More to come for sure, but this starts the process.
Get ready folks
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More to come for sure, but this starts the process.
sprinkle genie
BRONZE
US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, and AYSO Returning to Seasonal-Year Age Group Formation in 2026 - US Youth Soccer
FRISCO, Texas (March 5, 2025) – US Youth Soccer (USYS), US Club Soccer, and American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), today announced that they have agreed to adopt the seasonal year age group formation cycle […]
www.usyouthsoccer.org
Official article posted from website of one of the big three mentioned in the tweet about. Nothing on national AYSO or Club soccer yet.
sprinkle genie
BRONZE
Imagine Lots of teams are gonna blow up next February in the younger ages-
Any old timers recall try-out turmoil in 2017 with the last age cut-off change?
Any old timers recall try-out turmoil in 2017 with the last age cut-off change?
So at least 32% of August birthdays will now be trapped by themselves. In reality, a lot more, as many August kids start the following year bc school actually starts in August before they turn 5.
Surprised they didn’t stay with August 1-July 31…as it was before BY. Seems to leave the trapped player problem intact.
soccerdad247
BRONZE
The big question becomes what do MLS Next and GA do? If they stick to BY, seems like it will create chaos for those MLSN or GA teams trying to enter tournaments that will have teams from ECNL, NPL, etc? But
It is because those higher up in the decision making process have kids with later birthdays and this gives them a better advantage from RAE perspective
. Never about the players as is always the case with us soccer.
RandomSoccerFan
PREMIER
Clearly that must be it.It is because those higher up in the decision making process have kids with later birthdays and this gives them a better advantage from RAE perspective
A blast from the past.
Apparently all the assumptions they made and the reasons they gave in this press release were completely incorrect.
https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/08/five-things-to-know-about-birth-year-registration
Now more than ever it is true,
US Soccer, you have no idea why you do what you do.
Beginning on Aug. 1, 2017, the way in which youth players in the United States register for youth soccer teams will be based on their year of birth. This new standard will help create clarity, improve understanding about developmental progress and enhance playing environments as a part of the U.S. Soccer Player Development Initiatives (PDI’s).
Here are five things you should know about the new registration rules to age groups.
What is birth year registration?
Currently, youth players in the United States sign up for same-age group clubs and teams based on the traditional calendar of a school year, from August to July. Under this system of registration, a player born before August 1, 2007 would have played in a U-11 age group (players age 11 and under) for the upcoming 2017-2018 season, while a player born after August 1, 2007 would have played in a U-10 age group.
Beginning August 1, for the upcoming 2017-2018 season, any player born from January 1 to December 31 of 2007 will play in a U-11 age group. Birth year will be the only determinant for youth team registration. There will no longer be a mid-year cut-off to decide in which age group a player will play.
The United States and Canada have been the only FIFA member nations to use this model.
This PDI brings youth soccer in the United States in line with the rest of the world by using a normal calendar year of each player’s birth year to determine their age group.
Why are the youth soccer registration standards changing?
The change in age group registration aims to support player development, and goes hand-in-hand with the new standards for small-sided games. Using birth year registration ensures that players are training and playing in the proper age group, each with their own developmental needs.
The new standard also strives to lessen relative age effect (RAE). RAE is a selection bias towards players born earlier in the calendar year. Players born in early months are naturally older and more mature, but not necessarily better players. While the change to birth year registration won’t completely solve the problem, it will make it easier to identify and understand.
Birth year registration is determined by the year a soccer season ends. For seasons that span from fall to spring or summer 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
2017 to 2018 – 2003 = U-15
Short-Term Changes, Long-Term Benefits
The current iteration of some teams will change with the implementation of the birth year registration rule, but the changes will affect different clubs depending on how they organize their teams. Some clubs may use mixed age group teams such as a combined U-11/U-12 team. For younger age groups, where RAE may be more prominent, more than one team could be created for each birth year. Players also still have the option to play up in older age groups, if they need stronger competition. In the short term, team compositions may change, but in the long term this shift prioritizes individual player development over team success, the driving purpose behind PDIs.
Easier to Understand and Creates Awareness
Shifting to a birth year registration system makes it easier to understand what age group a youth player belongs in. Previously, two players born in the same year could be in different age groups. Now, every player born in the same calendar year will play in the same age group. This makes it easier for parents to figure out where their child should be playing and for both coaches and parents to become more aware of how players develop based on age and how individual needs may vary.
