New soccer rules

[jren]

Is anyone else's kid affected by the new soccer rules using birth year for team placements? Used to be school year cutoff, now they are using full year so those born September through December are forced to play up above their grade.

I knew nothing about it until I was sitting at DS's first practice last night and thought how much bigger/older the other kids looked. Found out DS is one of two or three other second graders on a team of 14. The rest are 3rd graders. He's on a U9 team and won't even turn 8 until the fall season is over. Also discovered that he's now missed a year of skill development by having to skip from U7 to U9. He left practice feeling very defeated and not wanting to play soccer anymore. Of course, we're committed financially to the fall season, no refunds.


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[khalloc]

I would assume everyone is affected unless they are just on a rec team.

My son is 8 and is on a U10 team. He wont turn 9 till April.

DD is just playing the town Rec league and they do that by grade. So she is in 5th grade but plays with 4th & 5th graders.

[JBaxter]

Its is based on the Birth Year now. 2008 kids are U9 2003 kids are U14 both mine jumped a year. They are allowing a transition year but all soccer leagues should follow it by next season. Kids can play UP but not down an age group.

[SnuggleBuggles]

All based on birth year here too. It is a bummer for kiddos like yours and mine that got bumped up but so far my ds2 has been holding his own fine. eta- I am happy with the change. No need for kids that have been red shirted to get an edge on this- grade level shouldn't matter. Size is important- having everyone closer in size is good. Skill level wise- some things just come naturally with age so equal ages even things out.

[WatchingThemGrow]

It seems like a big jump, I agree, but we've experienced the same thing with swimming and baseball as well. Whenever your kid is close to the cut off date and the age span is 2 years, it is a pretty painful thing to adjust to. My DD's May bday is fine for soccer, but as a 4th grader, she swam all summer against 6th graders.

On the flip side, my DS with a June b'day finished 1st grade swimming against kids who hadn't yet started Kindergarten. He'd just spent the year as the youngest in his classroom, which obviously has it's cons as well.

Fortunately, seems like every sport, every class, etc. has a different cutoff so that it's not always the same kids being disadvantaged every year.

But yes, the soccer change affected us in that my boys, 18 mos apart, can't be on the same team b/c their birth years are 2007 and 2009. I decided not to let them play at all b/c doing THREE teams will throw me over the edge with our other commitments.

[JBaxter]

I believe its all coming from FIFA and we are just conforming to what the rest of the world has been doing.

[jren]

All based on birth year here too. It is a bummer for kiddos like yours and mine that got bumped up but so far my ds2 has been holding his own fine. eta- I am happy with the change. No need for kids that have been red shirted to get an edge on this- grade level shouldn't matter. Size is important- having everyone closer in size is good. Skill level wise- some things just come naturally with age so equal ages even things out.

Previously, it was age as of August 1, so it never benefited red shirted kids, just kept fall birthday kids playing with kids in their same grade. Now my late October birthday isn't allowed to play his grade, but is playing up a grade even though he's just a rec player. Supposed to be for fun. I'm not thinking he will ever play internationally. I was surprised that so few on the team were fall birthdays, but I suspect parents in the know moved their rec kids to church leagues who are still tying in to our school cut-off dates. Red-shirted kids have always been required to play up with their original grade.


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[georgiegirl]

Somebody has the be the youngest. It does stink when it negatively impacts your child. My kids don't play soccer, but one of DD's friends does and she has a late December birthday. So she's the youngest and and her mom isn't thrilled.

We used to swim with the YMCA, and their cut off was 12/1. It unfairly advantaged kids with December, Jan, Feb birthdays and disadvantaged fall birthdays. We switched to USA swimming, and your age is determined on the first day of the meet, which seems much more fair...you child will swim at meets where he/she is one of the oldest and at meets where he/she is one of the youngest.


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[LD92599]

there was an uproar that the kindergarten kids born at the end of 2010 weren't in soccer w/ their school peers. Would be nice if it was universal for all towns/soccer in general!

[Kindra178]

there was an uproar that the kindergarten kids born at the end of 2010 weren't in soccer w/ their school peers. Would be nice if it was universal for all towns/soccer in general!

It will be universal - US Soccer gave all teams two years to implement the change, but all teams must be changed by 2017. Some clubs did it this year and others are waiting. It helps the young for the grade kids because they are no longer the youngest on the team. My ds' club made the switch. He had to join a new team with different coaches. He misses his old team and coach but he's way better now - he was the youngest on his team before and now he's not.

[Kindra178]

there was an uproar that the kindergarten kids born at the end of 2010 weren't in soccer w/ their school peers. Would be nice if it was universal for all towns/soccer in general!

