Youth soccer age change

[Guest]

This is the biggest problem with most clubs and coaches. Coaches value the big kids who are physical and bulldoze their way through someone over the smaller kids who have a ton of skill. This is also why so many teams play kick and run instead of possession because you actually need skill to possess. Most starters on many teams (not pda blue or MFA necessarily) are not technical enough to play quality soccer. They may win games but they don’t look pretty doing it. There is a lot of bad soccer out there in all age groups.

clubs are no longer “elite”. There are too many of them to keep academies special. Other than the top few teams, the rest are garbage and play like garbage.

You think the little kid who tries to dribble through kids wins at the older levels and they just don’t. You were told at the younger years to keep the ball and just dribble even if your kid lost it 9/10 times and that was poor coaching. The bigger kids are there because they create a problem for little dribblers. If in stead the coaching was to learn how to pass and move off the ball and take a kid 1v1 when they had to the big kid problem
woukdbt exist. Little ones can’t win a 50/50 ball it is what it is. Size matters no matter how much you want to deny it. It can be muted if the TEAM played a quick 1-2 touch game but us doesn’t teach that. So now the littles are relegated

[Guest]

You think the little kid who tries to dribble through kids wins at the older levels and they just don’t. You were told at the younger years to keep the ball and just dribble even if your kid lost it 9/10 times and that was poor coaching. The bigger kids are there because they create a problem for little dribblers. If in stead the coaching was to learn how to pass and move off the ball and take a kid 1v1 when they had to the big kid problem
woukdbt exist. Little ones can’t win a 50/50 ball it is what it is. Size matters no matter how much you want to deny it. It can be muted if the TEAM played a quick 1-2 touch game but us doesn’t teach that. So now the littles are relegated

Size is a disadvantage for sure. The way our team plays is kick to no one and fight for a ball all the time. My kid is technical. Can play one and two touch soccer. But is surrounded by kids who can’t. So now she looks bad because she’s not winning the 50/50 balls because of her size and lack of strength. Long story short… finding a new team for next year. I guess I’ll have to move to Europe soon.

[Guest]

Size is a disadvantage for sure. The way our team plays is kick to no one and fight for a ball all the time. My kid is technical. Can play one and two touch soccer. But is surrounded by kids who can’t. So now she looks bad because she’s not winning the 50/50 balls because of her size and lack of strength. Long story short… finding a new team for next year. I guess I’ll have to move to Europe soon.

Winning balls also involves quickness and technique. The two best ball winners on my kid's team are the two smallest and most technical players, but they're both also tough.

[Guest]

Size is a disadvantage for sure. The way our team plays is kick to no one and fight for a ball all the time. My kid is technical. Can play one and two touch soccer. But is surrounded by kids who can’t. So now she looks bad because she’s not winning the 50/50 balls because of her size and lack of strength. Long story short… finding a new team for next year. I guess I’ll have to move to Europe soon.

I know the profile of kids that are "technical" but not "big or strong." Size is not the issue, its strength and quickness. Weak kids don't usually turn into strong kids regardless of size. The parents think they are quick and technical, but in reality, they always need to take a touch under pressure, put their head down once the ball hits their feet. Usually they have good ball mastery, but they play too slow and their first touch is their biggest problem. They try and dribble out of pressure and the parents are always complaining about them getting fouled. They pass when they should be holding the ball and dribble when they should be passing. They get bullied off the ball because they lack soccer IQ.

[Guest]

Winning balls also involves quickness and technique. The two best ball winners on my kid's team are the two smallest and most technical players, but they're both also tough.

Be as tough as you want if you’re out weighed by 50+ lbs and 8 inches in height you aren’t winning much

[Guest]

Be as tough as you want if you’re out weighed by 50+ lbs and 8 inches in height you aren’t winning much

Obviously if you're as quick and skilled as everyone else AND bigger by 50+ lbs and 8 inches in height then you're going to win most 50/50 contests. That's not how it works for most players though. There are actually some good smaller players in the pros if you hadn't heard...