This change also aligns the U.S. youth soccer calendar with the rest of the world. The United States was one of only two countries that used a school year calendar to determine age group. Now, the United States joins nearly every other FIFA federation. U.S. youth players will now develop and train in the same age group environment as leading soccer nations worldwide.
Apparently all the assumptions they made and the reasons they gave in this press release were completely incorrect.
https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/08/five-things-to-know-about-birth-year-registration
Now more than ever it is true,
US Soccer, you have no idea why you do what you do.
Five Things to Know About Birth Year Registration
Beginning on Aug. 1, 2017, the way in which youth players in the United States register for youth soccer teams will be based on their year of birth. This new standard will help create clarity, improve understanding about developmental progress and enhance playing environments as a part of the U.S. Soccer Player Development Initiatives (PDI’s). Here are five things you should know about the new registration rules to age groups.Beginning on Aug. 1, 2017, the way in which youth players in the United States register for youth soccer teams will be based on their year of birth. This new standard will help create clarity, improve understanding about developmental progress and enhance playing environments as a part of the U.S. Soccer Player Development Initiatives (PDI’s).
Here are five things you should know about the new registration rules to age groups.
What is birth year registration?
Currently, youth players in the United States sign up for same-age group clubs and teams based on the traditional calendar of a school year, from August to July. Under this system of registration, a player born before August 1, 2007 would have played in a U-11 age group (players age 11 and under) for the upcoming 2017-2018 season, while a player born after August 1, 2007 would have played in a U-10 age group.
Beginning August 1, for the upcoming 2017-2018 season, any player born from January 1 to December 31 of 2007 will play in a U-11 age group. Birth year will be the only determinant for youth team registration. There will no longer be a mid-year cut-off to decide in which age group a player will play.
The United States and Canada have been the only FIFA member nations to use this model.
This PDI brings youth soccer in the United States in line with the rest of the world by using a normal calendar year of each player’s birth year to determine their age group.
Why are the youth soccer registration standards changing?
The change in age group registration aims to support player development, and goes hand-in-hand with the new standards for small-sided games. Using birth year registration ensures that players are training and playing in the proper age group, each with their own developmental needs.
The new standard also strives to lessen relative age effect (RAE). RAE is a selection bias towards players born earlier in the calendar year. Players born in early months are naturally older and more mature, but not necessarily better players. While the change to birth year registration won’t completely solve the problem, it will make it easier to identify and understand.
- Learn more about PDIs: PDI Presentation | Five Things About PDIs | Small-Sided Games
- U.S. Soccer Member Organizations Adopt PDIs to Support Youth Soccer Development
- U.S. Soccer Player Development Initiatives Officially Implemented
Birth year registration is determined by the year a soccer season ends. For seasons that span from fall to spring or summer 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
2017 to 2018 – 2003 = U-15
Short-Term Changes, Long-Term Benefits
The current iteration of some teams will change with the implementation of the birth year registration rule, but the changes will affect different clubs depending on how they organize their teams. Some clubs may use mixed age group teams such as a combined U-11/U-12 team. For younger age groups, where RAE may be more prominent, more than one team could be created for each birth year. Players also still have the option to play up in older age groups, if they need stronger competition. In the short term, team compositions may change, but in the long term this shift prioritizes individual player development over team success, the driving purpose behind PDIs.
Easier to Understand and Creates Awareness
Shifting to a birth year registration system makes it easier to understand what age group a youth player belongs in. Previously, two players born in the same year could be in different age groups. Now, every player born in the same calendar year will play in the same age group. This makes it easier for parents to figure out where their child should be playing and for both coaches and parents to become more aware of how players develop based on age and how individual needs may vary.
This change also aligns the U.S. youth soccer calendar with the rest of the world. The United States was one of only two countries that used a school year calendar to determine age group. Now, the United States joins nearly every other FIFA federation. U.S. youth players will now develop and train in the same age group environment as leading soccer nations worldwide.
