What age group is your kid this season?
The age cutoff changed this season. Two clubs can now give you two different answers, and both can be right. Enter your kid’s birth month and year. We’ll show you every answer, and which clubs use which.
Pick a month and a year. The month decides the answer now.
One year of birthdays per group. U18 and U19 share one band. Game sizes through U12 are US Soccer’s standards; 11v11 from U13 is the usual state setup.
What changed, and who decides now
For years one rule covered everyone: kids were grouped by birth year, January to December. That ended this season. Now each organization picks its own cutoff. Here's who picked what.
Aug 1 – Jul 31
US Youth Soccer · AYSO · US Club Soccer · Girls Academy · MLS NEXT Academy Division
The cutoff most families will meet.
Birth year (Jan 1 – Dec 31)
MLS NEXT Allstate Homegrown Division
The top boys’ division stays on birth year because national teams use it.
Sep 1 – Aug 31
The third legal option
Allowed, but nobody above picked it.
Not announced
ECNL
Articles say Aug 1. ECNL itself hasn’t published it. Ask the club.
Your club will probably call this “grade-based” or “school year.” It’s still a birthday rule. A kid who was held back or started school late is grouped by their birthday, not their classroom. If that’s your kid, ask the club which group they’re in.
The full story is in the age-groups guide. The news writeup covers how the decision happened.
If the number didn't go up, that's the rule working
The change splits the calendar in half. Which half your kid is in decides what this season looks like.
Born January – July
Nothing new. Your kid moves up one number, like every year. Born April 2017? U9 last season, U10 now.
Born August – December
The number stays the same, one time. Born September 2017? U9 last season, U9 again. Nobody got held back. Your kid now plays with their own school class. That’s the point of the change.
Two small things. August 1 birthdays go in the younger group. And the oldest kid on the team changed: it used to be the January birthdays, now it’s the August ones. The age-groups guide covers what that means at tryouts.
What happens to your kid's team
The rule books don't answer this one. Your club does.
We read all three national announcements. None of them says anything about teams or rosters. So when the new cutoff splits a team, your club and its league decide what happens. Ask them directly.
“Grandfathering” just means the club lets current teams stay together. It’s a club policy, not an official rule. Only your club can tell you if they do it, and for how long.
Why change at all? To fix “trapped players”: kids stuck in an older soccer group than their school grade. They’d lose most of their team to high school a year before getting there themselves.
Playing up has its own rules: the playing-up article. Tryout dates are set state by state: the tryouts article.
Questions parents ask
What age group is a 2015 birth year for 2026-27?
It depends on the month now. Born January to July 2015: U12 everywhere. Born August to December 2015: U11 at clubs on the new Aug 1 cutoff, U12 in leagues that still use birth year. Born in August 2015: U11 or U12, depending on which date the club picked. The tool above does this for any birthday.
Why didn’t my kid move up an age group this season?
Because they were born between August and December. Those kids keep last season's number, one time. Born September 2017? U9 last season, U9 again. Nothing is wrong. Nobody got held back. The group changed around them, so they now play with their own school class.
Is August 1 the new national cutoff?
No. There is no national cutoff anymore. Each organization picks its own. US Youth Soccer, AYSO, US Club Soccer and the Girls Academy all picked August 1. MLS NEXT's top division kept birth year. That's why two clubs can give you two different answers.
Can my kid stay on their current team?
Ask your club. No national rule decides this. We read all three announcements, and none of them mentions teams or rosters. If a club says players are "grandfathered," that means the club is letting current teams stay together. It's the club's own policy.
My kid kept the same number this year. What happens if they later join MLS NEXT?
The number jumps back up. MLS NEXT's top division still groups by birth year. So a kid born September 2015 is U11 at an Aug 1 club, but U12 in that division. The teammates change too: back to kids born the same calendar year, some a school grade ahead. Your kid doesn't change. Only the label and the group do. And MLS NEXT starts at U13, so this only comes up in the teen years.
Can my kid play up an age group?
Usually, yes. US Club Soccer allows it in writing: a player can play for any older team at their own club. US Youth Soccer leaves it to each state. Whether playing up is a good idea is a different question.
When are 2026-27 tryouts under the new calendar?
There is no national tryout date. Some states set one, and they don't match. Florida opens in early May. Missouri opens June 7. Cal South sets nothing at all. Check your state association first, then the club.
Did ECNL change its cutoff too?
We don't know yet. Articles say ECNL moved to Aug 1. ECNL itself hasn't announced it anywhere we can cite. Until it does, ask the club.
Where these numbers come from
Every date and rule on this page comes from one of these documents.
- US Soccer, Path Forward on Player Registration
The three permitted cutoffs, and that each organization picks its own, starting 2026-27.
- US Youth Soccer, Updated Decision on Age Group Formation (June 10, 2025)
USYS, AYSO and US Club Soccer adopting Aug 1 to Jul 31.
- US Club Soccer, age group cut-off update
The matching US Club notice, and the “trapped players” reason. None of the three announcements has a roster or team rule.
- Girls Academy League (September 2025)
Girls Academy on Aug 1 from 2026-27.
- MLS NEXT age group update
The split: Academy Division to school year, the Homegrown Division staying on birth year, and why.
- Washington Youth Soccer, Age Group Formation
The published 2026-27 chart this page is checked against, including the combined U18/U19 band.
- Missouri Youth Soccer, Understanding the Age Group Changes (December 4, 2025)
The worked examples of which birthdays move up and which keep their number.
- US Soccer Player Development Initiatives (February 2017)
The old birth-year rule this change replaces, and the 4v4 / 7v7 / 9v9 game sizes.
- US Club Soccer Policy Manual
Playing up within a club, allowed without restriction (Policy 4.09).
Now, which club?
The report maps the clubs near you with a team at your kid's age and level, and what the next two seasons could look like.