2016/2017 U.S. Soccer Initiatives Prepared by: Ben Gaddis – Competitive Director Lucas Wainman – DASC Intern How this impacts DASC and you

Agenda:  What is changing?  Age/registration for teams  Small sided game standards  Modification of rules that are age, ability and developmentally appropriate  Why are we making these changes?  Who is impacted?  Recreational and Competitive teams  When is this effective?  Changes will begin as early as Aug 1  Q & A

In August of 2015, U.S. Soccer announced new coaching initiatives that will result in changes to the youth soccer environment.  The new initiatives can be split into two categories:  Birth Year Registration  Small-Sided Game Standards

 Prior to this change the birth year registration was August 1 st - July 31 st, which aligned with our school year.  The new age group registration will be based on the calendar year.  January 1 - December 31

Modification of rules that are age, ability and developmentally appropriate  For small-sided play there will be a number of changes including:  Playing numbers  Roster, field and goal sizes  Game length  Rules  See appendix page 2 and 3 for specific changes DASC remains focused on utilizing small sided games for development, as we have for years!!

 Seasonal Soccer Calendar  Competitive tryouts in July  Fall Season – August to November  Winter Season – November to April  Spring/Summer Season – April to July  DASC will continue to utilize small-sided fields and games as a core component of our player development.

 U.S. Soccer, DASC’s governing body, is the organization mandating the changes  These changes are not being initiated by DASC  However, as an affiliate member we must abide by the new rules  In order for DASC to attend several of the tournaments and events we currently do we are required to be part of US Soccer.  All youth soccer organizations under US Soccer are required to make these changes in 2016 / 2017  This will also better align the US with the other 208 FIFA countries that already register players by calendar year.

 Recreational and Competitive Soccer  Recreational:  DASC will continue to form teams based on neighborhoods and academic grade EX: First graders will play with First graders.  The goal will remain to have the players playing with their friends.  Competitive:  The new birth year guidelines will create significant player movement, establishing new age groups  Our plan is to make the transition as smooth and as comfortable as possible, knowing that this needs to be our new “norm” sooner than later.

 DASC is taking a proactive approach to these initiatives.  Our promise to you, our membership, is to make the transition as smooth and comfortable as possible, knowing that this will be our new “norm”.  To aid in the transition, DASC will conduct “birth year clinics” in lieu of training on Monday May 9 th, and Monday May 16 th.  Our aim is to give players an idea of what their age group will look like in the fall.

Will my son/daughter have to “skip” an age group?  Initially, yes.  There will be considerable player movement during the first season of the transition.  Players born in the older half (August 1-December 31) of a current 2015/16 team will move up 2 age groups — for example, U11 to U13 in 2016/17.  This does mean that a player could miss out on an entire age group of play and in many circumstances developmentally appropriate small-sided play.  However, U.S. Soccer has added a U19 division to the age group matrix, which means a player missing out on an age group in 2016/2017, will still play the same number of seasons throughout their career.

How do these changes impact the U15 (high school freshman) age group?  Players born January 1 through July 31 (actual dates may vary depending on the school district) may be in an older year at school, than players born August 1 through December 31.  Starting Fall 2016, this presents some unique challenges in the U15 age group where half of the birth year could be playing high school soccer during the Fall season.  DASC will work to provide a “training group” as well as opportunities to compete for those players not playing high school soccer.

How do these changes impact the U19 age group?  U19 players born January 1 through July 31 could be attending college resulting in a reduced number of players available to form U19 teams in that birth year.  Many clubs, including DASC, will likely combine U18 and U19 players to form teams.  U19 is essentially the new U18.

What is DASC’s “play-up” policy?  Moving forward, any player who wishes to play-up in an older age group must attend the tryout for that age group.  That player must be evaluated as a top six player by the coaches.  All play-up requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

How will teams be formed?  DASC will conduct a two-day, open tryout in July. All players are encouraged to be a part of the tryout process in order to ensure proper placement. Will we need to purchase new uniforms?  Yes, the season is the beginning of a new uniform cycle at DASC.

 Many of these changes are difficult for us to accept as they are meant to fix problems that we are not experiencing at DASC.  In some other states, leagues may be entrepreneurial ventures where best practices and sound player development concepts often take a backseat to market forces and winning (for example, a U8 league playing 11v11 for promotion/relegation).  US Soccer felt it was time to mandate a unified approach to player development across the country.  From a macro perspective these initiatives are progress in many places even if we might not view them that way  DASC will continue to be a resource for any questions or concerns that you may have regarding these initiatives.  Click HERE to watch US Soccer’s complete initiatives presentation.HERE