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Kids playing in year group above 10:12 - Jul 21 with 5605 viewsMarshalls_Mullet

This season my 6 year old signed up for an Under 7's local team that one of his mates plays for.

He's got on well and has not looked out of place.

However, we realised that all the other kids are in the school year above him. Next season although my lad will not be 7 until december, he will be playing in the Under 8's. (Age group is usually dictated by how old the child is at the start of the school year)

I'm inclined to leave him in that team as he enjoys it... but what's best for development? Playing in his own age group, or the year above?

Any parents or coaches got a view? Or players with past experience.

[Post edited 21 Jul 2020 10:16]

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Kids playing in year group above on 10:17 - Jul 21 with 5553 viewsLibero

I'd say it differs from player to player, no real answer here.

I'm inclined to suggest that if he's not looked out of place and is happy in the team then just let him play with who he wants where he wants.

It'd only really be worth stepping in if he was struggling/not enjoying it/etc.
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Kids playing in year group above on 10:23 - Jul 21 with 5517 viewssparks

Kids playing in year group above on 10:17 - Jul 21 by Libero

I'd say it differs from player to player, no real answer here.

I'm inclined to suggest that if he's not looked out of place and is happy in the team then just let him play with who he wants where he wants.

It'd only really be worth stepping in if he was struggling/not enjoying it/etc.


I am inclined to agree. Many small village teams will have a mix of two age groups. The bigger clubs do it less.

Ideally, one plays with their own age group- but if he is genuinely competing on the same level as the others, then it would probably hold him back to shift him down a level. Generally I avoid doing that- though occasionally its good to give a decent player who is coping okay, the chance to play at his own age group and run the show- it can be very good for confidence and teaching responsibility.

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Kids playing in year group above on 10:34 - Jul 21 with 5475 viewsMarshalls_Mullet

Kids playing in year group above on 10:23 - Jul 21 by sparks

I am inclined to agree. Many small village teams will have a mix of two age groups. The bigger clubs do it less.

Ideally, one plays with their own age group- but if he is genuinely competing on the same level as the others, then it would probably hold him back to shift him down a level. Generally I avoid doing that- though occasionally its good to give a decent player who is coping okay, the chance to play at his own age group and run the show- it can be very good for confidence and teaching responsibility.


Tend to agree with you and libero. Also agree with your final point though, playing in his own age group might allow him to flourish and stand out.

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Kids playing in year group above on 10:40 - Jul 21 with 5454 viewsChrisd

If he's enjoying playing with his current team/mates, leave him where he is MM. You'll see the best of him there as he's enjoying his football, without the needless pressure, that's what children of his age should be doing....love playing instead of dealing with the other BS at an early age.
[Post edited 22 Jul 2020 13:43]

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Kids playing in year group above on 10:41 - Jul 21 with 5447 viewssparks

Kids playing in year group above on 10:34 - Jul 21 by Marshalls_Mullet

Tend to agree with you and libero. Also agree with your final point though, playing in his own age group might allow him to flourish and stand out.


Fkourishing and standing out is not necessarily ideal - because it means they get into the habit of doing everything themselves. Good in some ways- but can lead to a lack of trust in team mates, and a player who looks to take on the whole opposition- whereas in a stronger side, you learn more team play. That said at U8s, it should be all about having fnu anyway- so I would leave him where he is if he is happy and feels part of that team.

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Kids playing in year group above on 10:43 - Jul 21 with 5439 viewsX0Y0

Carefully consider which age group team has the stronger side and training. Playing in the age group above but in a weaker team may not improve development as much as training with better players, playing against stronger opposition and winning more games.

I played age above until 14 and think it was good for initial development but should have transferred to own age group earlier. It was good to train with both teams for a while.

Just to add - ultimately it should come down to their own enjoyment.
[Post edited 21 Jul 2020 10:45]
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Kids playing in year group above on 11:00 - Jul 21 with 5401 viewsBluefish

evidence apparently suggests there is little in it but football should be about having fun and being happy. The drop out rate when parents move their kids around teams far outweighs the same when they play with their friends

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Kids playing in year group above on 11:50 - Jul 21 with 5337 viewsMarshalls_Mullet

Kids playing in year group above on 11:00 - Jul 21 by Bluefish

evidence apparently suggests there is little in it but football should be about having fun and being happy. The drop out rate when parents move their kids around teams far outweighs the same when they play with their friends


Would agree, my instinct is to leave him where he is so long as he is happy and not struggling.