ECNL should start the switch 25/26 for clubs to retain players and figure out internally how much damage will be done. Its better to jump on the fall out now then at tryouts for the 26/27 season. At least the smaller clubs can still have a fighting chance. For most teams your better players are already the October - January birthdays (January due to these kids are typically months and sometimes close to a year older then most of the team). BY was the wrong move for US Soccer without having any type of academy system in place. If you want to follow Europe, great - have a system in place for both boys and girls but this wasn't the case. Once again 10 years pass and the US falls deeper in a hole for player development.
DeaconSoccer12
BRONZE
I would be very surprised if GA stays Birth Year. In the battle for trying to establish itself as a viable rival to ECNL for the best players, staying Birth Year would severely damage GA teams trying to retain or recruit any top level player with a Sept-Dec birthday.
My daughter is a Sept birthday and we would absolutely move from a GA club to an ECNL club if she was able to drop down an age group if the opportunity was right.
My daughter is a Sept birthday and we would absolutely move from a GA club to an ECNL club if she was able to drop down an age group if the opportunity was right.
I remember. Felt like a much bigger deal that it probably should have been.
The arguments for not changing are 1. US Soccer is moving in the background to establish a woman's academy system. Reason why is Europe using an academy system has caught up to the USWNT, if not yet passed them. The financials aren't there so it's been slow going, but they know it's going to eventually come to that. Such an academy system would, like the boys, be on a calendar year system for ease of European competition (the biggest draw is trying to persuade European academies to come play over here). GA hopes to be the feeder system to that academy much like MLS Next. So to preserve that position the argument would be don't change. 2. The boys academies for the reasons stated are unlikely to change. So the question then becomes do they let the regular MLSN clubs change, and if so do they allow the down stream ones to change (MLS2). If MLSN doesn't change its unlike MLS2 will be allowed to change because the entire point there is not college recruitment but to give the MLSN bench warmers and nondressers a place to play with some more flexibility. 3. If the boys MLS side doesn't change you'll have a bunch of clubs split with girl teams and boy teams on different rotations.
As long as MLSN (either 1 or 2) has biobanding I don't think BY or SY really matter.
What does matter is that MLSN maintains a culture that values abilities over a "this is our team + it cant change" mantra. Meaning players can and will be switched or moved up/down out at any time.
This is why MLSN is the superior platform to all others. The comments from angry Karen/Kevins flying on IG are AMAZING.
soccerdad247
BRONZE
The reality is, most MLSN clubs aren't using biobanding the way it was intended. It's a rule that isn't monitored and hence clubs abuse it. A majority of the clubs use it for 2 reasons:
1) Bio band down really good players to help weaker teams win games
2) Park players who are struggling at their own age group simply to not being good enough...and aren't struggling because of late development. This helps the club to avoid having the tough conversation about a player having to move down to a team 2, and ensure the clubs keeps the player fees as the parents will still see their kid on a MLS team.
1) Bio band down really good players to help weaker teams win games
2) Park players who are struggling at their own age group simply to not being good enough...and aren't struggling because of late development. This helps the club to avoid having the tough conversation about a player having to move down to a team 2, and ensure the clubs keeps the player fees as the parents will still see their kid on a MLS team.
US Soccer couldn't work its way out of a wet paper bag.
Bio Banding is a PC euphemism for playing down.
I have to agree with this. For that reason a lot of the clubs are reluctant to bring in bio banded players that might benefit from the system but burn one of these slots (in order to keep them in reserve for bio banded players they may need for strategic reasons). It's harder to go in incoming and say "I want to come in as a biobanded player downward" than it is to just move a player down. Further, the regular MLSN teams operate still as little fiefdoms for their coaches to select and control (rather than have selection and placement done but an overall MSLN placement director who will tell the coach what players are assigned to their team). While some have changed (I heard that either Surf or Albion recently change this...can't remember which), it's still hard to properly place players unless you have a unified placement director and take that say so away from the coaches.
I also see plenty of the mantra "this is our team"-- just a small example from the GK world....most MLSN teams carry 2 and sometimes 3 keepers...the starter is usually the starter and won't survive very long unless the starter is superior but there are a lot of alternate and 3rds out there being carried because "this is our team" and they are reluctant to have the conversation or bring someone in that's better. Again this is a function that for regular MLSN teams coaches still largely control selection. That's not the case in the academies which have multiple touchpoints for selection, not just the coach of the applicable team. Indeed, this is one of the rationales for MLS2, to allow coaches to more freely and temporarily move down players without dropping them