Dear Los Gatos United Families,

Beginning in the 2026-2027 season, U.S. Soccer is changing its age group restrictions to move away from birth year to instead align with scholastic year. The governing bodies of youth soccer voted to implement this change. 

The leagues we participate in, including ECNL and NorCal, are following their lead. All clubs will be required to comply. 

What will the change look like?

Age groups will no longer be defined by birth year and will instead follow scholastic year, with Aug. 1 through July 31 used as the cutoff dates. 

U.S. Soccer believes this is in the best interest of our players because it will increase participation and retention, improve social fit and reduce the number of trapped players (kids whose soccer age group doesn’t match their grade).

When will this take place?

This change will not impact the current season.

It is effective starting for the tryout season in May, 2026, and will impact the way teams are formed for the Fall 2026-Spring 2027 season. 

What this means for our club:

After careful consideration and discussion with leaders and coaches throughout our club, Los Gatos United has decided it will keep the same policy the club has been using, which encourages all players to be rostered in the correct age group according to U.S. Soccer regulations.

What if my child is already playing a year up?

LGU will continue to examine each player on a case-by-case basis and encourage conversations between families and coaches to determine which team is the best fit for each player. 

In cases where players are proving to be dominant performers in their own age group and coaches believe playing a year up would be beneficial to their development, the club will continue to support those opportunities. 

As always, no player will be permitted to play down an age group.

Does this mean my child will have a new coach in the fall? 

Regardless of the age group definitions, the club performs an assessment on coaching assignments at the end of every season to make sure coaches are best suited to fit each team’s skillsets and personalities. That often results in exciting new growth opportunities for both the players and coaches who are given new assignments and able to be challenged in ways that facilitate improvement and enjoyment of the sport. 

What are the next steps?

Nothing will change until the end of the season, so you don’t have to do anything right now.

Review the associated chart to see which age group your child would fall into for the following season and have conversations with your coach if you have questions about the change. 

Thank you for your continued support in making Los Gatos United the place to be for competitive and recreational youth soccer in Northern California.

– The Los Gatos United Leadership Team