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Kids playing in year group above on 12:00 - Jul 21 with 5317 viewshomer_123

As long as he is:

1. Having fun and enjoying it
2. Getting good ball rolling time

Then he's fine where he is. In fact, I've seen many kids who benefited from going up, primarily because they were more advanced. Their age level team mates weren't on the same wavelength and those in the older group, were a bit more developed and therefore everyone benefited.

That said, having fun is the number one thing.

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Kids playing in year group above on 12:07 - Jul 21 with 5293 viewssolemio

If only some of the football parents I had to deal with years ago had been as sensible as all the contributors to this thread have, how much better things would have been for their boys.
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Kids playing in year group above on 12:15 - Jul 21 with 5270 viewsSwansea_Blue

Kids playing in year group above on 10:40 - Jul 21 by Chrisd

If he's enjoying playing with his current team/mates, leave him where he is MM. You'll see the best of him there as he's enjoying his football, without the needless pressure, that's what children of his age should be doing....love playing instead of dealing with the other BS at an early age.
[Post edited 22 Jul 2020 13:43]


Yep. My boy dropped out of football at the age of about 10 because we had an influx of new kids into the team who he didn't get on with (several of the long-standing kids dropped out).

Enjoyment is key to motivation for most kids.

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Kids playing in year group above on 12:46 - Jul 21 with 5199 viewsMarshalls_Mullet

Kids playing in year group above on 12:07 - Jul 21 by solemio

If only some of the football parents I had to deal with years ago had been as sensible as all the contributors to this thread have, how much better things would have been for their boys.


Yes, a lot of the parents at some clubs around my area are obsessed with their kids getting spotted by Leeds or Hulls development squads.

I think that's a bit counter productive at 6. Hull cut their squad every six weeks, and you find out by a letter through the post.

...takes the fun out of football.

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Kids playing in year group above on 16:53 - Jul 21 with 5048 viewsWacko

Wait a minute - he's already playing in the age group above with his mates? So wouldn't keeping him down mean he'll be playing with a different team and not his mates?

Edit: after bothering to read it all properly, I got the answer ;)
[Post edited 21 Jul 2020 16:55]

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Kids playing in year group above on 17:44 - Jul 21 with 5004 viewsflimflam

If ur lad is a December bday then he may only 4 or 5 months younger than some players anyway is they are July / August.

Lots of players at our club play up a year and U8 tends to be bees round a honey pot and should be all about fun. They are not usually competitive until U12s by which time you would know if he is coping or not.

As someone else said look at the coaches and how they train and communicate as it is a massive difference at our club as some have lots of previous playing / coaching experience and others just doing it because noone else would and not a scooby doo.

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Kids playing in year group above on 18:19 - Jul 21 with 4965 viewssparks

Kids playing in year group above on 17:44 - Jul 21 by flimflam

If ur lad is a December bday then he may only 4 or 5 months younger than some players anyway is they are July / August.

Lots of players at our club play up a year and U8 tends to be bees round a honey pot and should be all about fun. They are not usually competitive until U12s by which time you would know if he is coping or not.

As someone else said look at the coaches and how they train and communicate as it is a massive difference at our club as some have lots of previous playing / coaching experience and others just doing it because noone else would and not a scooby doo.


That cuts both ways- some knowledge is important, but some of the serious minded ex player types can have all the wrong focus for kids football.

They are the ones that behave like arses and try to poach other clubs players for the glory of their "top team". Mentioning no names, and absolutely not having in mind any teams in the vicinity of a trendy well regarded town discussed on here the other day...

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Kids playing in year group above on 11:05 - Jul 22 with 4819 viewsmidastouch

My son has played in goal for 3 seasons (he loves being a keeper) and he's played with several lads who play a year up.  One of them is in the Ipswich Academy (which is a bit unusual for these parts as I'm nearer Norwich) and he struggled to find as many goals playing a year up so I think the standard is a bit higher.  He's since dropped back down to his own age and is back in the goals again.  Size can make quite a difference in the younger leagues.  Connor Wickham benefited from that all through his development. 

