I think what rubs people the wrong way about is WSYL is that they are not grade based like most tournaments so the clubs have to try to pull together an All Star team of any qualifying kids from two different teams within the club or even other clubs to attend - so it really does not show how good (or bad) the teams that train together all year really are.
Exactly. It's very difficult for teams to try and find enough kids that are the same age. Sometimes you'll have to go down two, maybe three grade levels just to cobble together enough kids the same age. The grade based model is much easier way to show how good our older kids can play against the best kids from LI, that are in many cases 1 to 3 years younger. The other thing is, it exposes how bad our teams are when we're forced to play on age. We lose all the time on a level playing field. The only way to really match up against the best is to play down, and claim it doesn't matter. You Philly guys crack me up, you're actually complaining that you have to follow the rules and admitting you can't compete. Classic. As long as there is a strict age rule, you have no shot!
