Get ready folks

[Carlsbad7]

The reality is, most MLSN clubs aren't using biobanding the way it was intended. It's a rule that isn't monitored and hence clubs abuse it. A majority of the clubs use it for 2 reasons:
1) Bio band down really good players to help weaker teams win games
2) Park players who are struggling at their own age group simply to not being good enough...and aren't struggling because of late development. This helps the club to avoid having the tough conversation about a player having to move down to a team 2, and ensure the clubs keeps the player fees as the parents will still see their kid on a MLS team.

I agree that many clubs aren't using biobanding the way it was intended. However it's effect is working as intended.

MLSN players and coaches don't look at teams as age alone defined entities that can't change until the end of the season. This puts an emphasis on player ability instead of parent/player/coach connections. Although it's obvious and annoying when a competitor is playing players down for wins. It's also a competitive advantage for the of age players to learn from older players. Two sides of every coin.

 

[SoccerSF]

With ECNL’s heavy presence in CA / high pool of talented kids playing given size of state and ability to play year round outdoors, and given the high percentage of CA kids that don’t start Kindergarten right upon turning 5 (even though they are allowed (but not required) to do so by 9/1 public school cutoff), does anyone else find it surprising that ECNL would opt to exclude the older August kids from playing with their enrolled grade? Losing all those August kids from the sport is a losing proposition for ECNL.

 

[RandomSoccerFan]

"Given the high propensity of California parents to try and game the system when enrolling their kid, isn't it weird that they might not be able to continue to do so in any age/grade - related contexts until they get their doctorate?"

 

[CAZZZ]

With ECNL’s heavy presence in CA / high pool of talented kids playing given size of state and ability to play year round outdoors, and given the high percentage of CA kids that don’t start Kindergarten right upon turning 5 (even though they are allowed (but not required) to do so by 9/1 public school cutoff), does anyone else find it surprising that ECNL would opt to exclude the older August kids from playing with their enrolled grade? Losing all those August kids from the sport is a losing proposition for ECNL.

You are overly worried. Good Aug. players who can go to D1 have no issues playing up. They are the valuable players ECNL is looking for. The Aug. parents who complain most likely have a bubble player that will be impacted after the change.

 

[Grace T.]

Hey. Someone just told me that one of the considerations for picking the 9/1 date is that it is the date that England (which is one of the few countries not on BY...as the founders of futbol they are apparently given some grandfathered consideration) uses, and the reason this date was picked was to align with England. The hope is the MLS academies, by aligning the same date as England, might be persuaded to switch over if they won't get dinged by FIFA in international tournaments (which was one of the considerations for the original switch to by). That's why the Augusts were thrown (admittedly) over. Can anyone confirm if there's any truth to any of this?

 

[BBB]

I know MLS people think players Born in September have the most appeal because the pool of buyers is on a 9/1 system.

 

[zweaver]

I know MLS people think players Born in September have the most appeal because the pool of buyers is on a 9/1 system.

That could be the impetus for a complete change, the US wants and needs to sell players to the premier league that come back and play on the NT's.

 

[BBB]

That could be the impetus for a complete change, the US wants and needs to sell players to the premier league that come back and play on the NT's.

This is what I was told by the president & GM of a top MLS club.

 

[CAZZZ]

This is what I was told by the president & GM of a top MLS club.

I do not think MLS and GA will switch to SY; otherwise, they would already have a release similar to USClub.

 

[Carlsbad7]

I do not think MLS and GA will switch to SY; otherwise, they would already have a release similar to USClub.

I agree, they would have made a statement by now if they were planning to switch to SY.

 

[RandomSoccerFan]

I disagree. They have a ton of time to figure out the best course of action for themselves, with no need to make a firm statement right now. I bet GA will announce a similar switch 6+ months from now. MLS N (and MLS2) are still 50/50, with again, no need to rush. Both of them can take into account the most recent trajectory of GA and MLS2, and figure out whether the age switch will be a positive or negative change.

 

[SuckItTrebek]

Someone had asked about what is going to happen with tournaments. Is it possible that the U(insert number) system will go away and will be replaced with Grade(X), for example 6th grade, 10th grade? Because with this new system your teams will have varying ages but the only consistency is the that everyone on a team is attending school at the same grade level. And then that opens another can of worms: What about kids who are at a grade level either above or below their typical age? Does my kid in 8th grade have to play against Bobby Bouche who was held back 3 different years and is the only "8th grader" who drives himself to school and uses the same brand of shaver as his P.E. coach?

 

[SuperSoccerStar]

Someone had asked about what is going to happen with tournaments. Is it possible that the U(insert number) system will go away and will be replaced with Grade(X), for example 6th grade, 10th grade? Because with this new system your teams will have varying ages but the only consistency is the that everyone on a team is attending school at the same grade level. And then that opens another can of worms: What about kids who are at a grade level either above or below their typical age? Does my kid in 8th grade have to play against Bobby Bouche who was held back 3 different years and is the only "8th grader" who drives himself to school and uses the same brand of shaver as his P.E. coach?

and all this is exactly why it was so stupid to make a change.

 

[rainbow_unicorn]

Someone had asked about what is going to happen with tournaments. Is it possible that the U(insert number) system will go away and will be replaced with Grade(X), for example 6th grade, 10th grade? Because with this new system your teams will have varying ages but the only consistency is the that everyone on a team is attending school at the same grade level. And then that opens another can of worms: What about kids who are at a grade level either above or below their typical age? Does my kid in 8th grade have to play against Bobby Bouche who was held back 3 different years and is the only "8th grader" who drives himself to school and uses the same brand of shaver as his P.E. coach?

