U.S. Soccer Player Development Initiative Mandate Information for Parents and Families

Who is making these decisions? U.S. Soccer, the National Governing Body for soccer in the USA Mandated = every youth soccer org. will comply e.g. U.S. Youth Soccer (incl. MYSA), U.S. Club Soccer, AYSO, etc. Not an MYSA or club decision IF it will happen, just HOW to manage changes Clubs

What is changing? Switch from Aug-Jul to Jan-Dec (“Birth-year”) registration New Small-Sided Game Standards 7v7 at U9/10 and 9v9 at U11/12 (currently 6v6 and 8v8) Offside added at U9/10 Field size and Goal size changes Build-out line to encourage playing out of the back, i.e. “good” soccer

What isn’t changing Soccer Seasonal Calendar: Fall-to-Summer Player tryouts/evaluations can begin in late July Fall MYSA league and State Tournament (Aug-Oct) Summer MYSA league and State Tournament (Apr-Jul) MN State Cup  Region II Champ.  US Youth National Champ. (Apr-Jul) Age groups still termed “U#” nationally in the overall structure. May be simpler to refer to birth-year within a season, e.g. the “2003’s” Small-sided soccer still the norm in MN for U12-and-younger Olympic Development Program (ODP) stays birth-year as it has been Soccer remains a great game for kids

When is this happening? Fall 2016 – Birth-Year Registration All 55 U.S. Youth Soccer state associations MYSA Leagues, State Cup, MRL, Regionals, U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship Fall Small-Sided Game Standards MYSA (other states may implement earlier)

Why the changes? U.S. Soccer wants to improve the youth soccer environment More individual development focus vs. a team result culture Fully implement small-sided games across USA with consistent standards Align player registration with international standards Simplify identification of “relative age effect” bias RAE = Selecting players born earlier within a group due to physical maturity

Context MN was the 2 nd state in the nation to implement small-sided games about 15 years ago. MYSA is one of a handful of state associations that manage state-wide leagues. In most states leagues are private for-profit enterprises influenced by market forces, not necessarily best practices. Many areas of the USA have resisted SSGs, playing 11v11 at young ages, often within a hyper-competitive league structure U.S. Soccer felt it needed to standardize the player development pathway to improve the player experience and get better results

U.S. Soccer Birth-Year Chart In a wrap-around soccer year, e.g , age groups are based on the end of the season. Example A 2007 birthyear is a U10 in based on turning 10 in Calendar Year – Birthyear = Age group – 2007 = 10 (U10)

MN-Specific Birth-Year Chart Complication: The soccer year and registration cutoff no longer align. Example In MN, players could play in a younger age group in the fall, since that season ends before the calendar flips. Then they would move up an age group (after Jan. 1) for the spring/summer season, or any tournaments = U9 in 2016 and U10 in (Current year – Birthyear = Age group) This adds flexibility and challenges for clubs and MYSA, for both player development and league integrity Age Group Grade Birth MonthBirth Year 2016 Fall 2017 Summer 2017 Fall 2018 Summer Game #'s U19Coll Aug-Dec1996 Jan-Jul1997 U1812th Aug-Dec1997 Coll Jan-Jul1998 Coll U19 U1711th Aug-Dec1998 Gr 12 U19 Coll Jan-Jul1999 Gr 12 U18 Coll U19 U1610th Aug-Dec1999 Gr 11 U18 Gr 12 U19 Jan-Jul2000 Gr 11 U17 Gr 12 U18 U159th Aug-Dec2000 Gr 10 U17 Gr 11 U18 Jan-Jul2001 Gr 10 U16 Gr 11 U17 U148th Aug-Dec2001 Gr 9 U16 Gr 10 U17 Jan-Jul2002 Gr 9 U15 Gr 10 U16 U137th Aug-Dec2002U14U15 Gr 9 U16 11v11 Jan-Jul2003U13U14 Gr 9 U15 U126th Aug-Dec2003U13U14 U15 Jan-Jul2004U12U13 U14 U115th Aug-Dec2004U12U13 U14 Jan-Jul2005U11U12 U13 U104th Aug-Dec2005U11U12 U13 Jan-Jul2006U10U11 U12 8v8/9v9 U93rd Aug-Dec2006U10U11 U12 Jan-Jul2007U9U10 U11 U82nd Aug-Dec2007U9U10 U11 Jan-Jul2008U8U9 U10 6v6/7v7 U71st Aug-Dec2008U8U9 U10 Jan-Jul2009U7U8 U9 U6K Aug-Dec2009U7U8 U9 Jan-Jul2010U6U7 U8 4v4 Aug-Dec2010U6U7 U8 Jan-Jul2011 U6 U7

Other Birth-Year Challenges Aug-Dec players become younger within their new age group They “leapfrog” an age group in the transition year ( ) U14/15 Aug-Dec players (older 8 th graders) may have player pool shortage every fall to form 11v11 teams. See chart below. Team formation and league placement are challenges in the transition period. U148th Aug-Dec2001 Gr 9 U16 Jan-Jul2002 Gr 9 U15 U137th Aug-Dec2002U14U15 Jan-Jul2003U13U Age Group Grade Birth MonthBirth Year 2016 Fall 2017 Summer

What can parents/families do? Be accurately informed - Chain of communication Families Club leaders MYSA U.S. Youth Soccer and U.S. Soccer Keep the big picture in mind National standardization affects individuals, clubs, and states differently Be supportive of club leadership – no easy solutions Control what you can (and accept what you can’t) Reassure your child that s/he can adapt to these changes