It will be universal - US Soccer gave all teams two years to implement the change, but all teams must be changed by 2017. Some clubs did it this year and others are waiting. It helps the young for the grade kids because they are no longer the youngest on the team. My ds' club made the switch. He had to join a new team with different coaches. He misses his old team and coach but he's way better now - he was the youngest on his team before and now he's not.

[solsister]

My daughter was on a club team and this year got bumped. She has an early August bday, and was always the oldest. The sad thing is that these kids have been playing together for 8 years, and for this final year before high school, she has to be on a team with kids she's never played with. Once we found out, we signed her up for AYSO, and she's having a blast playing with her friends, again. No Club insanity and no travel, so we are all happy!

[khm]

My daughter's team made the switch. She's one of 3 that got bumped up. She's very bummed.

I get it, someone is still "the youngest", I get it is standard now. But, it is hard for her to be "up" with older grade girls. She wasn't redshirted in Kindy, but her birthday is before most of her team, I guess.

I'm pretty sure she won't want to sign up again, she's been with mostly the same girls for 9 years, now she's not and it's been hard for her. They even practice at the same time, so she just looks longingly at her old team/coaches.

My son was on the cusp of moving up to a larger team, so his team really expanded and mostly kept the same boys, plus most of the other similarly aged team. I know a few boys got bumped down though, and I feel bad for them, too.

[nfowife]

We dealt with it this year. It didn't affect DS because he has a January birthday so he's on the older side of the age range. But it affected. But kids who were on his team last year were split that had December birthdays so now they aren't together.

[jren]

It will be universal - US Soccer gave all teams two years to implement the change, but all teams must be changed by 2017. Some clubs did it this year and others are waiting. It helps the young for the grade kids because they are no longer the youngest on the team. My ds' club made the switch. He had to join a new team with different coaches. He misses his old team and coach but he's way better now - he was the youngest on his team before and now he's not.

I think this is my point. There always has to be someone younger. But before where you had kids younger in age but still in the same grade as their teammates, now you have kids who are younger in age and also a grade behind, so they are doubly disadvantaged. Probably doesn't affect areas where school cut offs are late December. Kids tend to mature with their grade here.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

But they play on the same team 2 years in a row, like U10 is 8yos and 9yos, right? So next year they will be the older ones.


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[JBaxter]

No not all places we have single age teams here. I think it depends on how many players you have.
But they play on the same team 2 years in a row, like U10 is 8yos and 9yos, right? So next year they will be the older ones.


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[jren]

But they play on the same team 2 years in a row, like U10 is 8yos and 9yos, right? So next year they will be the older ones.


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Mine is single year teams. So U9 is 8 year olds except for the few that are 7 like my DS. Next year he'll be 8 and in U10 with 9 year olds. If he plays spring soccer, he'll be 8 in U9 with 9 year olds. I really thought it would've been more evenly distributed. If 1/2 the team was 2nd grade and 1/2 3rd it would be much better. I'm assuming they just had a lot of fall birthdays quit so they only have a few 2nd graders per team. We didn't see anyone from his old U7 team or the teams we played last year at practice.


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[Kindra178]

But they play on the same team 2 years in a row, like U10 is 8yos and 9yos, right? So next year they will be the older ones.


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Not for club/travel. Your experience must be in rec soccer.


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[MSWR0319]

It affected us and we play rec league. DS played 7/8 last year and is now playing 9/10. He's 7. There are 4 kids from his class on his team, but most of the kids are in 4th grade. He enjoys the games more, as they are more involved and a better skill level. However, he doesn't have the skill set he needs because he lost a year at the 7/8 level. DS2 is playing for the first year and there are 3 year olds playing on the 5/6 team. His coach said it's really hard coaching the ones that are that young.

[MSWR0319]

But they play on the same team 2 years in a row, like U10 is 8yos and 9yos, right? So next year they will be the older ones.


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No not all places we have single age teams here. I think it depends on how many players you have.


We live in a small town and the U10 (club/travel) team consists of kids who are in 1st grade and currently 6 all the way to kids who are 9 and in the 4th grade. There weren't enough kids for a U8 and U10 team, so they combined.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Not for club/travel. Your experience must be in rec soccer.


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Yes, I was referring to rec, which Is what I think OP is too.


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[bnme]

My son's U13(LY) team is now playing U15 so that the kids born in the fall/winter did not have to switch teams. So the entire team is playing 2002's when then should be 2003's. It doesn't make any sense to me t do it that way. All of our local travel teams are doing that, but I have no idea what the other towns in the league our doing. I feel our boys are going to be at big disadvantage because 80% of the team is "playing up".

[bcafe]

It is across the board. Our 05 boys team elected to play up as we all wanted to stay together and only 2 were born in 04. We now play u13. This is a travel team.

