Age groupings for youth soccer players is sometimes confusing. The first thing you need to know is that the cutoff date that youth soccer clubs use is August 1st. The reason I highlight Youth Soccer Clubs in Bold is because Youth National teams use January 1st. We can discuss that later, for today we ca focus on youth soccer clubs in the United Sates.
The second factor to understanding the youth soccer club age groupings is that the Under means you are Under that age group on August 1st. For example, a child that turns 13 years old on August 1st is considered a U13 player, even though they will be 13 years old the entire season. Most of his/her teammates will probably be 12 and start turning 13 during the year. If that child had turned 13 on July 31st, that player would now be a U14 player, because they will be 14 during this year 8/01/2014 – 7/31/2015.
A good rule of thumb is to take the date of the start of the season (usually September 1st) and go back a month (July 31st). How old was your child on that day? Add a U and 1 year and you get the age group. If he/she was 12, then they are a U13 player. If your child is 13 then they are a U14 player. If they are 12 and turn 13 the following day (August 1st), they are still a U13 player.
Understand that there are normally two seasons (Fall and Spring) every youth soccer club year, but your child will still hold the same age group throughout the entire year, until the following July 31st.
The table below will help you with the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 age groups. However when in doubt, refer back to the rule. Take the start of the season, go back to that July 31st and determine how old your child was. Then add 1 year. That is their age group.
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Single year age grouping for 2015/2016 Season: |
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UNDER 19 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 1996 & Younger |
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UNDER 18 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 1997 & Younger |
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UNDER 17 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 1998 & Younger |
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UNDER 16 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 1999 & Younger |
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UNDER 15 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2000 & Younger |
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UNDER 14 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2001 & Younger |
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UNDER 13 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2002 & Younger |
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UNDER 12 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2003 & Younger |
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UNDER 11 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2004 & Younger |
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UNDER 10 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2005 & Younger |
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UNDER 9 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2006 & Younger |
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UNDER 8 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2007 & Younger |
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UNDER 7 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2008 & Younger |
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UNDER 6 |
Born on or after AUG 1, 2009 & Younger |