New Age Divisions for 2026/2027

What's changing: Starting with the 2026/2027 season, youth soccer is changing how players are sorted into age groups. This is a national change from US Youth Soccer.

Old way: players were grouped by birth year. Everyone born in the same calendar year, January through December, played together.

New way: age groups now run August 1 to July 31, to line up with the school year.

The simplest way to think about it: your player will (most likely) now be grouped with their school grade.

Because the cutoff is moving from January 1 to August 1, the age group bands are being redrawn across the board. Some players will end up in a different age group than they would have under the old birth-year system, and some will find themselves with a different mix of teammates.

For many players, that's a good thing. It means the kids your player already knows from school are more likely to be the kids on or around their team.

Why it's happening

The goal is to group kids with their grade-level peers instead of splitting up classmates by where their birthday falls in the calendar. In Ohio Soccer's words, the August start "better aligns with school calendars, supports social and individual needs, and ultimately enhances the youth soccer experience." The organizations behind the change believe it's the most inclusive approach and will help more kids stay in the game.

What it means for your family

Kids will be grouped by school grade (or at times, two grades at a time).

Your player's group may shift. Depending on their birthday, your player could land in a different age group than last year. That's expected, and it's happening to a lot of kids at once.

When you register for the Fall, the age groups will already reflect the new bands.

How to know exactly where your player lands

Ohio Soccer released an official age group chart that maps every birth-date range to its new group.