Agenda for Parents Meeting 1 1-Introduction of the mandate: -Who, What, When and Why 2-Steps club has taken to prepare for change: -Taken current Rosters and forecasted potential teams for Created committee to prepare and implement changes -Reached out to other clubs on best practices -Worked on creating new player numbers to allow for the potential team changes 3-Criteria the club will use to guide decisions for teams & age groups: -Levels of teams above & below -Number above & below each team -Number of players above and below each age group -Age level of the teams -Team Play ups/Player play ups policy -Each team and age group could be a different case dependent on numbers 4-Coach placements: -Will be addressed once teams are in place -Intent is to keep coaches in the same age groups when possible or adjust where needed 5-Tryouts: -Format will be similar to last years -Team formation will be similar to last year. -Any other decisions on player placements will be made by Directors of Coaching and Boys & Girls Directors -Forecast team report for Boys & Girls Directors

2 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 3

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 4

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 5

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) 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

Current U14C1 Team MYSA Birth-year Guidelines Fall 2015 – Summer to Players8 players Born Aug. – Dec Born Jan. – July 2002

Current Birth Year Guide Current U15C1 Team Current U13C1 Team Current U14C1 Team 7 players8 players Born Aug. – Dec Born Jan. – July players9 players Born Aug. - Dec Born Jan. – July players9 players Born Aug. – Dec Born Jan. – July 2001

Current Birth Year Guide Current U15C1 Team Current U13C1 Team Current U14C1 Team 7 players8 players Born Aug. – Dec Born Jan. – July players9 players Born Aug. - Dec Born Jan. – July players9 players Born Aug. – Dec Born Jan. – July 2001

New Birth-year Guidelines Beginning Fall C1 Team 8 players7 players Born Jan. – July 2001 Born Aug. – Dec C1 Team 8 players7 Players Born Jan. – July 2002 Born Aug. – Dec 2002

Challenges and Exceptions 1.There may be an uneven split on the current teams between birth- years so a newly formed team comes up short on players. 2.There may not be teams that play at the same levels (Gold, Maroon, C1, C2, or C3) above or below a current team.

Current Birth Year Guide There may be an uneven split on the current teams between birth-years so a newly formed team comes up short on players. Current U15C1 Current U13C1 Team Current U14C1 Team 6 players9 players Born Aug. – Dec Born Jan. – July players8 players Born Aug. - Dec Born Jan. – July players6 players Born Aug. – Dec Born Jan. – July 2001

New Birth-year Guidelines Beginning Fall C1 Team 6 players Born Jan. – July 2001 Born Aug. – Dec C1 Team 9 players7 Players Born Jan. – July 2002 Born Aug. – Dec 2002

Current Birth Year Guide There may not be teams that play at the same levels (Gold, Maroon, C1, C2, or C3) above or below a current team. Current U15C3 Current U13C3 Team Current U14C1 Team 7 players8 players Born Aug. – Dec Born Jan. – July players9 players Born Aug. - Dec Born Jan. – July players9 players Born Aug. – Dec Born Jan. – July 2001