Dear RSC Families

Although the 2015-16 season is only just beginning we wanted to take a moment to address some changes being made by U.S. Youth Soccer that will come into effect for the following year. Although U.S. Youth Soccer will not mandate this until 2017, Michigan along with lots of other states, will be making these changes for the 2016 tryouts. More information can be found in the following links:

 

U.S. Soccer Press Release

The first change will be a switch from school year to calendar year for age groups. Teams will no longer be referred to as U-(insert age) but instead will be referenced by their birth years eg 2003's or 2007's. This model is in line with the current academy system as well as most systems around the world.

The second change will be with regards to formats for age groups. Michigan has already made some of these changes but will now be enforced nationwide. Teams will progress from 4v4 to 7v7 to 9v9 to 11v11. This falls in line with the U.S. Youth Soccer curriculum.

At this point we are in communication with many contacts at the local, regional and national level to be as informed as we possibly can as there are many questions that comes with these changes. Once decisions are officially made at the national level, this will then filter down and allow us to put action plans together for our players and teams. As soon as we put these plans together then we will communicate this to you all.

At this point it is important to remember that there is still a full year of soccer ahead before any of these changes take place. Whilst changes can sometimes bring about uncertainty please be assured that we have your players best interests at heart and that it is important that we all remain focused on this upcoming year with our teams. We appreciate your patience with these changes and assure you we will communicate information as decisions are made.