My son has just transferred to another team.  He was very torn on whether to move or not.  The reason he decided to change is because his new team does more training and I can't play football with him at the moment as I broke my ankle badly on June 1st (so I've been crawling and hopping around a lot since lol)!  His old team only trains once a week on a Tuesday evening, whereas his new team trains twice a week and they are putting on an extra session for him to focus purely on goalkeeper training.  All he wants to do is play football so he's thrilled with extra training.  I used to play football with him every day but now all I can do is hobble around like Jonathan Douglas away to Newcastle!  I am missing it. 

Hope your son settles in well and enjoys his football.
[Post edited 22 Jul 2020 11:11]

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Kids playing in year group above on 12:03 - Jul 22 with 4766 viewsRadlett_blue

Kids playing in year group above on 10:17 - Jul 21 by Libero

I'd say it differs from player to player, no real answer here.

I'm inclined to suggest that if he's not looked out of place and is happy in the team then just let him play with who he wants where he wants.

It'd only really be worth stepping in if he was struggling/not enjoying it/etc.


Different sport, but I had a run in with a pushy parent when running our local cricket club's U13 team. The mother bounded up to me at the first season's training and told me "Ben always plays in the year above". I looked slightly nonplussed & discussed the lad with the guy who ran the U12s. He was an OK player with some ability, but by no means outstanding. We agreed that he would be better off being a regular in the U12s than a fringe player in the U13s & we told Mrs Pushy as much. She stomped off, but did eventually accept it & Ben improved a lot as a player & when aged 17/18, he was opening the bowling for the adult first XI. We'll never know if keeping him in his own age group made a difference, but I'd like to think it did & sometimes you have to stand up to pushy parents, which is usually the biggest hassle of running kids' teams. The boy was a nice lad.

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Kids playing in year group above on 12:35 - Jul 22 with 4745 viewsEireannach_gorm

Kids playing in year group above on 12:03 - Jul 22 by Radlett_blue

Different sport, but I had a run in with a pushy parent when running our local cricket club's U13 team. The mother bounded up to me at the first season's training and told me "Ben always plays in the year above". I looked slightly nonplussed & discussed the lad with the guy who ran the U12s. He was an OK player with some ability, but by no means outstanding. We agreed that he would be better off being a regular in the U12s than a fringe player in the U13s & we told Mrs Pushy as much. She stomped off, but did eventually accept it & Ben improved a lot as a player & when aged 17/18, he was opening the bowling for the adult first XI. We'll never know if keeping him in his own age group made a difference, but I'd like to think it did & sometimes you have to stand up to pushy parents, which is usually the biggest hassle of running kids' teams. The boy was a nice lad.


I had the opposite experience in a different sport again. For four years I played Rugby for the club U19 team. The final year I felt that I was playing against children. I was also playing on an adult team at the same time. I will admit that I started playing at 9 years in an era when it was juvenile rather than age group Rugby so I was accustomed to playing with older boys. I did break my collar bone twice early in my 'career' ( once when I misjudged jumping a rope on the sideline ).

As a few people have said it depends on the individual and the level of team. If he is comfortable at that level it can only improve his skills and enjoyment .
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Kids playing in year group above on 09:54 - Aug 3 with 4588 viewssolemio

Kids playing in year group above on 12:03 - Jul 22 by Radlett_blue

Different sport, but I had a run in with a pushy parent when running our local cricket club's U13 team. The mother bounded up to me at the first season's training and told me "Ben always plays in the year above". I looked slightly nonplussed & discussed the lad with the guy who ran the U12s. He was an OK player with some ability, but by no means outstanding. We agreed that he would be better off being a regular in the U12s than a fringe player in the U13s & we told Mrs Pushy as much. She stomped off, but did eventually accept it & Ben improved a lot as a player & when aged 17/18, he was opening the bowling for the adult first XI. We'll never know if keeping him in his own age group made a difference, but I'd like to think it did & sometimes you have to stand up to pushy parents, which is usually the biggest hassle of running kids' teams. The boy was a nice lad.


Is Keith Dutch still connected in any way with Radlett CC, do you know?
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Kids playing in year group above on 10:10 - Aug 3 with 4556 viewsRadlett_blue

Kids playing in year group above on 09:54 - Aug 3 by solemio

Is Keith Dutch still connected in any way with Radlett CC, do you know?


Not at Radlett CC as far as I'm aware. I believe he had been doing some coaching at Tring Park CC, where he used to play some years ago.

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