Reilly and his buddies have been playing together since they were six. This year marks the year that they will split due to the new US Soccer Calendar rules. I’ve read Gladwell, I get how certain birthdays can dictate a lot based on opportunity — and perhaps that worked to Reilly’s favor from a social and skill perspective when it came to this team BUT… I think shame on US Soccer for not adopting this over time. Instead of just inserting calendar year why not grandfather in those kids (not mine)that have played together since they were 6 and have a great thing going. Those kids that are on an 11v11 field with friends and great teammates, why split them up for the last few years of high school age soccer. I’m not sure how this will improve anything in the near term but my argument would be adopt it over time ie: start with U10 (or in this case 2007 birth year) and build from there. Heck, schools don’t even really care about birth year. Once you hit a certain age you are “public school eligible”.You can start your child in first grade two years later if you want.

We all know kids grow at different points in life, and no two are the same. Heck, look at this photo, four of these boys were born within 2 months of one another.

Anyway, the emotional side also plays a role, I feel bad these guys (and the rest of the team) are splitting up, they have really grown to appreciate each other as friends, classmates (in some cases) teammates, and families.