Playing Up

In looking at teams for my 07 one thing that came up is the possibility of her playing up on an 06 team. Now I am not sure she is ready to play up regardless. But I was trying to think about the benefits of an 07 playing up on an 06 team vs. say an 07 team playing up in 06 league. On one hand she would have that 06 competition in practice everyday, but on the other hand you know you will be changing teams down the road....Thoughts?

If she can hang, do it, it will make her better. Most top girls (or top teams) in the academy years either play up or play boys.

Blank77 wrote:If she can hang, do it, it will make her better. Most top girls (or top teams) in the academy years either play up or play boys.

Yes, but my question is more about which way to play up. Meaning join an 06 team or join a 07 team playing up in 06?

style points wrote:

Blank77 wrote:If she can hang, do it, it will make her better. Most top girls (or top teams) in the academy years either play up or play boys.

Yes, but my question is more about which way to play up. Meaning join an 06 team or join a 07 team playing up in 06?

It doesn't matter. Just find the team and coach she likes the most so that she doesn't burn out. If you're still with the same academy team when it's time to move to select (which is 4 years from now) send me a PM and I'll buy you a beer.

We've done both.

One thing to consider, if she plays up on an 06 team, the girls with whom she will be playing will have a year of experience on the 07's, and be that much more likely to have developed some better habits (e.g., passing, less kickball, maintaining something resembling shape).

That said, the most important variables are coaching, friends and family. If it's fun, they gain even more of a love for the game. When it's not fun, the increased practice load (on some teams) and game pressure (on some teams)can push academy dds and bbs to head back to rec, or to retire all together, by the time they're u9s.

I was so bad I had to play down, not kidding.

If you have a good 07 team to play with that's playing up, play with that team because if you plan on being there for a while, the entire team will be ahead of the pack when they play their own level down the road. In the end, she needs to play where she can find success. I can't agree with playing up if they're losing every game - what are they learning? You learn from mistakes, but not if they're mentally and physically incapable of overcoming them. Find success, build confidence, and then turn the heat up. Repeat.