One of my player's parents expressed an interest in playing up an age group this season. It got me thinking about if that was a good idea.

He most certainly has the ability in every facet of the game to play up an age group. Technically, tactically, and mentally he's a class above most players in this club. He's not a big player, but he's quick, and won't struggle physically against older players. It may actually be good for him to get to play against players in training who are a year ahead of him in some ways.

The question should be framed as such, however: is this the best environment for him to develop as a player? Some questions should be raised in this type of scenario:

will the players he trains with challenge him? Will it be too easy? Too hard?
does the coach have the knowledge and capability to teach the player?
is the overall training environment going to challenge the player? Meaning, does everyone hold themselves to high standards?
will he receive adequate attention to develop? Is the player more prone to succeed as a big fish in a small pond, or as a small fish in a big pond?

These are just the questions that immediately come to mind, and are intentionally topical. One could go far deeper into each. Whoever the decision-makers are in these scenarios, hopefully they have deep knowledge of the individual, the environments in questions, and enough data points to make an informed decision.