Beginning with the Fall 2026 season, youth soccer age groups will move from a calendar-year system to a seasonal-year system.

Previously, age groups were based on birthdates from January 1 through December 31.

Under the new system, age groups are based on birthdates from August 1 through July 31.

The new system - which is required by US Youth Soccer and PA West - better aligns soccer age groups with the school year.

That does not mean grade determines a player’s age group. It simply means the birthdate ranges will now more closely match the way many children are grouped in school.

No.

A player’s soccer age group is still determined only by date of birth.

Grade, school placement, whether a player started school early or late, or whether a player was held back does not determine soccer age group eligibility.

Under the new system, each age group runs from August 1 through July 31.

For example, for Fall 2026:

• U5 = players born August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022

• U6 = players born August 1, 2020 through July 31, 2021

• U7 = players born August 1, 2019 through July 31, 2020

The same pattern continues for older age groups.

Possibly, depending on your child’s birthdate.

Players born between January 1 and July 31 will generally fall into the age group most families would expect.

Players born between August 1 and December 31 are the players most affected by the change, because they may now be eligible for a younger age group than they would have been under the old calendar-year system.

Players born between August 1 and December 31 are most affected.

Because of the new cutoff date, those players will generally be among the older players in their new age group, rather than among the younger players in the next age group.

Possibly.

If your child’s birthdate places them in a younger age group under the new system, they may request to play up into the next age group to stay with classmates, friends, or former teammates, assuming roster space allows.

However, specific team placement is never guaranteed from season to season.

“Playing up” means a player plays in an older age group than the youngest age group they are eligible for.

For example, if your player is eligible for U10 under the new age group rules, but you would like them considered for U11, that would be a request to play up.

No.

A player may not play in an age group younger than the youngest age group allowed by their birthdate.

What may feel like “playing down” for some August–December birthdays is really just the new age group system placing them correctly based on the new August 1–July 31 cutoff.

No.

For some players, playing up will make sense socially, developmentally, or competitively. For others, staying in the youngest eligible age group may be the better fit.

Families should consider the player’s confidence, maturity, experience, friendships, physical development, and overall enjoyment of the game.

No.

The new age group system may make it easier for some players to remain with former teammates, but rosters are still rebuilt from season to season based on registration numbers, coaching availability, roster sizes, friend requests, competitive balance, and other placement factors.

The change does not guarantee any specific team placement.

Grade does not control age group eligibility.

If your child’s birthdate places them in a younger age group, they are eligible for that younger age group regardless of grade. They may be able to request to play up, but they are not required to play in the older age group simply because of their grade.

Again, grade does not control age group eligibility.

A player’s age group is based only on birthdate. A player who started school late, started school early, or is in a different grade than most players with the same birth year will still be placed according to their date of birth.

Game format is tied to age group.

So, if the new age group rules place a player in a different age group than expected, that may also affect the game format they play. For example, a player eligible for U10 may be in a different format than a player playing U11 or U12.

Parents should register their player for their desired league - Travel, In-House, or Mini-Martians - based on the player’s date of birth.

If the player is eligible for a younger age group under the new rules but the family wants the player considered for an older age group, they should indicate this during registration by selecting the appropriate request to play up.

The cutoff date is moving.

Instead of age groups being based on January 1–December 31, they will now be based on August 1–July 31.

That means players with August–December birthdays are the ones most likely to notice a difference.

Contact the Club if you are unsure which age group applies to your player or whether requesting to play up makes sense.

The Club can help confirm your player’s correct age group based on birthdate and explain any available options.