U.S. Soccer removed its national mandate on age‑group rules in late 2024, giving its member organizations the freedom to choose a system that works best for their players. After reviewing data, gathering feedback, and listening to families and clubs, the three largest youth governing associations (US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, and AYSO) collectively decided to align age groups with the predominant school year of Aug through July.

This change supports several areas identified as important to all of youth soccer.

Reduce the number of Trapped Players - It helps line up youth soccer teams with the school year and cuts down on the number of ‘trapped’ players — usually kids born later in the year who have fewer competitive opportunities in 8th grade because most teammates were already in high school, then being out of sync again as high‑school seniors when younger classmates were moved into their group and their previous age group peers have already graduated.

Better Align with the School Calendar - Players are more likely to play with classmates and friends. Teams have more consistent social, emotional, and physical development environments. Families experience fewer conflicts between school and club commitments.

Increase Participation and Keep More Kids in the Sport - Research and feedback indicated that players were more likely to stay involved in soccer when grouped with their school‑year peers with one Association study noting a positive correlation between school‑year alignment and long‑term player retention.

To Restore the System Used Before 2016/2017 - Before U.S. Soccer required the January–December system, most youth soccer programs already used a school‑year‑based cutoff. The change essentially returns youth soccer to what had previously worked well.

Not quite. Birth years will still be used to set up age groups, but instead of running January–December, the range will shift to August–July. If a player’s grade level doesn’t match the age group for their birth year, they’ll play in the group that matches their actual date of birth.

We recognize all players will be affected in some way and the majority of, if not all, teams will experience some type of change next season due to reorganization of players. 

Many will move to the next age group for the 2026–2027 season, however, players born between August and December are most likely to be impacted by this change. For example, a player born in August 2015 who is currently U11 would continue to compete at the U11 level in 2026–2027 while those born January to July would play at U12.

Our current approach isn’t changing — decisions about playing up are made by our coaching and technical staff, with the player’s best interest always coming first. 

We look at all the factors that affect a player’s development and choose the placement that helps them grow the most. 

While we understand families may have preferences, playing up is ultimately a club decision and is determined and approved by our technical staff.

For the 2026–2027 season, overall player placements will follow the new age‑group calendar. 

Our intent is to facilitate a smooth and thoughtful transition, while ensuring players are appropriately aligned moving forward.

We’ll continue to provide clear guidance and updates before registration opens so families feel informed and confident throughout the process.

This applies to current players in our Select Programs.

An Age Group Pool Session is similar to an early tryout or evaluation of all current players. We know that tryouts can feel stressful for kids and parents alike. Please know that we empathize with the emotions that come with this process.

One of the benefits of being part of Fusion FC is that your child is evaluated throughout the entire year—not just during a short tryout window. If your child happens to have an off day, our coaching staff already has months of training and game observations to help us understand who they are as a player. No single session defines them.

We are designing these age‑group sessions to create more opportunities for every child to be seen, encouraged, and evaluated before tryouts officially begin. Our coaches have all experienced this process themselves, and we take great care to approach every placement decision with the best interest of each child.

Our goal is to make this experience as supportive as possible—for you and your player.

Possibly. We’re currently mid‑cycle on our uniforms, but we’ve already reviewed the potential impact. At this point, about 15–20% of our players may experience number duplication, which would require new jerseys and shorts. As we’ve done in the past when normal player movement creates similar situations, we will work to minimize the financial burden by covering a portion of the cost as a Club.

Below you will find an outline of when information will be available for the 2026-2027 season. This information along with specific dates ×s will be distributed via email to current players/families.

• February – Age Group Coach Meetings 
• March – Age Group Parent virtual information sessions
• March & April – Internal Age Group Pool Sessions
• April – Team Coach Announcements 
• Mid-May – 2026/27 Seasonal Year Tryouts
• End of May – All Player Offers Made
• Early June – Player Registration for 2026-2027 must be completed and deposit received