FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Birth- Year Registration and Small- Sided Games Version 1.0 (February 1, 2016)

Transcription

1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Birth- Year Registration and Small- Sided Games Version 1.0 (February 1, 2016) This will provide answers to frequently asked questions regarding the nationally mandated player initiatives relating to birth- year registration and small- sided games and Edina Soccer Club s (ESC s) plans to implement those initiatives. If you have a question that is not answered by this document, please e- mail it to traveling@edinasoccerclub.com. Birth Year Registration What is the reason for the national mandate requiring clubs to switch from grouping teams by school year to grouping teams by birth year? According to the US Soccer Federation, the birth- year initiative will align registration with the international standard, while simultaneously providing clearer information on player birth dates to combat relative age effect. Relative age effect refers to the selection bias related to players that are more physically mature than their peers due to being born earlier in the year. U.S. Soccer seeks a balance of players that are born throughout the year so that all players, those born in the earlier months, and those born later have equal opportunity to grow and develop as soccer players. According to US Youth Soccer, the birth- year initiative will place the U.S. in line with the other 208 countries that register youth players by their year of birth. The change will also make it easier for American club teams to play internationally. ESC must follow this mandate to ensure it is in good standing with its national and state governing bodies. Every club affiliated with the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association (MYSA) is subject to this mandate. What does birth year mean? Birth year is the calendar year in which a player was born. For example, players born on January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006 both have the birth year When will the new birth- year registration process start? ESC will begin registering players by birth year during July 2016 tryouts. ESC teams formed for the season (and subsequent seasons) will be based on birth year rather than school year. Will the age groups have different labels under the birth- year system? Yes. We currently refer to age groups with a U in front of the age group to indicate that players are under that age. For example, U9 means under 9 years old. Now, with the birth year change, the U will come after the age group to indicate that the players are that age or younger. For example, 9U will mean 9 years old and under

2 How will my player(s) be impacted? If your player is born between January 1 and July 31, he/she will simply age up into the next age group (although he/she will now be one of the older players in that age group). Thus, for January 1 July 31 birthdays: Birth Year Current Age Group Age Group for Season 2008 U8 9U 2007 U9 10U 2006 U10 11U 2005 U11 12U 2004 U12 13U 2003 U13 14U 2002 U14 15U 2001 U15 16U 2000 U16 17U 1999 U17 18U 1998 U18 19U If your player is born between August 1 and December 31, he/she will leapfrog an age group for this first year of implementation only. He/she will now be one of the younger players in the age group. Thus, for August 1 December 31 birthdays: Birth Year Current Age Group Age Group for Season 2007 U8 10U 2006 U9 11U 2005 U10 12U 2004 U11 13U 2003 U12 14U 2002 U13 15U 2001 U14 16U 2000 U15 17U 1999 U16 18U 1998 U17 19U 1997 U18 20U* * A 20U age group does not currently exist within the US Youth Soccer model. There are discussions taking place at a national level about whether a 20U grouping can be added to the youth system. ESC will update affected members once more information is available. What impact will the birth- year changes have on the level/status of each team? ESC will continue to self- select the competitive level for teams in the 9U- 14U age groups.* The levels of teams in the 15U- 18U age groups will be determined by the levels achieved by ESC teams in the prior year age group at the end of the summer 2016 season. For example, if the U15 girls ended the summer 2016 season with one C1 team and one C2 team, the 16U girls would have one C1 team and one C2 team the following season

3 MYSA will provide clubs an opportunity to appeal for the addition of C1 or C2 teams based on the impact on an age group of the transition to birth- year registration. C3 teams can be formed without any appeal process. ESC will make decisions about team formation and appeals on a case- by- case basis. *At the MYSA Annual General Meeting in November 2015, the membership voted to allow clubs to self- select their competitive levels through 14U. Thus, teams will now compete for premier status for the first time in the 14U age group rather than 13U. What if a team earns promotion or premier status in summer 2016? The promoted or premier status will stay with the younger portion of the age group (those with January July birthdays). Players with August through December birthdays will leapfrog an age group and try out for a team with the competitive levels available to that age group. Does ESC expect to field the same number of teams with these changes? The number of teams at each age level may increase or decrease based on the number of players in each birth year pool. It is ESC s intent to field as many teams as possible based on the number and ability of the players within each birth year pool. Can players try to play up to keep the team together? ESC does not allow teams to stay together from year to year. Rosters are reassessed and reformulated each year. ESC will continue to allow players to try out for any age group they want to be considered for with the understanding that: The intent and rationale for playing up is to provide an opportunity for a player whose soccer age requires an advanced developmental and competitive environment as opposed to being placed within than their chronological age group. This is rare. Players wanting to try out for an older age group should attend their true age tryout and the additional age group tryouts in consultation with the Director of Coaching. ESC s general guidelines for playing up are as follows: a. Players in the 9U- 12U age groups would need to be ranked within the top 5 of the tryout pool in an older age group to be considered for that older age group. b. Players 13U and older would need to be in the top half/starting 11 of the top team in an older age group to be considered for that older age group. c. The Director of Coaching makes the final decision regarding whether a player is allowed to play up to an older age group. Will the fall high school soccer season impact any of the birth- year age groups? Yes. Under the new birth year system, U15 teams will now have eighth and ninth graders on the same roster. Many of the ninth graders on those teams will participate in high school soccer programs in the fall. Eighth graders typically do not play high school soccer, and now ninth- graders born January- July will still be eligible to play fall club soccer. Each year this will create a "Gap Group": a group of eighth graders in the U15 age group who do not have a team for the fall of their U15 year while their ninth grade teammates play high school soccer. ESC has the capability to provide fall programming for "Gap Group" players by utilizing any or all of the following options: - 3 -

