Anonymous wrote:So it seems that MLSN is going to stay BY and clubs will be rostering Aug/Sept birthdays with their grade.

Where is that guy whos been wrong for over a year?

OK, MLSN isn't clear yet (hahahahah) and maybe 1 club is forcing kids to play up on grade (if that is to be believed) -- hardly universal.

So it seems that MLSN is going to stay BY and clubs will be rostering Aug/Sept birthdays with their grade.

Where is that guy whos been wrong for over a year?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Just read the Arlington FAQ. Some clubs will just do it. Others won't. It's not a league rule. Flexibility is given. That's what he/you are wrong about.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

What part is he wrong? If clubs make young Aug players play on a team thats their grade in school its the same thing as SY+30 with a 9/1 cutoff. Actually its better because all Aug and younger players (Sept, Oct, Nov. etc) have to play with their grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

That's fine, he's wrong about the rule part, tho!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

And it begins....

This is exactly what I said would occur. Clubs will make young Aug/Sept players play on an A or B team thats their grade in school.

Looks like SY+30 guy was right all along.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Girls soccer is so different than boys soccer. No second team boys are even thinking about playing in college.

Its laughable that anyone with a kid on a second team is worried about playing in college. Why? What's the point? You are paying all that tuition for your kid to waste so much time on a fun hobby at that point. They can just play intramurals for fun and explore other activities that college offers.

A 2nd team at a big club sometimes is in the same league OR can be a strong team in the national USYS leagues -- where players make it to at least D3 not infrequently.

There are exception cases that can be cherry picked. But why choose a harder path if there are ones are more likely to have the outcome you desire? In this area right now there is an abundance of national level girls teams. That won’t last forever as consolidation is inevitable. But for right now there is no reason for a girl interested in college soccer to not be on a national platform unless obviously cost is a factor. All things being equal your daughter has a better shot at a college team from GA team than a 2nd team. Not because the quality of play is better or the coaching is better but simply because the showcase events are better attended.

I agree you get more visibility with GA or ECNL, but it's not the only path OR necessarily easier, either, as more teams clubs make it not as exclusive and harder to stand out. And the cost is more than just financial. For some, joining such a club means driving an hour+ just for practice, which takes away from school and other things important for kids growing up. Also their current situation may still offer high-quality coaching (which can include connections with college coaches) and access to competitive leagues/play.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Girls soccer is so different than boys soccer. No second team boys are even thinking about playing in college.

Its laughable that anyone with a kid on a second team is worried about playing in college. Why? What's the point? You are paying all that tuition for your kid to waste so much time on a fun hobby at that point. They can just play intramurals for fun and explore other activities that college offers.

A 2nd team at a big club sometimes is in the same league OR can be a strong team in the national USYS leagues -- where players make it to at least D3 not infrequently.

There are exception cases that can be cherry picked. But why choose a harder path if there are ones are more likely to have the outcome you desire? In this area right now there is an abundance of national level girls teams. That won’t last forever as consolidation is inevitable. But for right now there is no reason for a girl interested in college soccer to not be on a national platform unless obviously cost is a factor. All things being equal your daughter has a better shot at a college team from GA team than a 2nd team. Not because the quality of play is better or the coaching is better but simply because the showcase events are better attended.

No away around it, IMO, it's going to be messy next year.

I'm not even thinking about potential players moving in or over from ECNL-RL teams to ECNL teams.

MY DDs team will have a bunch of movement just within the ECNL ranks.

DD is U17, ECNL. Now, we are lucky that for the most part, recruiting is DONE for her team. All of the current 11th graders on her team have verbally committed.

But, she has (3) players that are not 11th graders. (1) is a very talented 2010 BY. Another is a November 2009 B-Bay and the 3rd is a late August 2009 B-Day. Do they stay with the current age group or essentially repeat a year to play with their correct grade?

Plus she has (3) other players that while HS Juniors are early August 2009 B-Bays. These players clearly WANT to continue to play with their grade year. I don't see it as any advantage for them to drop down an play with girls a year behind them in school.

And, that doesn't even factor in the current U18/U19 team that has a similar group that are current 11th graders. Going to be a mess moving players around.

And, FWIW, at least at our club, I don't see a bunch of players moving over from the -RL teams or players moving in from outside clubs. There just hasn't been a ton of this type of movement, especially from outside clubs due to our location. We aren't really close to any ECNL level clubs. Players that have some over are commuting over 1 hour to practice and we haven't had any additions like this in 2 seasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Girls soccer is so different than boys soccer. No second team boys are even thinking about playing in college.

Its laughable that anyone with a kid on a second team is worried about playing in college. Why? What's the point? You are paying all that tuition for your kid to waste so much time on a fun hobby at that point. They can just play intramurals for fun and explore other activities that college offers.

A 2nd team at a big club sometimes is in the same league OR can be a strong team in the national USYS leagues -- where players make it to at least D3 not infrequently.

Exactly. Some first teams have an unusual number of girls with ridiculous talent. Now: could she make the 1st team a year younger and not play on grade? Yes, highly likely. Maybe it’s worth the trade off. It’s really hard to figure out. And for kids who live and breathe soccer, this is stressful. And to those who say 2nd team players have no chance, some are just as talented but late to physically mature. Not all girls are mature by age 14.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

Will the 7th graders play with the younger team during the HS season (if your club plays HS)? If so, that's actually a pretty decent situation for them.

Anonymous wrote:Girls soccer is so different than boys soccer. No second team boys are even thinking about playing in college.

Its laughable that anyone with a kid on a second team is worried about playing in college. Why? What's the point? You are paying all that tuition for your kid to waste so much time on a fun hobby at that point. They can just play intramurals for fun and explore other activities that college offers.

A 2nd team at a big club sometimes is in the same league OR can be a strong team in the national USYS leagues -- where players make it to at least D3 not infrequently.

Anonymous wrote:Girls soccer is so different than boys soccer. No second team boys are even thinking about playing in college.

Its laughable that anyone with a kid on a second team is worried about playing in college. Why? What's the point? You are paying all that tuition for your kid to waste so much time on a fun hobby at that point. They can just play intramurals for fun and explore other activities that college offers.

It is a different admissions pile. If it gives an advantage to a school they really want, then you have won the game.

Anonymous wrote:If my August 2012 8th grader doesn’t play ‘up’ with her current team next year, she’s switching to volleyball and crew. It’s her call. If she played ‘down’ next year she’d miss a lot of practices because she’d also be playing on her high school team.

I’ve been honest with her since the podcast last year. I have no preference, just want her to be happy.

Back to update that our club is going by grade for the August kids. So my August 8th grader is happy but the 2 August 7th graders on her team are not. The club reviewed all ages and essentially all teams will remain at the same level of competitiveness (ECNL and ECRL) after the shifts except one of our 2010 teams, which will have a pretty significant talent hole they will need to fill.

Girls soccer is so different than boys soccer. No second team boys are even thinking about playing in college.

Its laughable that anyone with a kid on a second team is worried about playing in college. Why? What's the point? You are paying all that tuition for your kid to waste so much time on a fun hobby at that point. They can just play intramurals for fun and explore other activities that college offers.