[Guest]

I know the profile of kids that are "technical" but not "big or strong." Size is not the issue, its strength and quickness. Weak kids don't usually turn into strong kids regardless of size. The parents think they are quick and technical, but in reality, they always need to take a touch under pressure, put their head down once the ball hits their feet. Usually they have good ball mastery, but they play too slow and their first touch is their biggest problem. They try and dribble out of pressure and the parents are always complaining about them getting fouled. They pass when they should be holding the ball and dribble when they should be passing. They get bullied off the ball because they lack soccer IQ.

This is a good way to explain it.

[Guest]

Long shot here - but does anyone know the justification for USABL using 5/1 as the birthrate cutoff for travel/club baseball? Doesn't align with little league standard. Doesn't align with school grade cutoffs. It's not birth year. And to my knowledge there isn't a huge debate to standardize.

Honestly - for competitive travel - I'd change it every year or two. Kids exposed to more coaches, different teammates, and relative age situations. Someone playing on same team with same teammates from u8 into HS doesn't solve much.

[Guest]

Long shot here - but does anyone know the justification for USABL using 5/1 as the birthrate cutoff for travel/club baseball? Doesn't align with little league standard. Doesn't align with school grade cutoffs. It's not birth year. And to my knowledge there isn't a huge debate to standardize.

Honestly - for competitive travel - I'd change it every year or two. Kids exposed to more coaches, different teammates, and relative age situations. Someone playing on same team with same teammates from u8 into HS doesn't solve much.

In my town, most summer birthday boys are held back so 5/1 or 6/1 cutoff would actually better align with grade.

[Guest]

In my town, most summer birthday boys are held back so 5/1 or 6/1 cutoff would actually better align with grade.

Why do the people in your town hold their kids who were born in the summer back to be in a lower grade than they should be?

[Guest]

In my town, most summer birthday boys are held back so 5/1 or 6/1 cutoff would actually better align with grade.

this highlights how the group that will be most negatively effected by this change are the Jun/Jul/Aug kids who were not held back

[Guest]

this highlights how the group that will be most negatively effected by this change are the Jun/Jul/Aug kids who were not held back

You have the wrong mindset if you think this is really a negative. They get to be challenged a bit more because they are playing with another quarter of older kids. They get to play with a cohort that largely represents their grade. The one they play with in HS and possibly beyond.

I have a December kid. Being the youngest was fantastic for her development. When they get a little older, 3 months is meaningless.

[Guest]

You have the wrong mindset if you think this is really a negative. They get to be challenged a bit more because they are playing with another quarter of older kids. They get to play with a cohort that largely represents their grade. The one they play with in HS and possibly beyond.

I have a December kid. Being the youngest was fantastic for her development. When they get a little older, 3 months is meaningless.

this is a very constructive comment

[Guest]

a ton. there are 250 pages explaining this on the Massachusetts board.

- you are already allowed to have some trapped players "play down." Jamming more players onto the team below isnt a good answer.
- Aside the impact from a 1 time change, there is zero reason why birth year makes any sense. "everyone else does BY" was never a good reason and turns out its not even true.
- The social construct in this country revolves around schools. Playing with friends keeps kids in the sport, especially during the major fall out years.
- this isn't just about 8th grade. Its also about the entry point for soccer, the recruiting years and the U19 senior year.
- moving to school year is not license for unlimited reclasses and kids driving to U13 games. There will still be date cutoffs.

Almost everyone's view on this board is entirely self-interest driven towards whatever is best for their kid. I get it. This cuts both ways with me. I have one kid that will probably be put at a pretty big disadvantage. I have another that is trapped that will be really upset, but will probably be better off for it. I have come to the conclusion that this is the right thing to do for soccer.

This person gets it.

[Guest]

You have the wrong mindset if you think this is really a negative. They get to be challenged a bit more because they are playing with another quarter of older kids. They get to play with a cohort that largely represents their grade. The one they play with in HS and possibly beyond.

I have a December kid. Being the youngest was fantastic for her development. When they get a little older, 3 months is meaningless.

nonsense as they get in high school sometimes age is even more of a factor as some kids have full beards and others have not hit full puberty. so 3 months at age 15 can be more important than 3 months at age 9.