What exactly is the big change this season? For the Fall 2018 season, AYSO Region 773 is following the AYSO National organization in making one fundamental change to our age group, or division, system: We’re changing how we determine an age

What’s the change in how you determine age? AYSO is switching to so-called “birth year” registration. Under the previous registration system, age was determined as of July 31. Under birth year registration, division is determined solely based on a player’s date of birth, so for example, all players born in 2010 will be in the same age group, regardless of whether they were born in January 2010 or December 2010, and also regardless of whether they’re in the same grade at school. This change complies with the new guidelines of U.S. Soccer, the governing body of soccer in the U.S.

How does this change affect my child’s division assignment? If your child was born between January and July, this change does not affect his or her division. If your child was born between August and December, he or she will automatically be placed in an older division than under the previous system.

Does that mean my child will skip a division? In some cases, yes. Because this is a transition year, some players with birthdays in August-December will skip a division. However, in the past, some of these players have already chosen to play up a division to play with other kids in their grade. The switch to birth year registration almost fully eliminates the need to move up for that reason.

What if my child’s birth year now places him/her with children who are mostly in a higher grade? Can we move him/her down? As a rule, AYSO does not allow move-downs to a division below a player’s age group.