Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son's U16 ECNL team has three kids that go to the same high school. The other 15 go to 15 completely different schools. He's been on teams that had boys in three different grades on the same team. The kids were also from 5 or 6 different areas. There really isn't much reason for this school year thing anymore, because the kids gravitate to a certain club for whatever reason they have.

Sorry to say there is a reason. It’s not about going to the same school. That does not matter. The issue comes in both 8 and 11-12 in a way it does not with calendar year. The U18-19 is a disaster for the 20-30% of juniors on what is a team of seniors preparing to go to college. (which used to be only a junior team or only a senior team). They want to play high level for their junior year and get seen/recruited the spring of their junior year but the rest of their team checks out come spring as they are graduating. Same happens in 8th for kids who want to play but their season stops so all the freshman can play high school. This does not matter for MLs because they don’t allow high school ball. In school year everybody is going to college at the same time u less their parents redshirted them (a choice some make). It’s a mess for a large chunk of kids which is why ECNL has tried so many workarounds in their policies (ie- 8th graders can play down for half a year (dumb as they don’t even know the teams they are then thrusted into mid year and then those teams real players get benched because roster bloats with 20-30% more kids for 6 months. Its a mess). I wish they would revert and stop the stupidness of having a program geared toward college recruiting that makes that process messy at best.

I get that, but those trapped players become the U19 players on the U18/19 teams. They get an extra year of club soccer to develop.

You must have a younger kid. U-19 is not about development anymore. It’s about recruiting. The extra year is not good because they are always off cycle for the rules and norms of boys recruiting (Junior year) and so the college coaches don’t see them in the right recruiting season. They go to watch a junior team and the kid is a sophomore and can’t be contacted. And when they are seniors on a team with juniors it’s too late as all recruiting slots are gone. It’s a PIA for both coaches and trapped players. If you know, you know.

Anonymous wrote:If they switch to an August 1 - July 31 soccer grouping, then kids born in late August will be among the oldest on the team (like kids currently born in late January are). I'm not sure how that would align with your child's grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is another scenario that I don't believe was considered in the podcast or in this forum: late August kid who is the youngest in his/her grade. Happens to be one of my kids.

This kid wouldn't be trapped but also wouldn't benefit from being "the new early age group". So, we can't say that all August kids would automatically be direct beneficiaries of this.

Compared to current situation where all January kids benefit from being the oldest.

This cannot be a deciding factor but seems even, could be yet another reason to switch to a school calendar year.

Why wouldn’t your child benefit from being in the oldest in their new age group? I think the only August kids that wouldn’t benefit would be the ones with a school cut off later than August 1 because their club year and school year wouldn’t align for purposes of college recruiting. (They you’d be playing a year below college scouts would be watching.)

As I indicated in my message, my kid - who was born in late August is the youngest kid in the class/grade the school. School starts in the last week of August. It happens a lot with late August kids. Early August, on the other hand, would be the oldest.

I presume that by switching to a grade-based system, my late August kid who is the youngest kid in the class, would remain the youngest kid in the class-based team.

Does this clarify? Or maybe I am the one confused, which is possible with this complex topic..

I think you have it mixed up. It's still just a 12 month window but instead of starting on Jan 1 it would start on Aug 1 (or Sep per the podcast). The window doesn't care if you're in 7th or 8th grade, just your age on Aug 1. Your younger kid will now be the oldest in club soccer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is another scenario that I don't believe was considered in the podcast or in this forum: late August kid who is the youngest in his/her grade. Happens to be one of my kids.

This kid wouldn't be trapped but also wouldn't benefit from being "the new early age group". So, we can't say that all August kids would automatically be direct beneficiaries of this.

Compared to current situation where all January kids benefit from being the oldest.

This cannot be a deciding factor but seems even, could be yet another reason to switch to a school calendar year.

Why wouldn’t your child benefit from being in the oldest in their new age group? I think the only August kids that wouldn’t benefit would be the ones with a school cut off later than August 1 because their club year and school year wouldn’t align for purposes of college recruiting. (They you’d be playing a year below college scouts would be watching.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is another scenario that I don't believe was considered in the podcast or in this forum: late August kid who is the youngest in his/her grade. Happens to be one of my kids.

This kid wouldn't be trapped but also wouldn't benefit from being "the new early age group". So, we can't say that all August kids would automatically be direct beneficiaries of this.

Compared to current situation where all January kids benefit from being the oldest.

This cannot be a deciding factor but seems even, could be yet another reason to switch to a school calendar year.

