grade based age

[Unregistered]

Good point. I think what I'm suggesting though is that couldn't the organizations (leagues, US Youth Soccer, and US Club Soccer) just say 'no thanks' to the mandate by US Soccer? I could be wrong here but my understanding is the insurance for those organizations is not through US Soccer itself. If that is true couldn't they choose to keep things as they are now which is grade year. With the understanding that for the 1% of the players who are identified and selected to play for teams directly affiliated with US Soccer would be required to play by birth year and potentially fall within their insurance.

US Soccer is the parent organization for all those other groups. The only way US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, AYSO or others could ignore the mandates is by breaking away from US Soccer and no longer being part of their system. That is a rather drastic step that none of them are willing to take. The only one I could even see thinking about it is AYSO as they don't pretend to be competitive soccer in the first place but it would still be a huge move for them.

[Unregistered]

My daughter, during town soccer, had to bounce between 2 different age groups as well as a boys team. The different experiences, positions, coach expectations, and talent levels of the various boys and girls was instrumental in her gaining a love of the game and the ability to fit in anywhere on the pitch. This was a huge advantage when she moved on to club and then college soccer. Too often, when a player is with the same team, coach and players they get stuck in a rut that hurts their development.

I don't see some of the complaints about lack of continuity and not playing with friends as a positive because of my childs experience.

[Unregistered]

My daughter, during town soccer, had to bounce between 2 different age groups as well as a boys team. The different experiences, positions, coach expectations, and talent levels of the various boys and girls was instrumental in her gaining a love of the game and the ability to fit in anywhere on the pitch. This was a huge advantage when she moved on to club and then college soccer. Too often, when a player is with the same team, coach and players they get stuck in a rut that hurts their development.

I don't see some of the complaints about lack of continuity and not playing with friends as a positive because of my childs experience.

Different kids have different drives. My daughter has had 4 teams fold on her so far (just terrible luck in that regard) and 1 we left on our own (coach was insane). She is now on her 6th team and I will say the experience has toughened her up tremendously.

However my one son after his first team folded used the excuse to quit soccer and try another sport. My other son is also going to quit soccer and concentrate on another sport if his team goes through the reorganization as it currently plans to do. They both liked their mid to low level teams but it was the social bonds with their teammates that kept them in soccer.

Again, my kids quitting don't really affect US Soccer's goal of producing a better national team but they are potentially missing out on late bloomers and others that might develop a stronger drive for the sport later on by trashing current teams.

[Unregistered]

My daughter, during town soccer, had to bounce between 2 different age groups as well as a boys team. The different experiences, positions, coach expectations, and talent levels of the various boys and girls was instrumental in her gaining a love of the game and the ability to fit in anywhere on the pitch. This was a huge advantage when she moved on to club and then college soccer. Too often, when a player is with the same team, coach and players they get stuck in a rut that hurts their development.

I don't see some of the complaints about lack of continuity and not playing with friends as a positive because of my childs experience.

I am also a big believer that change can be a good thing for individual development. Kids may even end up on better teams as a result of this. But some kids aren't driven by the challenge of the sport or desire to continually improve. Social aspects play a bigger role. if they have made this mandate for premier only and left travel out of the mix those travel players could still have a grade based team to play on.

[Unregistered]

US Soccer is the parent organization for all those other groups. The only way US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, AYSO or others could ignore the mandates is by breaking away from US Soccer and no longer being part of their system. That is a rather drastic step that none of them are willing to take. The only one I could even see thinking about it is AYSO as they don't pretend to be competitive soccer in the first place but it would still be a huge move for them.

I agree it would be a drastic measure but since these organizations have all the players then they have a ton of leverage.

[Unregistered]

I agree it would be a drastic measure but since these organizations have all the players then they have a ton of leverage.

I think organizations like US Club Soccer and US Youth Soccer are absorbing the risk with this mandate because it's foolish to think that membership won't drop because of this change. It might not be a major change from a pure soccer perspective but kids will explore other sports so that they can play with friends and this will hit their bottom line. Even if it's 5% that is still significant from $$$ perspective. US Soccer won't suffer, these youth organizations will.

[Unregistered]

I think organizations like US Club Soccer and US Youth Soccer are absorbing the risk with this mandate because it's foolish to think that membership won't drop because of this change. It might not be a major change from a pure soccer perspective but kids will explore other sports so that they can play with friends and this will hit their bottom line. Even if it's 5% that is still significant from $$$ perspective. US Soccer won't suffer, these youth organizations will.

