Lake Highlands makes it official

Well Lake Highlands sent out email today making it all official

Well...what did it say? Can you post it?

The two key initiatives are:
· Small Sided Standards
· Birth Year Registration
Small Sided Games.
Starting with the 2016 Qualifying Tournament, LHGCL will introduce Phase I of the New Small Sided Standards by introducing 9v9 for U11 teams. It is important to note, that 9v9 will only be played at the U11 level in 2016. By 2017 we will be in full compliance with the Federation's plan and both U11 and U12 will be 9v9. The 9v9 field size will change to accommodate this initiative. Smaller fields and smaller goals.

Birth Year Registration and how it affects your Current LHGCL Teams.
The Age Chart reflects the new Age Groupings for 2016 by Playing Year. LHGCL will move forward with this new age chart in the fall of 2016.

U10 - 06s
U11 - 05s
U12 - 04s
U13 - 03s
U14 - 02s
U15 - 01s
U16 - 00s
U17 - 99s
U18 - 98s
U19 - 97s

All teams currently in our league can move up with their byes. Your current team age designation will change and the oldest player on your team will become your team's age. The younger players on your team are allowed to play up (as long as they are of competitive age).

For example: Current U11 Teams are considered 05s this year and your roster is made up 05 and 04 birth year players. Next fall, your team will move to U12 and your team will be considered an 04 team with your 05 players allowed to play up on that team. This pattern will follow through all of our age groups.

Incoming U11 Teams in 2016 will be 05 teams with 05 Birth Year players. Currently 06 players by North Texas Rules are not allowed to play up into a competitive age group. It is recommended that teams start planning for this shift now. 06 birth year players will continue in Academy and will be eligible for competitive play in 2017 (Per North Texas Rules)

Thank you for your continued support of LHGCL. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions.

Thanks for sharing, we can all stop speculating now.

That was about the only way it could have happened. Looks like no grandfathering.

Now I just need my daughter's club to tell us what their plan is.

What? You ask Tom P? "No Soup for you"!

Doesn't this mean most teams will move up in age group?

Not really. Teams playing U11 this year still move up to U12 next year. They will only be renamed as "04" rather than "05."

Could be all same players, but now the birth year is that of the oldest player, rather than the youngest player as it is now.

This will shrink the pool of available players & teams for next year's U11 pool - the 2005 birth year. More than half the age group (January-July) is already Select & most of them seem likely to stay with current teams instead of moving to a younger team to replay U11.

One thing that may play a minor role is reduction in number of players needed on a roster. Maybe 12 or 13 instead of 15-16??

Won't change that much, but could have a minor impact...I would expect some clubs to maneuver and minimize roster sizes to grab more LH spots and then CPP some of their players who played up to backfill. The spots are valuable commodity as the ages level out in a few years. QT is a bear as they age...

Hmm I think giving an 05 another year to play rather than push them ahead might be a positive thing!!!  Especially if they are skilled, playing on a mid level LH team.  It could give a DD an opportunity to continue to develop and possibly play on a more skilled team.

So....basically...if you have a bye, and your team is age pure except for one player, and you plan to transfer that player intra-club to a "older" team during the off-season, (thus making you 100% age pure in the "younger" age group), you lose your bye and have to go to qualification?

10sDad wrote:So....basically...if you have a bye, and your team is age pure except for one player, and you plan to transfer that player intra-club to a "older" team during the off-season, (thus making you 100% age pure in the "younger" age group),  you lose your bye and have to go to qualification?

I would guess this would be true, but do you know many teams like this?

Deuce wrote:
This will shrink the pool of available players & teams for next year's U11 pool - the 2005 birth year. More than half the age group (January-July) is already Select & most of them seem likely to stay with current teams instead of moving to a younger team to replay U11.

That's the big question. How many Jan-July '05s will play in U11 next year? It's hard to get a read on it, because of the bias and wishful thinking.

Sho'nuff wrote:

Deuce wrote:
This will shrink the pool of available players & teams for next year's U11 pool - the 2005 birth year. More than half the age group (January-July) is already Select & most of them seem likely to stay with current teams instead of moving to a younger team to replay U11.

That's the big question.  How many Jan-July '05s will play in U11 next year?  It's hard to get a read on it, because of the bias and wishful thinking.

