[lookout123]

I don't know all the details but here is my $.02.

He is nine. I don't know if that is just turned nine or about to turn ten. I don't know if he is a mature nine year old or normal nine year old with an unusually wicked arm. All of those things are important factors.

In the context of Lil Lookout: when he turned five the other coaches demanded he be moved out of the 6 and under soccer league because he kicked too hard. He was small even for a five year old and he wasn't the most emotionally mature, but I was coaching so I moved him up to U8. That meant he was a small five year old playing against kids up to 8 and a half. he was going into kindergarten and there were kids in 3rd grade playing the same league. The first couple sessions were kind of dicey as the older kids picked on him, and roughed him up, but he pulled through and became a pretty good player.

When he turned six I started hearing demands for something to change because he was "too good" for the league. For crying out loud, it is a little kid who wants to play with his friends. He was still small and getting his world rocked but he was good with the ball at his feet. He was averaging five points a game and you could count on him to create a play when the ball was at his feet. Should I have moved him up because he outscored everyone else? I didn't think so.

He just turned 7 and he is still small, but now about average size for the U8 league. The kid can score at will. He creates chances on goal with an amazing understanding of the game. In the rec league regardless of the team he would have been the best player in any position. I asked if he wanted to move up to the next age group (again a year early) where he would be playing kids up to 11 years old. He wasn't afraid of playing against them but he wanted to play with his friends. That is what the game is about - kids playing with kids. The other kids didn't get mad that Lil Lookout was better than them - the parents got mad that Lil Lookout was better than their kid. He played that last session in U8 but was miserable because he started hearing the comments made by parents about him not belonging there. Now he's in U10 and he's still lighting them up but he has no friends on the team. watching him I almost wonder if he is playing with a vengeance for not being able to play with his friends. He is like a man on fire when he takes the field with this team. No talking, just playing. His only friends in the whole league are two other boys who moved up early just like him. The other kids are talking about the 4th and 5th grade and he just started 2nd. Kind of sad really.

My view as a parent and a coach is that it is ok to move a kid up early if they are prepared and willing, but they should never be forced up. These are rec league sports and the kids should be allowed to shine with whatever skill they have. They have a whole lifetime of feeling insecure and inadequate ahead of them - let them enjoy childhood. Sometimes I think kids would be better off if all the adults would just eff off and die. yeah, i know logically that is inaccurate, but you know what i mean.