PLAYER AGE CHART

U.S. Soccer provides guidelines and best practices for youth team formation that emphasize fair play, development, and age-appropriate competition.

 

In Washington State, teams are generally formed based on players’ birth year, following the standard “U#” age group system, where “U” stands for “under” and the number indicates the player’s maximum age during the calendar year. For example, a player who turns 10 during the year would compete in the U10 age group.

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These charts help clubs, leagues, and tournaments organize teams appropriately and align with official rules and development guidelines. Age charts are updated annually to accommodate new birth years and changes in eligibility.

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Players can sometimes "play up" (play in the age group above their own) but they can never "play down" (play in the age group below theirs). If there are not enough players to form a roster in a specific age group, the players are sometimes combined with the age group above or below. When two age groups are combined, they will "play up" in the older group's age bracket to follow the "can play up, but can't play down" rule.

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Notably, U.S. Soccer has decided to move to an age group cycle in the future that will be more aligned to grade level. Washington Youth Soccer has not yet released guidance for us on how this will affect our programs, but as soon as we know, we will update our club.