4 Form a fall MYSA league U14 team(s) with "Gap Group" players Place individuals or groups of players within existing MYSA U14 teams Provide programming similar to high school/mysa fall season with a combination of scrimmages, futsal, and exhibition games with neighboring clubs. "Gap Group" players will rejoin the U15 teams they were placed with in November following the fall season. Small- Sided Games What is meant by the term small- sided games? At the high school, college and professional levels, soccer is played on a regulation- sized field with 11 players on the field for each team (often referred to as 11v11 ). Small- sided games is a term generally used to describe soccer games with fewer than 11 players per side played on a field that is smaller than a regulation- sized field. Small- sided games promote youth player development. Aren t we already playing small- sided games in ESC? Yes. Our 12U and younger teams already play small- sided games pursuant to MYSA rules. Minnesota is ahead of the curve in small- sided game implementation. Thus, while the mandated changes will have a modest impact on the rules for our small- sided games (see below), they will not require fundamental changes to game play. Why is there a national mandate concerning small- sided games? Practices vary widely around the nation. In some states, players as young as 8U are playing 11v11 on full- sized fields and competing for promotion and relegation. In states that employ small- sided games, the rules are all over the map. The mandate is aimed at promoting uniformity and ensuring that best practices are followed with respect to small- sided games. What age groups are affected? Only the 12U and younger age groups are impacted. 13U and older age groups will continue to play 11v11 on a regulation- sized field. What changes will be implemented for small- sided games in Minnesota pursuant to the mandate? The number of players on the field will increase by one field player. Beginning in Fall 2017, we will play 7v7 at the 9U and 10U age levels, and we will play 9v9 at the 11U and 12U age levels. Offside rules will now be in effect for the 9U and 10U age levels. A build out line will be introduced at the 9U and 10U age levels to enable players to learn to build up play from the back third of the field. Opposition players will have to be behind this line when the team with the ball takes a goal kick. The build out line for MYSA play will be the halfway line. No punting will be allowed at the 9U and 10U age levels. Goalkeepers will throw, roll or pass/strike the ball off the ground

5 The goal sizes will be increasing at the 9U/10U and 11U/12U age levels. This change will take several years to implement. During this transition period, we should expect some inconsistencies in goal size from club to club and venue to venue. The field sizes will be decreasing in size at the 9U/10U and 11U/12U age levels. This, too, will take time to implement. During this transition period, we should expect some inconsistencies in field size from club to club and venue to venue

6 Why is there an increase in the number of players per side? This is simply part of moving to a uniform national standard. While the mandate is principally aimed at moving states and clubs that are playing 11v11 at younger age levels to small- sided games, it has the effect of standardizing the rules for states and clubs already playing small- sided games. Here in Minnesota, it means adding one player per side. This is a minor change which will hopefully have the benefit of allowing our developing players get more touches on the ball and develop their technical abilities by playing in smaller spaces. Why is there a reduction of the field size when we are adding a player to the field? Again, this is simply a result of moving to a uniform national standard. The principal goal of the mandate is to reduce the field size for states and clubs who are using regulation- sized fields for younger age levels. But field sizes all across the country will have to be adjusted to meet the new standard. This change will hopefully promote player development by allowing our developing players to get more touches on the ball together and experience developing their technical abilities by playing in smaller spaces. Will roster sizes change at the 12U and younger age levels in view of the mandate? No. The maximum roster sizes will remain the same. The maximum roster size for the 9U/10U age levels is 12 players. The maximum roster size for the 11U/12U age groups is 14 players