[Cam&Clay]

I believe its all coming from FIFA and we are just conforming to what the rest of the world has been doing.

Exactly. It's not unfair because it affects everyone. DS1 is an October baby and went from a U17 team to a U19 one. We are lucky that his team converted to U19 instead of U18 do the fall boys still had a team to play on. Most of his team is now playing up.

[cheme]

Exactly. It's not unfair because it affects everyone. DS1 is an October baby and went from a U17 team to a U19 one. We are lucky that his team converted to U19 instead of U18 do the fall boys still had a team to play on. Most of his team is now playing up.

Exactly. And actually, I kind of like the change. Finally, the summer birthdays (that haven't been redshirted) aren't the youngest in everything! Now the late fall birthdays can be the youngest in something instead of always being the oldest.

I do get that the switch-over period can be frustrating (missing out on a year of U10 play for example), but I think going forward it will be fine.

[cheme]

Exactly. And actually, I kind of like the change. Finally, the summer birthdays (that haven't been redshirted) aren't the youngest in everything! Now the late fall birthdays can be the youngest in something instead of always being the oldest.

I do get that the switch-over period can be frustrating (missing out on a year of U10 play for example), but I think going forward it will be fine.

And I should say...I know this sounds kind of mean! But, I don't mean it that way. I do have kids with both birthdays (one late July and one in November) and it is frustrating to see the one have such an advantage by being the oldest all the time, while the other is always the youngest. I think the difference does even out as they get older, but when they are young, the advantages to being the oldest are big.

[DietCokeLover]

DS is 8 and is on a U10 travel team. He is the youngest on his team. Thankfully, he absolutely holds his own out there, but DH and I have always encouraged our kids to play with those that are better than them either on the team or in competition. I firmly believe that is one of the ways to get better and increase your skills is to play with/ against stronger players. So, I am glad for the change.

[SASM]

Yup...it is across the board. Not happy over here as my daughter's travel team was split in half. I will say that in the long run, from my daughter's perspective, it'll be a good thing for your son if he continues to play recc through middle school. Half of my daughter's travel team went from u11 last Spring up to u13 this Fall. This is a HUGE jump...a bigger team, bigger field, etc. My daughter is now u12 and one of the older girls on her team, as she is a February kid. Next year, when she tries out for her middle school team, she will be competing against girls who have been playing on a u13 and u14 11v11 format for 3 seasons. DD1 will only have 1 season with this size field and play format...she'll be at a huge disadvantage against girls who are used to the format and conditioned for that size field.

So...even though it is tough for your son right now, it will keep him challenged and it will be a very good advantage down the road. HUGE hugs in the meantime. Our entire team (and parents) were not thrilled with this change. I understand the reasoning though.

[jren]

Yup...it is across the board. Not happy over here as my daughter's travel team was split in half. I will say that in the long run, from my daughter's perspective, it'll be a good thing for your son if he continues to play recc through middle school. Half of my daughter's travel team went from u11 last Spring up to u13 this Fall. This is a HUGE jump...a bigger team, bigger field, etc. My daughter is now u12 and one of the older girls on her team, as she is a February kid. Next year, when she tries out for her middle school team, she will be competing against girls who have been playing on a u13 and u14 11v11 format for 3 seasons. DD1 will only have 1 season with this size field and play format...she'll be at a huge disadvantage against girls who are used to the format and conditioned for that size field.

So...even though it is tough for your son right now, it will keep him challenged and it will be a very good advantage down the road. HUGE hugs in the meantime. Our entire team (and parents) were not thrilled with this change. I understand the reasoning though.

Yes, this is the funny thing. Those that are happy that their young for his grade 3rd grade boy gets an advantage over a 2nd grader will be singing a different tune come school sports when they realize is fall birthdays have an even bigger advantage than they had before. Personally, I don't get the reasoning behind it. Yes, now we are inline with international standards so the small percent of kids who go on to play at that level are no longer at a disadvantage. I just wish they would've made the switch for competition teams only, and left our recreation league alone. I have heard in some areas where high school sports are big, it leaves the 8th graders without a team in the fall as they aren't allowed to "play down" with their classmates and the kids in their level are playing high school soccer for fall.


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[MontrealMum]

I believe its all coming from FIFA and we are just conforming to what the rest of the world has been doing.

Yes. It's always been by birth year here. DS' team has always been a mix of grades. I like that he's meeting new kids.

