Age True and 9v9 in 2016 for NTX

Age true and 9v9/8v8 In 2016 select teams until U12. Sounds like it's going to happen.Any opinions?

Some coaches have seen this coming and have been preparing for it

I wonder what format the '07s and '08s will play. Will the current 8v8 and 7v7 stick?

That sure would change things up, wonder if it will really happen?

What does that mean for all of our 05 daughters that are currently 06? Do they get thrust into 05 select and lose a year of training?

It will all depend on how they decide to implement it.

I have seen a lot of mention of this on the boards and in some articles here and there, but I have not seen any adjustments or even discussions around this from the clubs/coaches I know....so I am curious to know the likelihood of this really happening anytime soon (soon for me being impacting my calander year 07)?  And what evidence there is it is coming soon?

Ask your DOCs and several high up coaches. Discussions started last week.

NTX general meeting is scheduled for July... change is coming.

If this change actually does happen, maybe every team we play will not be over a head taller than our girls. :-)

I like my dd playing older and bigger girls. I love the idea of staying smaller sides longer but I don't care for the age change at all. I like the idea of my daughter playing with girls in her school grade.

I also love the idea of staying small sided longer. That will help our all our DDs develop better skills. The proposed age change I see good and bad sides of. Good to play with own grade kids, but bad for my own DD who plays up a year and will have to leave the team she has been with since she was 4 for a year when they go select.

jeaton wrote:I also love the idea of staying small sided longer. That will help our all our DDs develop better skills. The proposed age change I see good and bad sides of. Good to play with own grade kids, but bad for my own DD who plays up a year and will have to leave the team she has been with since she was 4 for a year when they go select.

I don't follow The current age groupings are largely already reflective of grade level (except for Aug). As I understand it the proposed age brackets would be by calander year like ODP- so much fewer kids in your dda own grade level, no?

The big question here is HOW this gets implemented. Do girls born Aug 1, 2005 - Dec 31, 2005 get pushed up to find teams in July 2016 who already played their first year of select in 2015-2016 while they were in academy with their current 06 teams?

Or does the 06 group get a waiver to be a 17-month long age group: Aug 1, 2005 - Dec 31, 2006?

Or do the players get the choice of either being on an 05 or 06 team?

Something else?

There are other associations that have posted updates for their members.  Some have been across the board change, some have allowed for teams to carry their over age players, but with notice that those teams are then forced to play up based on the age of oldest player.  

Taken from an FAQ posted on the topic...


I have a combined team of players born in different birth years. What age group will they be?

Your team will play the Birth Year Age Group of the oldest player on your team. For example, if your team has players born in 2001 and 2002, your team will play in the 2001 Birth Year Age Group.

When my team goes to tournaments what age group will they play in?

If the tournament is a “Birth Year” tournament, you will play in the Birth Year Age Group your team plays currently. For example, if you play in the 1999 Birth Year Age Group in league, then you will play 1999 Birth Year Age Group in the tournament. If the tournament is “Calendar Year”, then you will play in the age group designated by the tournament based on the age of your oldest player. Be sure to check the tournament rules and regulations to make sure you register for the correct age group.

Can I just keep my team the same for the 2015-2016 coming season?

Yes. Just realize that your team will play in the “Birth Year” Age Group of your oldest player and can potentially have players playing up against players who are potentially 19 months older than your youngest player. This could present a challenge for your team and a developmental challenge for the younger players on your team.



Sure to be a hot topic.

I guess I should be nice to Liverpool '07, just in case.

My Money Pit wrote:What does that mean for all of our 05 daughters that are currently 06? Do they get thrust into 05 select and lose a year of training?

I guess for starters. No need to waist our time doing 11 V 11 next year with the current 06 group. I suppose the parents of 05 girls that will be going select this year gets the raw end of the deal. They will have to do 11 v 11 next year than change back to small sided.

if I were a betting kind of person I would say they let the then U12 05s remain 11v11 for that year. Makes no sense to switch them back to 9v9 for one year only.

Sho'nuff wrote:I guess I should be nice to Liverpool '07, just in case.  

Your posts are always short and to the point. I love it!!!

Sho'nuff wrote:I guess I should be nice to Liverpool '07, just in case.  

Don't you mean LP 06 in new world?

It will be interesting to also see how the age change affects coaches too. If half or more of a coach's team gets moved up an age bracket, do they stay or do they go?

Dang! I hit my annual quota for posts last week....but this is a intriguing topic. For the following reasons:
1) Polarizing - depending on your dd birthday u are crapping bricks or uncorking the vintage 50 year old Cabernet. If your dd was born bt 8/1-12/31 you have enjoyed benefits of the "outlier" affect and now you receive the negatives of "outlier" affect. If your child was born 1/1-7/31 you will now see your child POTENTIALLY benefit from being one of the older kids.

2) Development- the 9v9 is awesome news if you really believe in the benefits of small sided soccer. Delaying 11v11 sucks if you were on the "it's all about the Benjamins" side...paycut!

3) Age Pure benefits - will be aligned with ODP, national team, and the boys. The boys go age pure the year before Academy.

4) protect the 05s - immediately have to allow 05 players to go select this year. It is not too late to find a team before the get ready for qualifier but NTX has to change the rule and allow 05 born bt 8/1-12/31 to be elgible. If this happens those kids do not lose anymore years of development vs the 05 born 1/1-7/31.


5) 06s really benefit - they will be fine but coaches & parents should assess current team and make recommendations accordingly. This will change the 06 landscape traditionally top teams are filled with 8/1-12/31 kids. All parents should assess their current team decide if they have a problem or not. If your current team has only 2-3 06 born players out of 12. You should start thinking through your options.

06southgirl wrote:

Sho'nuff wrote:I guess I should be nice to Liverpool '07, just in case.  

Your posts are always short and to the point.  I love it!!!

Joking as always, I'm riding with Swing It.

Sho'nuff wrote:

06southgirl wrote:

Sho'nuff wrote:I guess I should be nice to Liverpool '07, just in case.  

Your posts are always short and to the point.  I love it!!!

Joking as always, I'm riding with Swing It.

Let's ride

I have a September 05 and I like this rule if it comes to fruition.  I would rather her play early 05s (late 04s) than play top 07s (late 06s) .  If she was an 06, I would be looking for her to play up.  

I would also want her playing against 3rd and possible 4th graders instead of 3rd and possible 2nd graders.  Your college kid will be in the class of 2024 if they are a 3rd grader.  Many on here want their kids to play with their school age.  You still graduate with your school age.  They would need to get all schools as pure age also to make it work correctly...lol.  Does girls soccer have that much influence?  Lol

As far as National teams, it is U15, U17 etc and starts with the odd year birthday.  If your daughter was ever in that pool, the 06s would have to compete with the 05s.  

IMO, it's a win win for 06s.  If your 06 is elite, you want them playing up.  If you want the advantage of your early 06 playing late 06s, you can do that too.

It just all depends on the level you want your dd playing. You have options.

Is this a local call or coming down from US soccer? Will it be mandatory for all leagues or might some U.S. club spccer or other leagues opt out?

After failure to roll anything out at the national meetings, I had started to think small sided mandate and birth year shift were unlikely to happen anytime soon.