An exodus to other sports because of a three month age change, really?

Not going to happen

[Unregistered]

An exodus to other sports because of a three month age change, really?

Not going to happen

The post said 5%...I don't think the poster was suggesting a 'mass exodus'.

It could be a 1 month change, that's not the point, the point is that yes, it will have an impact on membership because it's a fact, not opinion, that kids play sports so they can play with friends. If a different sport offers them that opportunity then yes, they will leave. It's naive and extremely shortsided of you to think otherwise.

[OB1]

Other sports use birth year, e.g. Hockey. This is just a red herring.

[Unregistered]

The post said 5%...I don't think the poster was suggesting a 'mass exodus'.

It could be a 1 month change, that's not the point, the point is that yes, it will have an impact on membership because it's a fact, not opinion, that kids play sports so they can play with friends. If a different sport offers them that opportunity then yes, they will leave. It's naive and extremely shortsided of you to think otherwise.

Chicken Little stop the sky falling talk

I didn't say mass exodus.

By the way it's an opinion ... Lifelong friends are on different premier teams now and it's not impacting them or causing them to give up soccer.

Other sports with different age cutoffs are not causing friends to ditch softball, baseball or basketball.

What's the chance that Mia and Julie after player soccer for years have the skill or more importantly desire to switch sports.

[Unregistered]

I think organizations like US Club Soccer and US Youth Soccer are absorbing the risk with this mandate because it's foolish to think that membership won't drop because of this change. It might not be a major change from a pure soccer perspective but kids will explore other sports so that they can play with friends and this will hit their bottom line. Even if it's 5% that is still significant from $$$ perspective. US Soccer won't suffer, these youth organizations will.

If kids leave the sport because they can't play with their friends that's a good thing because they probably don't belong there anyway.

[Unregistered]

If kids leave the sport because they can't play with their friends that's a good thing because they probably don't belong there anyway.

They dont belong there?

Sports for 99.9% is just about playing with friends. Without this 99.9% you wont find that other 0.1%. The reason US Soccer is so far behind the world is that we are already limited in the number of kids interested in soccer and now we are going to eliminate a few more. And you are happy with that?!

They dont belong there?

[Unregistered]

An exodus to other sports because of a three month age change, really?

Not going to happen

Every time a team folds the chances of a few players quitting the sport are high. The new mandate is going to break up thousands of teams. And it perpetually is going to break up teams with late year seniors.

Every time you tell someone that they can't play a sport for a whole season, like we are doing with a lot of the late year 8th graders, some are going to quit. And even the ones that don't quit immediately are likely to try another sport in that off-season and may find a sport that they like better.

Every time you tell parents of 5 and 6 year olds that they can't try out a new sport with their classmates and friends, some are not going to join the sport in the first place.

In short, this change can't help but drive people away from the sport because nothing good is offered to the parents to offset the "bad" coming their way. The only real question is whether the number of people driven away is a minor blip that will eventually be overcome or whether it will be a large immediate hit to the sport (and by large I mean 5 to 10 percent) that will have long term ramifications to the sport.

[Unregistered]

If kids leave the sport because they can't play with their friends that's a good thing because they probably don't belong there anyway.

So sick of this elitist attitude - and no I don't have an impacted kid. I'm indifferent to the change but wholly believe that as many kids should be kept playing a sport they enjoy - for whatever reason - as long as they want. There's the upper level talent, then all the rest. The rest should have been left alone. Most of it is travel where kids are all from the same town, want to play some soccer together, maybe play in HS some day. Most Rec programs are run by towns so they can stay the same but bigger rec programs like AYSO are impacted by the change because they are under the umbrella.

It won't be a mass exodus but it's enough. If he clowns at national had thought about all US soccer players, not just the top 1%, this wouldn't even be a discussion.

[Unregistered]

They dont belong there?

Sports for 99.9% is just about playing with friends. Without this 99.9% you wont find that other 0.1%. The reason US Soccer is so far behind the world is that we are already limited in the number of kids interested in soccer and now we are going to eliminate a few more. And you are happy with that?!

They dont belong there?

I just can't wrap my head around kids dropping a sport because they would be on a different team than their friends. I can't imagine saying to myself I'd rather leave soccer altogether and try another sport so I can hang out with my friends. If you love playing the sport you won't mind making new friends.