'm old enough to remember a girl playing on our high school boys team because that was the only option.

I can't find the link now, but I vaguely recall some suggestions from reputable sources that kids should play coed at the earliest ages.

How old are you and wth did you grow up??

Women’s soccer was big here in the 80s. We had National team player on my HS soccer and club team.

50, Georgia.