What’s good about it? It’s a mistake that US Soccer insists on making year after year.
2020-2021 Boys Age Groups
- Thread starter SBFDad
- Start date
RedDevilDad
GOLD
Confirmed notes from last night's Winter Showcase Presentation: For 2020-2021:
U13 Season (08s): is on. Will not participate in Showcase but encouraged to participate in outside competitions. DA expanding that list of approved tournaments, etc.
as it has been said, U16/17 will remain a combo year.
Two-tier will not expand to multiple age groups.
U14 group- no change. Next year, 07s will be run just as the 06s were this year.
U15- No winter showcase participation. But, Non-MLS DAs will have a Fall Showcase. MLS Clubs have their own youth cup.
Interesting statement: "Need to develop pathway to move top talent to top clubs."
Bio-Banding Event will be 1/1/20 at Silverlakes.
U13 Season (08s): is on. Will not participate in Showcase but encouraged to participate in outside competitions. DA expanding that list of approved tournaments, etc.
as it has been said, U16/17 will remain a combo year.
Two-tier will not expand to multiple age groups.
U14 group- no change. Next year, 07s will be run just as the 06s were this year.
U15- No winter showcase participation. But, Non-MLS DAs will have a Fall Showcase. MLS Clubs have their own youth cup.
Interesting statement: "Need to develop pathway to move top talent to top clubs."
Bio-Banding Event will be 1/1/20 at Silverlakes.
I misunderstood. Joint? Not separate? Seriously?
Apparently so. So many 04s getting the shaft this year. 03s got their share last season. Looks like the 05s will endure the same. US Soccer is falling apart, yet status quo is the approach?
I’ve heard the old, tired argument that the joint 16/17 is a weeding out or filtering process. It’s all nonsense. Kids hit stride at a wide range of ages and they need to play to improve.
The “It’s official” part of the earlier text threw me off, because that made it sound like what has been discussed for so long had been adopted. This begs the question: what changed? Why all of the rumors and expectations that the U16/17 split was a done deal? Was none of this accurate? Was everyone simply wrong, were all of these claims of “inside sources” simply BS? Or did something change last minute?
I could see MLS academies sounding in that they don’t want the added expense of another team.
I could see MLS academies sounding in that they don’t want the added expense of another team.
foreveryoung
SILVER ELITE
I have two friends with 04's. They are playing this year with almost their same team from last year as the U16/U17 is an 03 team with 2 04's occasionally playing with them. The 04's are playing the same DA teams/rosters they played last year. Coaching and training is pretty much the same. They get more playing time with the non-DA sub rules. And they both made their high school varsity soccer teams as sophomores which they are enjoying. It's a year of not playing in the DA league but what else is different? Totally sincere when I ask why do you think they are getting the shaft?
Winning takes priority over development and the limited sub rules in DA are the main reason combo age groups are not that great for the younger age in the split.
Choices to staying for the training but not play much are why I've heard parents think the combo age groups are not great for the younger ages in the split.
Intially they think it will work out fine but after training for 4x a week for months on end and only getting into a few games they start to get tired of not playing. That and spending a week out of school to travel, sit on the bench mostly and maybe get into a single game out of a half or something. Winning takes priority over development and with these huge rosters lots of prayers not get enough playing time in DA.
Calendar year was adopted as the unform age groups but DA wants to continue to end around that because they think they know better?
SoCalFutBolCrazy
BRONZE
My son is currently an 05. Could anyone explain how this would pan out for the 05 next year?
Below is what I'm thinking would happen with this combo age group DA.
Current 04 non-DA ( NPL/DA2 ) kids of the DA club would be given the opportunity to play in the U16/17 DA ( assuming they are good enough for DA. )
Almost 90% of current 05 DA team becomes non-DA/NPL team next year. Only a few 05 kids (10%) gets into U16/17 DA.
These 90% 05 kids again get into DA in the 2021-22 year as U17s.
The concern I see here is the level of competition may degrade in this non-DA year. On the plus side, I see late developers catching up and may get a shot at DA when they are 17.
Please correct me if I'm missing anything here.
It’s good that some clubs are managing it well with the U16s (2004s), but not all are. I know several DA clubs put most of their 04s in NPL and are playing the 04s they pulled up to DA. I applaud the effort, but there are a number of DA clubs out there that have taken on 04s for the combined age group, which means they don’t have the option to play in HS and other leagues, and too many of those 2004s are sitting game after game without alternatives.
US Soccer should step in and separate the age groups. It is clear that too many clubs out there aren’t interested enough in development. Results are the priority. But US Soccer‘s decision to continue to allow it isn’t surprising. As lafalafa suggests, the sub rules are indicative of their lack of support for real development. A league that has the word ”development” in it actually limits subs to 5 per game. Every single game there are 2 rostered players that cannot play. Why? What is the value of that? It does nothing more than create a more challenging coaching environment and it sends the wrong message to directors, coaches, and players.
foreveryoung
SILVER ELITE
Yes in these examples the clubs have basically treated the U16/17 age group as a single age group for U17. So then I wonder why all the clubs wouldn't just do this?
foreveryoung
SILVER ELITE
This is what two 04's I know have experienced this year. I think it depends on the club as some have noted here. The level of competition in league play may be a little less than the year before not drastically less. Add in more freedom to play tournaments and high school soccer. And I think you could make an argument for development with more playing time and more opportunity to play creatively.
carla hinkle
SILVER
What was the rationale given for running the boys and the girls programs differently? I would think it would make sense to have the same age group divisions for boys & girls.
