Age Designations

Soccer ages are determined once per year and hold for the whole year. The soccer year corresponds to the academic year, so your “soccer age” is the same for Fall and the following Spring (i.e. not the calendar year).   To determine your childs “soccer age” ask “how old was the child on LAST July 31?” For example, if a child was 13 years old on July 31 they will play in the Under 14 (U14) age group for the following fall and spring seasons, until the next July 31 when they move up to U15 or U16. If a child turns 14 during the year they will still play in the U14 age group. In age group designations the “U” stands for “Under” on July 31.  If you are not sure what age group to register for, this Player Age Chart will show you what age group your player is eligible for.

Play Up Policy
Due to the July 31 cut off date, there will be certain players whose birth dates technically place them in an age group below that of their classmates or peers. These players may request a so called “grade appropriate” play up. Every effort is made to allow players to remain with their peers assuming the overall numbers allow and assuming the player is capable of playing at the higher age group. Any player who falls into this ‘grade appropriate’ category, and desires to play up to an age group higher than where their birth date places them so they are with their classmates, must request this at the time of registration. All play up requests are reviewed individually and must be approved by the AUSC Board of Directors.

All play up requests are also subject to the following criteria:

• Coaches and/or age group coordinators from both age groups must approve the play up request
• A player will NOT be approved for a play up if they “displace” a player at the higher age group, i.e. cause someone to be cut due to roster limitations

It should also be noted that once a ‘grade appropriate’ play up request has been approved, that player would be allowed to play up automatically for all subsequent years.

The only other “play ups” considered will be those that are club initiated. There are some situations where the club will ask a player or players to play up if it makes the overall numbers for the teams more favorable. In the event of the rare and exceptional player who is identified by coaches as clearly exceeding the ability level of his or her peers, that player may also be asked to play up. All club initiated play ups will be valid for that year only and reviewed each year