Youth Soccer Age Groups: U.S. Soccer reviews School Year vs. Calendar Year format

Multiple American youth soccer governing bodies have issued a joint statement on the standard age group format sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation. This comes amid ongoing discussion about whether U.S. Soccer’s sanctioning will stick to the Calendar Year format, which it adopted in 2017, or revert back to the School Year format.

The current age group structure is known as the Calendar Year or Birth Year format, which sorts teams and divisions by year of birth. Teams are composed of players born solely in 2010 or 2009, for example, regardless of whether those players are in the same grade at school.

Many consider the school year (Aug. 1 – July 31) age group format to be a bit more natural, since youth teams are structured in a way which groups as many players from the same graduation year as possible. This school year structure is practiced in other major countries, including England.

US Youth Soccer CEO Skip Gilbert, US Club Soccer CEO Mike Cullina and AYSO National President Doug Ryan have issued a statement on the issue, as U.S. Soccer is currently reviewing its policy.

See below for the full joint statement:

US Club Soccer, US Youth Soccer and AYSO members and participants,

In 2017, U.S. Soccer decided to change age group formation by school year (Aug. 1-July 31) vs. calendar year (Jan. 1-Dec. 31). Since the change was made, we have been reviewing the impact on our sport, specifically for players of all ages and competitive levels.

Over the past few months, U.S. Soccer, at the request of its Technical Development Committee, has engaged in a review of that decision. We support these efforts and appreciate their approach to engage Organizational Members, leagues and clubs in collecting feedback. Additionally, US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer and AYSO have solicited and shared additional feedback with one another in an effort to make the most informed and appropriate decision for our sport.

US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer and AYSO have been in constant communication on the topic, recognizing the importance of consistency across the three biggest youth soccer organizations in America. US Youth Soccer’s and US Club Soccer’s leadership teams have met in person multiple times, most recently in September at the US Youth Soccer Grassroots Symposium in Salt Lake City. Additionally, we welcome the involvement of other U.S. Soccer Organizational Members.

We believe that any decisions should be made as a collective with as many youth organizations as possible, and it is our intention to do so.

As chair and vice chair of the U.S. Soccer Technical Development Committee and Youth Representatives on the Board of Directors, Mike Cullina (US Club Soccer CEO) and Louis Mateus (US Youth Soccer Board of Directors member) are directly involved in the conversation and recommendation to U.S. Soccer’s Board of Directors. As chair of the Youth Council and Youth Representative on the Board of Directors, Tina Rincon (US Youth Soccer Board of Directors chair) is also actively engaged.

The next U.S. Soccer Board of Directors meeting is Nov. 22, 2024. We expect this topic to be on the agenda for that meeting and, consequently, a formal and public decision by the end of the calendar year.

As always, thank you for your passion for the sport and commitment to our athletes.

Skip Gilbert
US Youth Soccer CEO

Mike Cullina
US Club Soccer CEO

Doug Ryan
AYSO National President