[lmh2402]

YES! DS is on club team - birth year '09. and in a flip of "normal life" where he's typically on the younger end of things, he's now the oldest on his team with an April birthday. AND, the club didn't have enough kids to create a '10 team...or something like that...all I know is there are two kids born in Oct '10 on his team. He's a GIANT compared to these kids. Plus, their skill and maturity level is much less - and I realize this sounds ridiculous, but it's true. He's got a year and a half of club playing already under his belt and he's 7 going into 2nd grade. at least half the team is '10 birth year and most have not played club level. and one of the younger kids is actually just entering K - his parents had red-shirted him. it's really kind of a disaster. DS had his first formal practice last night and came home totally dejected. said the team feels way less "together and good" - think he meant cohesive - than last year.

[essnce629]

I have a 13 year old and our leagues have always been based on birth year as far as I know. Since 2010 when he first started soccer. DS2 is 7 (2009 birth year) and is in on the U8 team.

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[bcafe]

Yes, those jumping over u12 to u13 have quite a bit more to get used to! Playing on the large field, 11v11, and the larger goals. Oh well, it's good for them. We had our first tournament playing 11v11 last weekend and the boys looked so far away so it was a good thing I had my zoom lens. :)

[dowlinal]

In our area, it didn't really change much. Most existing teams stayed together and jumped a flight. My daughter was one of only 4 kids on the U10 team last who was born in 2006. The other 10 were born in 2005 so the entire team moved to U12. It looks like most of the other teams we usually play did the same because our flight has a bunch of the same teams we've been playing for years.

[westwoodmom04]

It will be universal - US Soccer gave all teams two years to implement the change, but all teams must be changed by 2017. Some clubs did it this year and others are waiting. It helps the young for the grade kids because they are no longer the youngest on the team. My ds' club made the switch. He had to join a new team with different coaches. He misses his old team and coach but he's way better now - he was the youngest on his team before and now he's not.


Helped my July boy because he is now,in the middle age wise instead of the youngest, but it does have a most likely temporary negative impact on fall birthdays, who went from oldest to youngest on a team,

[belovedgandp]

It is across the board. Our 05 boys team elected to play up as we all wanted to stay together and only 2 were born in 04. We now play u13. This is a travel team.

This was our team before the change. Our rec league let kids stay by grade, so June/July birthdays who were redshirted could still play on their grade level team. We went competitive a year ago as an independent team, so as 6th graders with 2 summer birthdays before the cut-off the entire team "played up" to 7th grade - 11v11 U13. With the birth year cut-off we still moved to U14 for this fall and spring with a team made up of 7th graders (10 2003 birthdays and 4 2004 birthdays), The teams will now have the oldest player being January 2003 instead of August 2002 that we play against.

I do have one of the 2004 boys, so younger but somehow shaving that 5 months off the top range helped a bit. But at this age it's all about growth spurts and puberty; everything will be different in six months.

[khalloc]

i never really understood the soccer levels. Our towns league that travels implemented the changes this year and my son who is an April 2008 baby, is now on a U10 team.

[bisous]

I have a 13 year old and our leagues have always been based on birth year as far as I know. Since 2010 when he first started soccer. DS2 is 7 (2009 birth year) and is in on the U8 team.

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Ours has too! I didn't know anyone did it based on grade. I think the way the "year" is calibrated is what is changing though. DS2 is born in late July so he's always the youngest on the team. With the new December cutoffs he'll be right in the middle.

[baileygirl]

Hockey is also by birth year. One of mine is usually the youngest on the team, but he still has plenty of classmates on his team.

[HannaAddict]

Someone is always going to be the youngest. My daughter is now one of three September girls, all born the same week, that are the youngest on her select team. It is what it is . . .


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[wendibird22]

Its is based on the Birth Year now. 2008 kids are U9 2003 kids are U14 both mine jumped a year. They are allowing a transition year but all soccer leagues should follow it by next season. Kids can play UP but not down an age group.


No not all places we have single age teams here. I think it depends on how many players you have.

I coached U10 girls this past spring. We had a team of 14 girls all grades 3 and 4. Based on the new birth year rule, 3 of those girls are going to have to jump to U12. 5 will still be U10, and the other six would be U11. But we are very very small town so we will likely keep at U10 and U12 teams and the 6 U11's will have to play up. If a girl is small for her age, that may be hard/intimidating to play U12. That said, my DD1 was the youngest and smallest on our U10 and we played a few other teams where we joked about whether the ref asked for the girls' driver's licenses on the other team because many of them were clearly older 4th graders (probably turned/turning 11 shortly after the age cut off). My DD1 didn't turn 9 until after the season ended, so there could've been a 3 yr age difference between some players.

All that said, as a coach, I have witnessed the benefit that can come from playing with more experienced/skilled players. My DD1 grew immensely in understanding of the game, in skill, and in confidence, not just from coaching but from playing with and observing the older players. And I've seen this with other teams I've been involved with.