The Development Academy is expanding.

Starting with the 2016 season, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy will expand to five age groups, ranging from U12 through U18. The 2016 season will introduce the U12 and the U13 age groups to the nation-wide league run by the sport’s federation. The U13 age group was previously folded into one age group with the U14s, but will stand as one age group starting next season. 

U.S. Soccer announced the move to the public on Friday. Development Academy Director Jared Micklos and Development Academy Director of Scouting Tony Lepore talked with a handful of journalists about the added age groups to the Academy. 

“This is an initiative that [current Academy] clubs have been asking for for a long time,” Micklos said in regard to the addition. “There was a gap at the younger age groups. The peak age for learning is the 12, 13 and 14 age group. In closing that gap, we wanted to have a streamlined pathway [within Academy clubs]. We wanted to grow a bigger base.”

Micklos estimated that the player pool will expand from between 5,000-6,000 players in 2015 to between 10,000-12,000 players in 2016. 

Doubling the size of the Academy comes down to the youngest age groups. The current Academy clubs will all add U13 and U12 teams. The Development Academy opened the application process for the U12 age group on Friday for new clubs. The clubs have until Nov. 6 to submit applications. 

“That number is going to be based on a couple of factors,” Micklos said on Friday when asked how many U12 clubs will be admitted to the Development Academy. “The [technical advisors] look at the player pools, the player production in the past, the look at the map, and the areas where you need to close the travel distance. We aren’t going to have a U12 team from Atlanta travel to Florida for a game. There is no exact number. It could be 30, 40, 50, if needed.”

The ideal maximum travel time for the U12 age group is 1.5-2 hours, as listed by U.S. Soccer’s informational powerpoint. That will figure into some creative maneuvering for some clubs to stay within that travel radius. 

For the U12 age group, the game format will follow the recently announced development initiatives that changes that age group to 9-a-side (opposed to the current format in most states, which is standard 11-a-side). The smaller sides lead to more touches per player. The game is also played on a smaller field with only one referee. All Development Academy age groups will also follow the change to January 1 as the new cutoff date for eligibility in each age groups. Previously, it was August 1st. That change will happen with the 2016 season. 

The U12 age group will have two teams per club with a pool of 26 players. The rosters between the teams will be fluid. There will be no standings kept for the season, as the Academy wants the game focus on player development rather than results. 

The other addition discussed on Friday was the U13 age group, which is splintered off from the U14 age. The U13 will be the lone odd year age group in the Academy for the 2016 season. This will be the first age group that goes to 11-v-11 games. 

The U13 age group will have regional events, but it will not have a national event. Clubs are encouraged to push the top performing players from that age group up to U14 for the national events. 

While these additions add quite a bit to the Academy in terms of teams and players, the Academy is trying to keep that cost from falling on the players or families. The clubs are responsible for only limited expenses with much of that concentrated on covering facility costs. The Academy will continue to offer an extensive player scholarship program. 

The application for new U12 clubs is open now and closes on Nov. 6. The Development Academy will decide on those new clubs by Dec. 14, 2015, with the the 2016 season scheduled to kick off on Sept. 3.