I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I never thought it was “weird” to see how teams ranked against each other. In my opinion, it’s a fun exercise to spark discussion. Obviously, some don’t like it, but in my experience many do. Again, our kids are judged/ranked/evaluated (whatever word you want to use) all the time. I’m sure we all hear parents in the stands do it, coaches do it, I believe this is just an extension of that. We do both agree that it is a harmless exercise.
Well I guess we can just go on here and talk about the weather I guess? I just don’t see the harm it is causing, as no one is using specific player names or anything and no one is being negative or putting anybody down. You’re also not required to click on the 12U section and read it. And your first post is to go on here and tell us how and what to talk about? Not trying to be rude but I don’t see anything I have read in the section, that would require one person to come on here and request everybody else to comment only her way.Respect your opinion but disagree.
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I for one really enjoy all the discussion here from parents and coaches. If anything even remotely violates policy it gets deleted.
I do find it funny that we limit discussion of 12U kid’s performance while we ship them off to practice all the time, games every weekend, expensive special training camps, and put them through ODP tryouts/evaluations/tournaments that they get nothing out of except a direct measure of who doesnt rank while many of them are simply at a different level in maturation process. I think the discussion here is far less damaging than what they go through all the time. (This same damage builds resilience though so we just need to meter it as parents if we can)
I am more worried about the kids on deck talking trash and saying someone sucks or is a traitor. If you catch my kid(s) doing that feel free to tell them it isnt acceptable to belittle other players who are likely giving all they have or their parents made a move, likley for some good reason. The same player might be kicking butt next year or on your team.
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The rankings are entertaining and at times a little wild, but it’s for us adults to view.
What’s really good to hear on this thread is hearing about teams that are winning or competing in close games against good teams. constant player development is good to hear. Our sport needs it. The talent pool needs to stay deep!
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Basketball has 7u, class of 2037, individual and team rankings…from multiple sources…not just some weird dude with too much time on his hands…
Basketball has 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade “All American Camps" with social media sites highlighting who has accepted invitations…
Football starts ranking prospects at 8 and 9 years old and IG is filled with 8 year old pee wee highlight reels…
Dont even get me started on baseball…
So I guess I’m saying that 12u rankings are not all that bad by comparison…
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Yeah! Wait..Wut?
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Oh I wasnt talking about @Marco hes knowledgeable and informed…
A few years ago there was a guy on IG who spent every weekend watching live streams of 2nd and 3rd grade basketball games and giving monthly rankings of players…in a video…from his mom’s basement…
Now in basketball it has been taken over by the actual grassroots organizations to get more parents and coaches to pay more $$ for their events. Insanity…
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But my mom’s basement is really comfortable and you have no idea how hard it is to find live streams of 12U waterpolo games!
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Cal Cup Championships: Spreadsheet
SCHEDULE - 2026 Patriot SPRING Game
Who will be in the semis?
I think two variables of the 12u calculus will be known after the 4:20 game. (All the pot heads rejoice, it isnt me, that smell isnt coming from my car).
Could be way off but my top 4 would be Tsunami, Dons, LJU, and Mission. Will the new player on LJU makes that team good enough to beat the new Socal? Maybe not, I will be rooting for LJU.
Was that the new SoCal Black at state champs last week?
SOCAL no longer has a B Team. They lost their CD to injury, and four of their starters bolted to Mission. Thus, SOCAL, which was arguably a Top 3 team in 12u, consolidated its 12s.
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Only 3 from SOCAL went to Mission.
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Probably important to note that the Dons team at this event will be the B team. Dons A is playing at Kap7 in 14U (as is Vanguard 12U).
It’s a shame that Socal lost players. I think everyone had them in their top 5 with Dons, Vanguard, Greenwich, and Mission.
Not sure if everyone is following the other threads, but depending on how you gauge what age the National Team Pipeline starts at it seems like depth of talent at the 12U level is decreasing, and consolidation of that talent seems to be increasing. Doesn’t feel to me like a healthy system. Hope i am wrong. Hope the kids are just a bit behind on the maturation curve and next year we have 6-8 teams with parity in 12U.
When I hear maturation curve and 12U in the same sentence I laugh like when I hear “government intelligence”. I don’t think we should be worrying about maturation until the beginning of 16U at the earliest. That is just my opinion and I am certain that is debatable. 14U you will start to get kids “maturing” earlier than others and by 16U you start to see which kids start hitting that development curve. I just wouldn’t worry about it at all at 12U. Just let them have fun and learn the fundamentals and love for the sport. I know 12U ranking was a hot topic for a minute a month ago or so. That is unless you want to be in the Olympic pipeline through USAWP then by all means get them in now.
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I don’t think it is a maturation curve so much as parents being more willing to commute. If Foothill High School was your neighborhood pool and your 6th grade kid wanted to switch teams, JSerra isn’t the first pool that comes to mind when thinking of nearby facilities. I believe it is parents driving the consolidation of talent.
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For sure there is “closest pool” and then there is “beneficial environment” and other factors that play a role in club selection. I guess that speaks to the idea of “just let them play and enjoy the game”, so long as they do just that, play and enjoy.
Edit: since there is no example of correlation between 12U level and collegiate achievement, i have deleted some of my post.
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I have observed huge changes in awareness, reactions, physicality, ability to focus etc. in the 10-12 range with a fairly decent sample size. Early developers at 12 are going to be dominant in 12U. That was my point on maturation curve. Some of the later developers will close that gap at 16U, for sure i agree there.
You are totally right. I was being a bit tongue in cheek about maturation.