Told a few kids they could go to nationals but likely won’t play. Also replaced the keeper they had all year with a kid from out of state.
This club is smart enough to not violate the rules so I’m sure it’s fine from that standpoint.
Will the gap in quality narrow between D1 and lower divisions (who don’t have an age limit… yet)? That is, a D2 school could have a team of 26-yo internationals while D1 schools won’t have a senior over age 24.
Does this help US soccer overall? More opportunities for kids right out of high school?
https://www.ncaa.org/news/2026/6/23/media-center-division-i-adopts-age-based-eligibility-model.aspx
Now that tryouts are over, I’m looking at the roster for our boys U15 ECNL team (which can hang with anyone in the country) and comparing it to two years ago when they were U13. There is only one kid remaining on the top team who was there two years ago. Part of it is due to the age change, but only 5 of the 18 are repeating their U15 season. Also, one of the original players went to an MLS club out of state (we don’t have any MLS Academies here).
Recruit, recruit, recruit, churn, churn, churn. The one thing I will say is that the club does a good job making decisions without letting politics play a role. Either you can perform or you cannot - and even if you play well they will still try to upgrade at your position.
Also, these kids are HUGE. If you are a late bloomer you just don’t have any shot at making/staying on this team.
This is probably the best way to run a club, but it also sucks to always have to look over your shoulder.