Soccer’s participation rate is now closer to that of tennis

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The only ones who don't want grad year based teams are those that benefited from the change to birth year.

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Soccer’s participation rate is now closer to that of tennis

I meant the calendar year shift benefits no one. I and others are arguing to go back to grade-based teams

Rec level soccer (within one town or area) should be by grade so kids will want to play with their friends. Up to 5th or 6th grade.

When players go to town travel it should be by birth year. If players/parents are serious enough about soccer it should not be a big deal with the change.

Premier should be by birth year. If parents are willing to spend more money then the age brackets should be determined by birth year. Kids would need to make a decision to play with their friends or play at a higher level

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Rec level soccer (within one town or area) should be by grade so kids will want to play with their friends. Up to 5th or 6th grade.

When players go to town travel it should be by birth year. If players/parents are serious enough about soccer it should not be a big deal with the change.

Premier should be by birth year. If parents are willing to spend more money then the age brackets should be determined by birth year. Kids would need to make a decision to play with their friends or play at a higher level

again why?
you go to HS as a group and you graduate HS as a group
why do you want that mess at 8th grade?

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The only ones who don't want grad year based teams are those that benefited from the change to birth year.

Yup. Those are the parents that usually chime in applauding the move.

Someone will always be the youngest or oldest. It's just a matter of what months are involved. Thing is, the types of players that will be our nation's players don't need it - they will stand out no matter what similarly aged team they play on. They will get opportunities to play up and be challenged because they are that good. So net/net big downfall for thousands, little benefit for a handful. Not worth it in my book.

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Rec level soccer (within one town or area) should be by grade so kids will want to play with their friends. Up to 5th or 6th grade.

When players go to town travel it should be by birth year. If players/parents are serious enough about soccer it should not be a big deal with the change.

Premier should be by birth year. If parents are willing to spend more money then the age brackets should be determined by birth year. Kids would need to make a decision to play with their friends or play at a higher level

Nope. Town teams are exactly the ones that should stay together by grade. Our town struggles to keep one team together because more than half move up to high school. Higher level club is about the only place it makes sense - kids are older and care less about that plus players come from many towns. But as other have said it's not even that beneficial for most club players.

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Rec level soccer (within one town or area) should be by grade so kids will want to play with their friends. Up to 5th or 6th grade.

When players go to town travel it should be by birth year. If players/parents are serious enough about soccer it should not be a big deal with the change.

Premier should be by birth year. If parents are willing to spend more money then the age brackets should be determined by birth year. Kids would need to make a decision to play with their friends or play at a higher level

OP here. I generally agree with this but the problem is many local "Rec" clubs or towns have to play outside to have enough games. Once you go into the USYS or US Club system it's by birth year (ie CJSA / CCSL). Most pay-to-play (P2P) clubs want to build teams (contrary to everything us soccer is trying to do) so it's all birth year. The system is completely broken and only CJSA and CCSL can drive the change here in CT. They won't since they are beholden to the pay-to-play clubs and the entrenched bureaucracy. They are also battling each other for the money from the P2P Clubs. We will continue to see soccer decline in CT for some time since there are no change makers in the high houses of CJSA and CCSL.

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Nope. Town teams are exactly the ones that should stay together by grade. Our town struggles to keep one team together because more than half move up to high school. Higher level club is about the only place it makes sense - kids are older and care less about that plus players come from many towns. But as other have said it's not even that beneficial for most club players.

Birth year not beneficial to anyone. The unicorns are already playing up one, two and even three years.

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OP here. I generally agree with this but the problem is many local "Rec" clubs or towns have to play outside to have enough games. Once you go into the USYS or US Club system it's by birth year (ie CJSA / CCSL). Most pay-to-play (P2P) clubs want to build teams (contrary to everything us soccer is trying to do) so it's all birth year. The system is completely broken and only CJSA and CCSL can drive the change here in CT. They won't since they are beholden to the pay-to-play clubs and the entrenched bureaucracy. They are also battling each other for the money from the P2P Clubs. We will continue to see soccer decline in CT for some time since there are no change makers in the high houses of CJSA and CCSL.

It should all change back to school year except DA. Even DA has a weak argument* but ok let them have it so they feel special.

I agree the better DA players are standouts and don't need this change to make a big difference in their career path.

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Birth year not beneficial to anyone. The unicorns are already playing up one, two and even three years.

I always found it funny that while the USSF insists that we all switch to birth year at the same time it is their official policy to encourage gifted players play up at least one year, if not more, making the whole birth year thing irrelevant.

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ECNL president recently tweeted how lacrosse is by grade and “doesn’t it seem logical to keep kids playing by grade?” Based on this pubic comment, it appears ECNL is seriously considering changing teams based on grade.

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OP here. I generally agree with this but the problem is many local "Rec" clubs or towns have to play outside to have enough games. Once you go into the USYS or US Club system it's by birth year (ie CJSA / CCSL). Most pay-to-play (P2P) clubs want to build teams (contrary to everything us soccer is trying to do) so it's all birth year. The system is completely broken and only CJSA and CCSL can drive the change here in CT. They won't since they are beholden to the pay-to-play clubs and the entrenched bureaucracy. They are also battling each other for the money from the P2P Clubs. We will continue to see soccer decline in CT for some time since there are no change makers in the high houses of CJSA and CCSL.

Thanks Joe

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ECNL president recently tweeted how lacrosse is by grade and “doesn’t it seem logical to keep kids playing by grade?” Based on this pubic comment, it appears ECNL is seriously considering changing teams based on grade.

It was rumored last year they were going back but it didn't happen. Since they're all about college recruiting (vs DA about NT 😆😆😆😆😆) going grade based makes sense.