Team taking bye of older team

My DD's team is taking the bye of an older team from our club since the majority of that team left. We will have 4 or 5 of their players and the most of our old team. Not sure if this is a good idea or not..we are getting into LH without having to qualify but will be playing with girls who are seniors while we are juniors. Anyone have any insight...we are 97's and will be playing as 96's

Were it a younger team doing this, I would tell you that the results don't usually work out favorably. But for older girls, the variation in ability is often subtle.

When LHGCL was one Division and more selective, games were regularly scheduled with the older age group. Plus, these kids play the older kids in HS ball. If the skill level is fairly comparable, the age difference should not matter.

At this stage. size and ability doesn't make as much difference since both should be comparable. At this point age shouldn't be a factor since you will have a mixed age group. I don't think I would be worried about the bye position

All things being equal (average skill level for your age), if you play up one year, move down a division, e.g. if you are D2, play up in D3.

Here is a better reason NOT to do it - 96's are entering their last year of select. Both boys and girls classic leagues only play 1 round robin of U19 league games in the fall then are done. For instance, this year's U19 D1 had 9 teams - the teams only played 8 games.

Why play up for half as many matches? 2 years in a row you will play half as many matches. 1 year of league play for the price of 2.

Upper95 - that is a great point. I think the other issue here is that I think we are talking about a PPL team moving into LH DII (and up a year). I worry about competitiveness. How many times have we seen a team move for a bye and then end up in last place with 1 or 0 wins. That cannot be a fun season. IMHO

The coach said that we will be able to play this year and next in LH...is that not true? Can we play U-19 for 2 years?

upper95 wrote:All things being equal (average skill level for your age), if you play up one year, move down a division, e.g. if you are D2, play up in D3.

Here is a better reason NOT to do it - 96's are entering their last year of select.  Both boys and girls classic leagues only play 1 round robin of U19 league games in the fall then are done.  For instance, this year's U19 D1 had 9 teams - the teams only played 8 games.

Why play up for half as many matches?  2 years in a row you will play half as many matches.  1 year of league play for the price of 2.

To be fair, you have fewer games at U19, but lower fees, too.  U17 fees are $1,800 per year (900 per season), and U19 is $1,000 (700 fall, 300 spring)

97mom wrote:The coach said that we will be able to play this year and next in LH...is that not true? Can we play U-19 for 2 years?

You can play 2 years as long as the players' ages meet the restrictions. You would be age pure the second year instead of playing up. If you get relegated you would just move from DII to DIII the second year.

well we are going to be in D3 this year...age pure? do you mean that the 96s on our team could not play the next year (some of them are age older but grade same ie. juniors who are 96s )

97mom wrote:My DD's team is taking the bye of an older team from our club since the majority of that team left. We will have 4 or 5 of their players and the most of our old team. Not sure if this is a good idea or not..we are getting into LH without having to qualify but will be playing with girls who are seniors while we are juniors. Anyone have any insight...we are 97's and will be playing as 96's

I've never understood why "age pure" is so important in the United States. I honestly think this mentality is one reason why the US is not very good at the game when it comes to a national stage.

In all other countries there is no "age pure" leagues. In the youth system they have periodic teams. For example, they will have U-10, U-12, U-14, and U-18 teams. Over there you play with whichever squad suits your capabilities. Meaning, that if you're 9 years old, but your skilled enough to play on the U-12 team... you play on the U-12 team. It does not matter if you cannot run as fast as the other players as, as soccer is a technical game not a speed game.

By doing this, you force the younger players to get better with their feet as they wont be able to physically compete with the a lot of the older kids on the team. It also forces them to learn the game.

The only thing "age pure" does is open the door for bad football. In each age group you may have 1 player that is skilled enough to really go the distance in the game... yet they will never reach their full potential because the competition they are going up against isn't always the best due to the "age pure" restrictions.

All you have to do is look at the US women's national team. You have one '86 player in Rachel Buehler. Just one. So, who did she compete against that would have made her better? However, if the US hadn't done "age pure" and had done a model like other countries, with teams that encompass a larger age group, there's a chance she would have played against or with 7 other players at one point in time.

The point here is that other countries don't worry about age purity because it allows them to truly put the best players on each team. This will cause the players to actually have to compete for spots, which will in turn cause the players to become better.

A little story to go along with this... I had a friend from Africa that was incredible at football. He had just about every tool a player needed to become the best at the game. One day I asked him how he got so good. Did they train their players differently over in Africa than they did here in the States? He looked at me and said "Train? No, there is no training in Africa. If you want to play football you go play with whoever. If there's a group of adults playing and you want to play, you go play. No matter how old you are. You have to get good feet to beat the adults when you are young."

97mom wrote:well we are going to be in D3 this year...age pure? do you mean that the 96s on our team could not play the next year (some of them are age older but grade same ie. juniors who are 96s )

This is not the case. If they are a Junior playing on a '96 team, they are more than likely a true '97 player when it comes to age pure teams. They have just decided to play up with an older team.

I believe they'd be allowed to play for the team again the next year as long as their birthday falls within the proper range.

She is a true 96 but went to kindergarten twice so she is a year behind grade wise...in our 97s we have some who will be sophomores not juniors for the same reason.