Starting in Fall 2026 there will be a change to the age bands for soccer teams.  For nearly a decade, whole birth years were used to determine age bands.  Next Fall the band will be changed to a 12 month span from August through July.  Some have referred to this as Academic or Grade Year bands - but please be aware that the actual grade of the player does not impact their age appropriate band, only their birth date and year.

You can find more information from US Youth Soccer on the change here: https://www.ussoccer.com/ecosystem-review/player-registration

US Youth soccer has also provided a tool to calculate your players new age group: https://www.ussoccer.com/ecosystem-review/player-registration/age-group-calculator

We have created a chart to show how the age bands will shift from this year to next year: