Youth Soccer Age Division Chart
Youth club soccer in the United States is organized by birth year (not grade or season).
For example, unless there’s an exception, a team is comprised of every player born in the same year (i.e. – 2009).
This makes it more straightforward than grade-level where kids might be older or younger, and they could reclass.
Organizing club soccer by birth only makes logical sense.
There will always be a little advantage – born in January versus December – but it eliminates the reclassing advantage.
What Age Group Do I Register For?
In most cases, a youth soccer club’s season will run from the fall through the next year into late-spring.
Birth year registration should be based on the year in which the season ends.
For instance, if a season begins in September 2024 and ends in June 2025 then the player should register for a team based on the year beginning in 2024 (skip to the soccer age chart below).
A player whose birth year is 2009 should register for U-16 as calculated below…
Here’s some quick math: 2025 (Year season ends) – 2009 (Birth Year) = U16 (Age Group)
If you’re not the math type, here’s a simple chart to help you understand which age group your player should be registered for.
| SEASON | 2023/2024 | 2024/2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | u19 | |
| 2006 | u18 | u19 |
| 2007 | u17 | u18 |
| 2008 | u16 | u17 |
| 2009 | u15 | u16 |
| 2010 | u14 | u15 |
| 2011 | u13 | u14 |
| 2012 | u12 | u13 |
| 2013 | u11 | u12 |
| 2014 | u10 | u11 |
| 2015 | u9 | u10 |
Note: Due to bio-banding rules, there may be cases within a club where an athlete is playing on a younger team. This is mostly due to the biological age being more in line with someone younger.
Now check out our network of U.S. soccer clubs to see if there’s a right for your player!
Frequently Asked Questions
This method of age grouping is used to support player development, more closely align with U.S. Soccer’s standards, simplify the calculation for a player’s age, and reduce the relative age effect.
Typically, soccer clubs will request a digital copy of a player’s birth certificate to confirm their age.
Absolutely! A player can join a team in an older age group.
A player usually cannot play down an age group unless they bio-banded. Bio banding allows players to be positioned based on their personal maturity and biological age rather than only their chronological age.
The U in an age group listing stands for ‘under’. This means that a child playing in a U12 age group must be under 12 before the season starts.
