June 2026 update:
Beginning with the 2026–27 season, US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, and AYSO will use a school‑year style Aug 1–July 31 age‑group system for their leagues, cups, and National League / NPL platforms. However, U.S. Soccer has given organizations flexibility, so a few leagues and clubs may continue using pure birth‑year groups or slightly different seasonal windows (for example, Sept 1–Aug 31).
That means two things for families:
The chart below still shows the default most players will experience in 2026–27 across USYS, US Club, and AYSO competitions.
You should also confirm your specific league’s plan, because some MLS NEXT programs and a handful of independent leagues are choosing to stick with birth‑year groupings.
As most people are aware by now, U.S. youth soccer is on the brink of another major age‑group shift, and this time the change will be felt across everyday town, travel, and recreational programs—not just elite teams. Beginning with the 2026–27 season, most of the country is moving away from strict birth‑year age groups and back toward a school‑year style model. For most families, tryouts, rosters, and age charts will start to look more like “play with your classmates” again, though exact alignment will vary by local school start dates.
Between now and summer 2026, clubs and leagues will publish detailed transition guides, so parents should watch for updated age‑group charts, communication on “playing up,” and explanations of how current teams will roll into the new structure.
Following USSF’s decision in late 2024 to give member organizations flexibility, the three largest youth soccer organizations—US Youth Soccer (USYS), US Club Soccer, and AYSO—announced a coordinated shift back to a seasonal‑year age‑group cycle starting with the 2026–27 season. Their new standard will group players using an Aug 1–Jul 31 (seasonal/school‑year style) cutoff, aligning age groups more closely with typical school grades and easing the social disruption many families experienced under the calendar‑year model.
For families, the practical effect is that most grassroots, rec, and travel players will experience an Aug 1–Jul 31 system, even though USSF’s framework remains officially “flexible.” The main outlier at the national level will be the MLS NEXT Allstate Homegrown Division, which is holding onto birth‑year groupings for alignment with FIFA and the professional pathway.
| Organization / Platform | Age‑group model from 2026–27 | Key notes for families |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Soccer Federation | Allows birth‑year or school‑year; choice left to members. | Policy is about flexibility; no single mandated cutoff. |
| US Youth Soccer (USYS) | Aug 1–Jul 31 seasonal year. | Applied to USYS leagues and national competitions starting 2026–27. |
| US Club Soccer | Aug 1–Jul 31 age‑group formation. | Covers many competitive and travel leagues nationwide. |
| AYSO | Seasonal‑year (Aug–Jul) model returning in 2026–27. | Impacts a large recreational player base. |
| MLS NEXT Academy Division | School‑year age groups (Aug 1–Jul 31). | Aligns elite academies with the broader youth landscape. |
| MLS NEXT Allstate Homegrown Division | Birth‑year (Jan 1–Dec 31). | Maintains FIFA‑aligned pathway to professional and national‑team levels. |
To find your age group for fall 2026, find the row corresponding with your birth year, and then the month you were born.
| Birth Year | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 |
| 2008 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U19 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 |
| 2009 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U18 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 |
| 2010 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U17 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 |
| 2011 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U16 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 |
| 2012 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U15 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 |
| 2013 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U14 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 |
| 2014 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U13 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 |
| 2015 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U12 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 |
| 2016 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U11 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 |
| 2017 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U10 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 |
| 2018 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U9 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 |
| 2019 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U8 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 |
| 2020 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U7 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 |
| 2021 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U6 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 |
| 2022 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U5 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 |
| 2023 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U4 | U3 | U3 | U3 | U3 | U3 |
Some leagues and clubs have flexibility in how they implement age groups for 2026–27. US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, and AYSO are standardizing on an Aug 1–July 31 “school‑year” model, but a few competitions (especially on the elite side) may stick with pure birth‑year or slightly different seasonal windows. Think of this guide as the national default and then confirm with your club which system your specific league uses.
In most cases, yes: the Aug 1 cut‑off is designed to bring soccer age groups closer to school grades and graduation years, which reduces the number of “trapped players” who were in an older soccer age than their school grade. There will always be a few edge cases around summer birthdays, but for many families this change actually simplifies “Who will be on my child’s team?” conversations.
The new age‑group cycle begins with each organization’s 2026–27 season or registration year, which for most clubs means Fall 2026 tryouts and rosters. Some clubs are already communicating the change and may even show “future” age groups on 2025–26 materials, so it’s worth asking your DOC how they’re handling the transition locally.
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