I don't think this will be an issue since in soccer it works the opposite way. The best players play up an age group(s) at the highest level and are still impactful. Nobody is going to (or at least, shouldn't) brag about playing down an age group or two and how they're killing it there

 

[RandomSoccerFan]

Someone had asked about what is going to happen with tournaments. Is it possible that the U(insert number) system will go away and will be replaced with Grade(X), for example 6th grade, 10th grade?

It's been discussed many, many times in this 70+ page thread. No, it's not possible. It's not grade level - it's a cut-off date like it's always been. It's just now Sep 1 instead of Jan 1. That's it. Tournaments aren't likely to do anything differently - as all they ever do is specify that the players have valid player cards from one of the specified organizations. And the organizations giving out player cards are the ones charged with interpreting and following the rules.

Because with this new system your teams will have varying ages but the only consistency is the that everyone on a team is attending school at the same grade level. And then that opens another can of worms: What about kids who are at a grade level either above or below their typical age? Does my kid in 8th grade have to play against Bobby Bouche who was held back 3 different years and is the only "8th grader" who drives himself to school and uses the same brand of shaver as his P.E. coach?

Other sports that do often go by grade level, like Basketball, also tend to implement cut-off dates to deal properly with holdbacks, double-holdbacks, and any similar attempt to playing in a lower grade. Specifics by tournament, and enforcement of those specifics, varies widely from tournament to tournament and over differing geographies. The hope (at least my hope), is that soccer does not move towards a similar system - as it is a complete cluster in its implementation. The difference between soccer and basketball organizationally is that soccer already has a very well accepted player card setup, used by almost everybody nationally - basketball is much more fragmented.

and all this is exactly why it was so stupid to make a change.

There are many reasons to be supportive or dismissive of the date change - but misunderstanding what's actually changing, and posing hypotheticals that have nothing to do with what's actually changing, probably isn't one of them.

 

[CAZZZ]

I am still waiting for the answers to these two questions.

1. Will MLSN and GA also switch to SY with 9/1 cutoff?
2. What is the transit plan for the league to switch to SY? It is hard to believe the league will do nothing for 25/26. The BY registration does not mean the league can not have its own rule.

The answers to these two questions will decide how we plan our tryout practice. US Soccer should publish each league's transit plan as soon as possible.

 

[RandomSoccerFan]

Re: #1, who knows. They have decided so far to not publicly state their direction, so everyone can guess their motivations and likely choice - and it might not be soon.

Re: #2, what do you mean specifically by transit plan? If you mean some interim rules to make it easier to slide to the new date, why would that be necessary? When forming teams for Fall 26, use the new requirements for eligible birthdates. I'm missing the complication here. Not that it's a minor change, I get that it is huge in terms of team composition - but it doesn't seem terribly hard to understand or implement.

 

[CAZZZ]

Re: #1, who knows. They have decided so far to not publicly state their direction, so everyone can guess their motivations and likely choice - and it might not be soon.

Re: #2, what do you mean specifically by transit plan? If you mean some interim rules to make it easier to slide to the new date, why would that be necessary? When forming teams for Fall 26, use the new requirements for eligible birthdates. I'm missing the complication here. Not that it's a minor change, I get that it is huge in terms of team composition - but it doesn't seem terribly hard to understand or implement.

If ECNL extends their current 8th trapped grader rule to all age groups this fall, I would like to switch from GA to ECNL. If there is no transit plan and GA stays in BY, I will stay in GA for next season. So I really need to know that information to plan the tryout.

 

[RandomSoccerFan]

Got it. As you know, ECNL hasn't yet committed in any way that they will expand the 24/25 Trapped Player rule for 25/26 in prep for 26/27. Here's what the rules have right now (attached below). Hopefully - GA gives you the information you are asking for soon enough in order to make a decision. But it actually could be one of the potential reasons that they're slow-walking a public response.

 

[TopesWin]

Someone had asked about what is going to happen with tournaments. Is it possible that the U(insert number) system will go away and will be replaced with Grade(X), for example 6th grade, 10th grade? Because with this new system your teams will have varying ages but the only consistency is the that everyone on a team is attending school at the same grade level. And then that opens another can of worms: What about kids who are at a grade level either above or below their typical age? Does my kid in 8th grade have to play against Bobby Bouche who was held back 3 different years and is the only "8th grader" who drives himself to school and uses the same brand of shaver as his P.E. coach?

There's two misconceptions in your question:
The important one: Bobby Boucher was not held back, but rather homeschooled by his beloved Momma, who never allowed him go to school because schools, "are the devil." While working as the waterboy for a college football team, he was discovered to have unstoppable football skills when enraged. This talent may or may not have been due to an enlarged medulla oblongata. He only played against college athletes his own age.

You might be mistaking Bobby Boucher with the much lamer eponymous character, Billy Madison, from the far inferior movie of the same name. If you haven't seen it, you can skip it.

The less important one: there is not actually a "school grade year" rule. The rule is that everyone plays with kids their own age, but now the age cutoffs are from 9/1 of any given year to 8/31 of the following year. Whether you were held back a grade or more has no impact.