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My son plays travel at 8 yo and all the clubs around here divide each individual team by skill level. Our club has five teams at this age. It makes sense, as each team plays against a different level of competition. If all the teams were mixed, the players that would’ve been on the top team would dominate against lower competition and not improve as much as if they were against better competition. Same for the kids on the lower end, they’ll get a lot more touches playing with and against kids around their skill level. This looks like a coaching issue. At the beginning our coaches made sure everyone was treated well. If there is bullying, from kids on either team, the coaches should have seen it and done something about it immediately. If your B team lost all their games, that is also a coaching issue as they should have placed your team in a bracket that reflects the abilities of the team. At 8 yo there’s a ton of development that will come. In a few years some of the kids on your A team might suck while kids barely on the B team could be the top kids. I would try to build his confidence and speak to the coaches about the bullying. It’s likely not just him getting bullied. If that doesn’t work, I would look for another club nearby.
You can play local / club sports and it’s not an issue.
Once you get to travel, the teams you’re playing get quite good, and it’s important to match skill levels or there’s no point in having a game.
How coaches and towns manage the A/B team can be rough for kids that age. It can also serve as motivation to practice and get better.
At the end of the day at that age, all that matters is if they’re working hard, getting better, and having fun.
Seems like they should just separate the teams, call them the lions and the tigers, and the lions play division 1, and the tigers play division 4.
Bullying is bullshit and the parents of the “A” team need to put a stop to it pronto.