Should 01's be allowed to play in 00 tournaments?

Let me clarify...should they be allowed to play in a Gold Division. I saw Tejano's vs Premier and Tejano's were very aggressive against those little guys.

I am not in any way trying to diminish the skill level of FCD Premier or FCD Bazan, because they were very, very good. They did amazing despite the age difference.

The biggest problem I saw was that the FCD 01 teams had very aggressive players and when the 00's tried to be equally as aggressive, the ref called fouls.

It seemed a little unfair for a 00 team to try to adjust their style of play in order to not get booked for aggressive field play.

I am sure that the FCD coach knows they can hang, but I kind of think that it's a little irresponsible to put those kids against older boys. They could have gotten injured. Some of those 00's were a foot taller....and they looked like they could just crush those little guys.

Did anyone else see that problem?

I completely disagree - if a team wants to play up then by all means let them do it. I ref'd two games this weekend with teams playing up - I can tell you we didn't call the game any different one way or the other. My feeling is that if you play up you better be prepared for faster and more physical play from the bigger, older team.

What I see is that the older boys get frustrated when a smaller player is able to beat them and hold there own and they committ a silly foul. My BB's have played up one year and even two years in tournaments. The two year jump was huge for our team, but the good teams a year younger are able to play with these kids one year older. Understand this too, those 01's you referred to will be competing for ODP spots and PreAcademy spots against the younger 00's starting next fall for ODP and the spring after for PreAcademy.

Did you ref a gold division 00 game? The silver division kids were equal if not bigger in size. The Solar 01 boys were actually bigger than the Suarez 00 boys.

My concern was not with those divisions, it's with the Gold division.

These '01 teams are not strangers to playing up in '00 divisions during tournaments.

The speed difference for the '01s is likely what they seek.

As mentioned above, some of the bigger '00 kids use the natural advantage of size. Its a no-brainer. The smaller kids learn to deal with the hard hitting tackles.

I also watched the Tejanos v '01 Premier match. The kids smashing the little guys into the ground rightfully earned yellows and were fortunate to not see red. Premier had three players knocked out of the match due to injuries.

The match vs DT Red was just as tough.

It comes with the territory when playing "up". The same '01 team won the top U12 flight in Austin several months earlier in a final vs TFC Blue '00.

Size does matter.

PG-Boy wrote:These '01 teams are not strangers to playing up in '00 divisions during tournaments.

The speed difference for the '01s is likely what they seek.

As mentioned above, some of the bigger '00 kids use the natural advantage of size. Its a no-brainer. The smaller kids learn to deal with the hard hitting tackles.

I also watched the Tejanos v '01 Premier match. The kids smashing the little guys into the ground rightfully earned yellows and were fortunate to not see red. Premier had three players knocked out of the match due to injuries.

The match vs DT Red was just as tough.

It comes with the territory when playing "up". The same '01 team won the top U12 flight in Austin several months earlier in a final vs TFC Blue '00.

Size does matter.

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought they beat TFC-wells a top D-1 team not TFC Blue a D-3 team in that Austin Tourney final?

Durty-Tackle wrote:Did you ref a gold division 00 game? The silver division kids were equal if not bigger in size. The Solar 01 boys were actually bigger than the Suarez 00 boys.

My concern was not with those divisions, it's with the Gold division.

As mentioned in another thread, in the 2 games I watched last weekend between 01 FCD teams and 00 teams, the 01s were staying in the game because they were getting all of the calls. The 00 teams couldn't make any kind of contact which whether it be a good tackle or shouldering someone off the ball because they were giving up a free kick every time. I honestly can't blame the refs - due to the size differential I imagine their first instinct was to prevent injuries.

At this age I don't think 01 teams should be playing in the gold division. It doesn't benefit the good 00 teams because they can't play their normal game, and the 01 teams are risking injury. JMHO

I haven't really decided if a team should be playing up a year AND be playing in the Gold division. If they're an exceptional team than I don't have a problem with it. I also don't have a problem with boys playing girls teams.

The reason I'm chiming in here is this statement... "It doesn't benefit the good 00 teams because they can't play their normal game". I think that the boys need to learn how to adjust their style of play for the competition. I'm not saying they should 'play down' to their competition. I'm saying they should have some level of flexibility in the game to adjust.

Does the other team pressure the ball everywhere on the field? You better focus on sharp passing.
Does the team mark-up well on defense? You better be ready to attack off the dribble and create.
Does the team run great set plays? You better stay extra tight on your mark.
Does the team get all the fouls called for them? You better attack open space instead of trying to plow through them.
Has the ref swallowed his whistle? You better drop your center of gravity on the ball and get ready to shield it.

I think a team should always try to dictate the pace and style of the game but you better be adaptable. If you can only handle teams that play a certain style, you're in trouble.