I assume very few 05 birth year players currently playing academy will play up next year in Select. They will qualify and play U11 9v9 Select next year, otherwise if they play up they would go from 9v9 academy this season, to playing up on 11v11 select U12 for 2016/17 (next season) and 11v11 U13 in the 2017/18 season before they could play age pure 11v11 U13 in 2018/19. That would be too big of a jump for 99% of the players. It also makes sense that a significant number of the 2005 birth years currently playing in select will play up to avoid going back to 9v9 next year or in 2017/18.

Why exactly would anyone avoid 9v9. Is 9v9 beneath a player once they have graced the field of 11v11.

No one has sat there and thought... man, suzy only touched the ball 10 times in that entire game. There she was running box to box on that huge field and everyone kept kicking balls further and further down the field cause it was so much ground to cover.

That's one of the problems... beating a dead horse I know.... but some folk would have them playing 11v11 at u8.... just to say they do.

Sho'nuff wrote:

Deuce wrote:
This will shrink the pool of available players & teams for next year's U11 pool - the 2005 birth year. More than half the age group (January-July) is already Select & most of them seem likely to stay with current teams instead of moving to a younger team to replay U11.

That's the big question.  How many Jan-July '05s will play in U11 next year?  It's hard to get a read on it, because of the bias and wishful thinking.

I would guess it depends on where they end up this Spring after their first year of select. If they have a LH bye that will stay with the U12 (04AP) team next year, I would guess they would stay and not have to worry about qualifying this summer.

SD69 wrote:

10sDad wrote:So....basically...if you have a bye, and your team is age pure except for one player, and you plan to transfer that player intra-club to a "older" team during the off-season, (thus making you 100% age pure in the "younger" age group),  you lose your bye and have to go to qualification?

I would guess this would be true, but do you know many teams like this?

This will be up to the club. If your team earns a bye then why would LH take it away? They can still play up.

AtThePitch wrote:Why exactly would anyone avoid 9v9.  Is 9v9 beneath a player once they have graced the field of 11v11.  

No one has sat there and thought... man, suzy only touched the ball 10 times in that entire game.  There she was running box to box on that huge field and everyone kept kicking balls further and further down the field cause it was so much ground to cover.  

That's one of the problems... beating a dead horse I know.... but some folk would have them playing 11v11 at u8.... just to say they do.

I am not offering my opinion on which is better for other teams or DD's. I am assuming based on my numerous conversations with other parents that most parents will either want to go 9v9 and stay 9v9 through U13 or stay 11v11 through U13. Maybe parents feel differently after teams shake up a bit next summer.

10sDad wrote:So....basically...if you have a bye, and your team is age pure except for one player, and you plan to transfer that player intra-club to a "older" team during the off-season, (thus making you 100% age pure in the "younger" age group),  you lose your bye and have to go to qualification?

Your CLUB fills the roster with older players within the club and/or outside of the club. Your group takes the younger teams bye, if they have one. Otherwise, they have to qualify.

Ok, someone please put it into layman's terms for this yet to become a know-it-all soccer dad. My daughter is an '06 playing on a team with mostly '05s. Does that mean she's going to need to find a new team? Or do '05s not have to sign in 2016? I saw where someone mentioned '05s could stay on the academy level for 2016.

Thanks in advance-

a calendar 06 will have to find a new team. An 06 will not be permitted to go select this summer.

Sho'nuff wrote:

10sDad wrote:So....basically...if you have a bye, and your team is age pure except for one player, and you plan to transfer that player intra-club to a "older" team during the off-season, (thus making you 100% age pure in the "younger" age group),  you lose your bye and have to go to qualification?

Your CLUB fills the roster with older players within the club and/or outside of the club.  Your group takes the younger teams bye, if they have one.  Otherwise, they have to qualify.

This is what I am waiting to hear about from the club. I agree with Sho'nuff that the club decides what to do with their byes. My April born '03 daughter plays for the Texans. If her team earns a D1 bye, does the club keep her team together or "encourage" it to become an age pure '02 team.

If my daughter is going to end up on the age pure '03 team then I guess I should be out there rooting for the '04 Texans to earn a D1 bye?

At the root of this lies the question of what the clubs feel their competition is doing and what they must do to stay competitive against the others.