Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 07:59     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:So many players and parents are going to be disappointed when they pay ridiculious amounts of money only to be ignored by college recruiters if they're playing down a grade in school.
If parents are disappointed that their player doesn't play college soccer, they need to get their own lives.

Playing over a year younger than many of the players in an age group from the first time they step on the pitch means almost all these players will quit the sport sooner than they would have if they were the oldest. It's science.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 07:57     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
I have a Q4 daughter playing U13. This move to school year is the best thing we could have hoped for. She will go from youngest to oldest on her new team. And she will be declassing so she can play with players in the same grade. We believe this will help her with recruiting in a few years.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 07:24     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:This is why only a small percentage of the population control most of the money and the power

The majority are struggling how to tell their children a simple reality


I’m sure the club just wants to get ahead of it and not deal with a ton of individual questions. Have you seen some of the threads on Facebook when someone posts the new age group chart? TD are going to have to do a lot of hand holding with parents this winter/spring.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 07:11     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
This is why only a small percentage of the population control most of the money and the power

The majority are struggling how to tell their children a simple reality
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 06:45     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:That’s interesting. We just moved our son to an ECNL track club and kind of assumed there would be an exception for him to play up with his team when it changes. However, we were told there would be absolutely no exceptions and he will be in his class year team. We already told them it’s gonna happen, it wasn’t a tough conversation, he’s excited to be at the club and on a different team and we knew about it before we moved. I wonder why a club like this would have absolutely no exceptions? My son is only a couple of weeks younger than a few of the kids on his team since he’s a September birthday and he’s a little bigger than them as well.

Anonymous wrote:My kids MLSN club has not said a word about it. Coach has not said anything either and I don't think he would have any info beyond what you might read here.

Kid is a Sept birthday and a starter. He is thinking about not playing MLSN next year, he sort of wants to give HS a try (he would be the absolute star of the team) so I get it...

Our local USYS club (we are still on the email list) just sent out an email about the age change with a few links to other clubs' age change info to help explain it. They are a small club but said, in the email, that they will be re-forming all teams under the new age brackets with no exceptions which is interesting. Because of the size of the club I expected them to hem and haw and talk a lot about exceptions and keeping teams together. But nope...


My child would be the absolute star!!!

Someone literally wrote that?!?!
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 06:42     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:For those with Q4 kids iin ECNL/GA/MLSN who will be re-age grouping in the next year (or so), how are you having those conversations? Are you waiting for the club to initiate or getting ahead of it? Has anyone seen guidance if the tryout window will be amended for those aging down?


Our club is having a town hall next week to discuss it and sent out messaging with suggestions about how to talk to the kids about
it and their tentative plans for it.


lol. How to “talk to kids.” JFC. Tell them it’s a new rule and move on.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 06:16     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:So many players and parents are going to be disappointed when they pay ridiculious amounts of money only to be ignored by college recruiters if they're playing down a grade in school.


So the college will be disappointed the kid is dominating their current age group and they know a year ahead of time?

Please tell me you don’t run anything materially important in this town!
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 06:09     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
I'm going to attempt to answer the question. My 2013 DD is on ECNL RL team, Q4 birthday. She's upset about "moving down" and I've tried to explain to her that she's not moving down. They are reclassifying the teams. She will hopefully make ECNL next year, although there are also some ECNL 2013 Q4s. I think the January to July 2014 girls understand what's going on and I encourage Jan-July parents to talk to their players, especially if they're not the strongest on their current team. It is very possible that next year's ENCL Team will be mostly Q4 and Q1 birthdays from the top three 2013 teams.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 06:00     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Drama in everything youth soccer. Why is it difficult to understand what a school year is? Focus on soccer rather than trying to understand two words.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 05:41     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
That’s interesting. We just moved our son to an ECNL track club and kind of assumed there would be an exception for him to play up with his team when it changes. However, we were told there would be absolutely no exceptions and he will be in his class year team. We already told them it’s gonna happen, it wasn’t a tough conversation, he’s excited to be at the club and on a different team and we knew about it before we moved. I wonder why a club like this would have absolutely no exceptions? My son is only a couple of weeks younger than a few of the kids on his team since he’s a September birthday and he’s a little bigger than them as well.

Anonymous wrote:My kids MLSN club has not said a word about it. Coach has not said anything either and I don't think he would have any info beyond what you might read here.

Kid is a Sept birthday and a starter. He is thinking about not playing MLSN next year, he sort of wants to give HS a try (he would be the absolute star of the team) so I get it...

Our local USYS club (we are still on the email list) just sent out an email about the age change with a few links to other clubs' age change info to help explain it. They are a small club but said, in the email, that they will be re-forming all teams under the new age brackets with no exceptions which is interesting. Because of the size of the club I expected them to hem and haw and talk a lot about exceptions and keeping teams together. But nope...
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 03:36     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So many players and parents are going to be disappointed when they pay ridiculious amounts of money only to be ignored by college recruiters if they're playing down a grade in school.


What do you mean? How does someone play a grade down in school?

SY = 8/1-7/31

But, what if your kid is born in Aug or Sept (youger than 8/1-7/31) and in the same grade as those born in the 8/1-7/31 eligibility window. Because school districts start on different dates this is possible. If your kid is in this situation they should play with the team thats their grade in school. This way when they get to recruitment age they wont be ignored by college coaches because they're playing on a lower grade team.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2025 00:20     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:For those with Q4 kids iin ECNL/GA/MLSN who will be re-age grouping in the next year (or so), how are you having those conversations? Are you waiting for the club to initiate or getting ahead of it? Has anyone seen guidance if the tryout window will be amended for those aging down?


Not seeing anything official from our club but conversations are starting to happen on a case-by-case basis. Also seeing Q4s more exclusively start to train with the younger groups for at least one practice, especially some stronger B-team players. Basically, this is their shot, intra-club anyway.
Anonymous
Post 11/12/2025 23:18     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:So many players and parents are going to be disappointed when they pay ridiculious amounts of money only to be ignored by college recruiters if they're playing down a grade in school.


What do you mean? How does someone play a grade down in school?
Anonymous
Post 11/12/2025 22:49     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
So many players and parents are going to be disappointed when they pay ridiculious amounts of money only to be ignored by college recruiters if they're playing down a grade in school.
Anonymous
Post 11/12/2025 22:31     Subject: Trapped/Re-aging Families, How are you having the conversation?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think one issue could be for August and September kids who went to school on time (VA side), now they have to repeat a year and will not play with the kids at the same grades.


I assume most clubs will treat this like grad year, as the point on the girls side is recruiting.
Clubs and leagues have made it clear, play on age, best of the best plays up. Grade not a factor.

You have no idea about this and are repeating what someone else said.

The truth is that playing with your grade makes the most sense when it comes to being recruited for college.


The college recruiters know what grade a candidate is in regardless of their club team age group

Its not a mystery because the college coaches know who they're scouting.

Ya, who wants a Senior playing against Juniors when theres 200 Seniors that would jump at the opportunity.

Give it a rest. Nobody wants a Trojan Horse.


What are you talking about?
A November player is in a different grade than their teammates
A kid playing up is in a different grade than their teammates

If they are good enough, the college coaches know exactly when they graduate during the recruitment process