Good question. I guess that’s the point though. Eliminate the question at the US Soccer level and split the age group. Sometimes you have to help those that won’t help themselves. Combined age groups don’t exist overseas for a reason, it’s because they don’t help the players.
I’ve seen the aftermath of the combined age group for years. Its never been good for overall player development. Too many players get limited time. Some because of lack of quality, but many simply because they have an older kid in front of them that answers the call better right now because of size, strength, and maturity. Sometimes a younger player will play because they are fortunate enough to play a position where there isn‘t as much depth with the older players even if other younger players in other positions are as good or better because the team is deep in the position.
foreveryoung
SILVER ELITE
Agree. The parents could also just decline the DA roster spot and request to play NPL, correct? If most of the parents of 05's commit to doing that it will happen organically as well.
I suppose an 05 could decline the offer to play DA, but it might harm their standing with the club. Also, I would expect any club trying to play an 05 up next year in DA will tell his parents what they want to hear about expected playing time, promotion, etc... Yet somehow DA rosters are littered this year with 04s that are playing "up" in DA but seeing very little time. Not just here in SoCal, but across the country.
I understand your previous point about NPL giving them an opportunity to play HS or other things for that year, but that's a one-off for the U16 year only. Most DA-quality players will start DA at U13 and play thru U18/19. The fact that NPL is optional for clubs means it's not a viable solution. It's a decent stop-gap for those clubs with the foresight and willingness to do it.
If you look at a team like RSL for example, there is no NPL option, etc. So, lets say the current u16s take precedence for the 20-21 roster then add in a few new u17 roster additions - that doesn't leave much room for the current U15 boys. The majority of them will be cut just because there isnt room.
justneededaname
SILVER ELITE
I have an 05 DA player and I am looking forward to the bye year for him for two reasons. He is a multi-sport kid and he is a young 05, so in 8th grade. In his case, the timing of the bye year is perfect.
He will get the bye year in 9th grade. The first year in high school and an excellent time to get the high school experience.
He is fortunate enough to have been able to keep managing multiple sports these past few years: DA soccer, club basketball, middle school football, basketball, and volleyball. He will get a year to do them all at a high school level (well, not soccer and basketball), and then get to decide what he wants to do in the future. It is another year to mature physically and mentally before having to make a decision on a single sport.
He is also applying to a school that has a good-to-excellent soccer program and a coach that hates the DA, so being eligible to play for the school can't hurt the application process as well.
The majority of the 05 DA players are sophomores next year, so this perspective probably doesn't apply to many.
He will get the bye year in 9th grade. The first year in high school and an excellent time to get the high school experience.
He is fortunate enough to have been able to keep managing multiple sports these past few years: DA soccer, club basketball, middle school football, basketball, and volleyball. He will get a year to do them all at a high school level (well, not soccer and basketball), and then get to decide what he wants to do in the future. It is another year to mature physically and mentally before having to make a decision on a single sport.
He is also applying to a school that has a good-to-excellent soccer program and a coach that hates the DA, so being eligible to play for the school can't hurt the application process as well.
The majority of the 05 DA players are sophomores next year, so this perspective probably doesn't apply to many.
SoCalFutBolCrazy
BRONZE
At this point, I'm only considering the views who are all-in into soccer and aspiring to become pro/semi-pro or a top NSCAA Div I as this what the DA is for. So I won't buy the HS play argument or a year for creative play.
Kids at this level should be doing that on Fridays or Sundays during the season.
So all in all not very convincing argumets for benefits of non-DA play for 1 year!
This is where I think US Soccer is falling short in enforcement. They should strictly mandate 50% of the U16/17 game day roster to be 04s. If not clubs should be relegated, That would solve a lot of this problem.
Without this I foresee separate pathways for MLS clubs vs non-MLS clubs coming soon.
Kids at this level should be doing that on Fridays or Sundays during the season.
So all in all not very convincing argumets for benefits of non-DA play for 1 year!
This is where I think US Soccer is falling short in enforcement. They should strictly mandate 50% of the U16/17 game day roster to be 04s. If not clubs should be relegated, That would solve a lot of this problem.
Without this I foresee separate pathways for MLS clubs vs non-MLS clubs coming soon.
While I agree with the sentiment here, it is clear that US Soccer won’t support something like this. There is supposedly a 25% start rule in DA already that goes unenforced. And while I would support a 50% rule (that is actually enforced), I believe the age split is more critical. Continuing to have U17s play against an even larger contingent of U16s, due to a 50% play rule for the youngers, will then begin to set back the development of the U17s. An age split and a 50% play rule applied across all age groups should both should happen.
RedDevilDad
GOLD
I do not know the answer to that. I also don't assume that there is a rationale. lol.
I have the info without explanation and am only left to assumptions and aggravation.