US Club Soccer and other youth soccer organizations have cited several reasons for the change, such as:

Playing with schoolmates – while especially relevant with a child’s entry into soccer, the main reason why children enter the sport is to be with their friends. In the current model, a player born in December would not be on the same team as their schoolmate born in January.

“Trapped” Players – Like many states across the country, club soccer in Minnesota is impacted by the Minnesota State High School League (“MSHSL”) season. MSHSL rules stipulate that players participating in the fall high school season may not also participate in a club sport in the same season. Similarly, this has meant that players that are of a U15 birth year but not playing high school soccer were “trapped” with no playing options as the Minnesota fall season is for U9-U14 teams. While TCSL has made accommodations to allow for U15 players in the U14 fall league, that hasn’t been ideal for a number of reasons. This change will drastically reduce the number of trapped players.

Under 19’s – Similar to U15 trapped players, this also affects the U19 age group where it’s typical for a significant number of players to leave for college, leaving high school juniors without a team.

College Recruiting – In the current setup, players in college recruitable age groups are made up of two different graduating classes. College coaches typically recruit by a player’s school grade. In theory, this can require college coaches to watch more soccer than necessary. Players may be missed. By having teams made up of – with small exceptions a possibility – players based on school grade, this will make the college recruiting process easier.