Why wouldn’t your child benefit from being in the oldest in their new age group? I think the only August kids that wouldn’t benefit would be the ones with a school cut off later than August 1 because their club year and school year wouldn’t align for purposes of college recruiting. (They you’d be playing a year below college scouts would be watching.)

As I indicated in my message, my kid - who was born in late August is the youngest kid in the class/grade the school. School starts in the last week of August. It happens a lot with late August kids. Early August, on the other hand, would be the oldest.

I presume that by switching to a grade-based system, my late August kid who is the youngest kid in the class, would remain the youngest kid in the class-based team.

Does this clarify? Or maybe I am the one confused, which is possible with this complex topic..

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is another scenario that I don't believe was considered in the podcast or in this forum: late August kid who is the youngest in his/her grade. Happens to be one of my kids.

This kid wouldn't be trapped but also wouldn't benefit from being "the new early age group". So, we can't say that all August kids would automatically be direct beneficiaries of this.

Compared to current situation where all January kids benefit from being the oldest.

This cannot be a deciding factor but seems even, could be yet another reason to switch to a school calendar year.

Why wouldn’t your child benefit from being in the oldest in their new age group? I think the only August kids that wouldn’t benefit would be the ones with a school cut off later than August 1 because their club year and school year wouldn’t align for purposes of college recruiting. (They you’d be playing a year below college scouts would be watching.)

Anonymous wrote:Here is another scenario that I don't believe was considered in the podcast or in this forum: late August kid who is the youngest in his/her grade. Happens to be one of my kids.

This kid wouldn't be trapped but also wouldn't benefit from being "the new early age group". So, we can't say that all August kids would automatically be direct beneficiaries of this.

Compared to current situation where all January kids benefit from being the oldest.

This cannot be a deciding factor but seems even, could be yet another reason to switch to a school calendar year.

Anonymous wrote:I'm starting to think people who say they prefer one over the other need to qualify with when their child was born. I'm sure all the May - July parents say they prefer calendar year and all the October - December parents prefer school year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son's U16 ECNL team has three kids that go to the same high school. The other 15 go to 15 completely different schools. He's been on teams that had boys in three different grades on the same team. The kids were also from 5 or 6 different areas. There really isn't much reason for this school year thing anymore, because the kids gravitate to a certain club for whatever reason they have.

Sorry to say there is a reason. It’s not about going to the same school. That does not matter. The issue comes in both 8 and 11-12 in a way it does not with calendar year. The U18-19 is a disaster for the 20-30% of juniors on what is a team of seniors preparing to go to college. (which used to be only a junior team or only a senior team). They want to play high level for their junior year and get seen/recruited the spring of their junior year but the rest of their team checks out come spring as they are graduating. Same happens in 8th for kids who want to play but their season stops so all the freshman can play high school. This does not matter for MLs because they don’t allow high school ball. In school year everybody is going to college at the same time u less their parents redshirted them (a choice some make). It’s a mess for a large chunk of kids which is why ECNL has tried so many workarounds in their policies (ie- 8th graders can play down for half a year (dumb as they don’t even know the teams they are then thrusted into mid year and then those teams real players get benched because roster bloats with 20-30% more kids for 6 months. Its a mess). I wish they would revert and stop the stupidness of having a program geared toward college recruiting that makes that process messy at best.

I get that, but those trapped players become the U19 players on the U18/19 teams. They get an extra year of club soccer to develop.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son's U16 ECNL team has three kids that go to the same high school. The other 15 go to 15 completely different schools. He's been on teams that had boys in three different grades on the same team. The kids were also from 5 or 6 different areas. There really isn't much reason for this school year thing anymore, because the kids gravitate to a certain club for whatever reason they have.

Sorry to say there is a reason. It’s not about going to the same school. That does not matter. The issue comes in both 8 and 11-12 in a way it does not with calendar year. The U18-19 is a disaster for the 20-30% of juniors on what is a team of seniors preparing to go to college. (which used to be only a junior team or only a senior team). They want to play high level for their junior year and get seen/recruited the spring of their junior year but the rest of their team checks out come spring as they are graduating. Same happens in 8th for kids who want to play but their season stops so all the freshman can play high school. This does not matter for MLs because they don’t allow high school ball. In school year everybody is going to college at the same time u less their parents redshirted them (a choice some make). It’s a mess for a large chunk of kids which is why ECNL has tried so many workarounds in their policies (ie- 8th graders can play down for half a year (dumb as they don’t even know the teams they are then thrusted into mid year and then those teams real players get benched because roster bloats with 20-30% more kids for 6 months. Its a mess). I wish they would revert and stop the stupidness of having a program geared toward college recruiting that makes that process messy at best.