Travel Soccer Birth Year Age Divisions

US Youth Soccer implemented the best practice of calendar year age grouping for player registration beginning in the 2017 soccer year for all US Youth Soccer programs and competitions. Using the school calendar for age groups was practiced only in the United States and Canada. All other FIFA members have gone by the calendar year. Therefore, US Youth Soccer changed to be in line with the other 208 countries that register youth players by their year of birth. This change also made it easier for American club teams to play internationally.

Birth year registration is determined by the year a soccer season ends. Seasons span from fall to spring overlapping across two calendar years. Players will register based on their age during the second year of the season. To simplify, an age group can be determined by subtracting the birth year from the year the season ends.

Year Season Ends - Birth Year = Age Group

example:
2023 to 2024 season, birth year 2015
2024 - 2015 = 9U

Players move up in age divisions in the Fall Season ONLY.

Using this 12 age division as the example, the 12U age division is for "12 and Under." This falls in line with the Birth Year Age Division changes in 2017, and is slowly being phased in throughout the sport.