Beginning in the 2026-2027 season, US Youth Soccer (USYS) is moving away from age groups defined by calendar year birth years, to age groups defined by grade-based birth years.  The USYS formula uses August 1 as the cutoff date for age groups, meaning that players born from August 1 to July 31 in a 12-month period will be grouped together. Maryland State Youth Soccer Association (MSYSA) is following USYS’s guidance and implementing this change. 

The LTSC Board has been discussing how best to handle this change over the last few months. Recognizing this will disrupt our current age groups and teams, we’ve taken time to collect and analyze player age data for all of our current teams, spoken with neighboring clubs, and checked in on how leagues and tournaments that our teams regularly play in will be handling the change.  In almost all cases, clubs, leagues, and tournaments are adopting the new age group format.  After extensive discussion, LTSC has decided to adopt the new age group system with one small modification.

Because USYS’s age group cut off date (August 1) does not align with Maryland’s date requirement for school age (September 1), players born in August will be permitted to try out for either (a) the USYS age group that aligns with their date of birth, or (b) the next oldest USYS age group.  For example, a player born on August 15, 2017, may choose to try out for either (a) the 2017/2018 (U9) age group, or (b) the 2016/2017 (U10) age group. We believe this is consistent with the spirit of the USYS change to allow players of the same grade to play together. 

Families with children born in August must decide before evaluations as to which age group they will try out for.  Players will not be permitted to try out in two different age groups.  With this clarification in mind, the new age groups are provided below.

LTSC Travel team age groups* for the Fall 2026 Season

U7,   2019/2020:  August 1, 2019 - August 31, 2020

U8,   2018/2019:  August 1, 2018 - August 31, 2019

U9,   2017/2018:  August 1, 2017 - August 31, 2018

U10, 2016/2017:  August 1, 2016 - August 31, 2017

U11, 2015/2016:  August 1, 2015 - August 31, 2016

U12, 2014/2015:  August 1, 2014 - August 31, 2015

U13, 2013/2014:  August 1, 2013 - August 31, 2014

U14, 2012/2013:  August 1, 2012 - August 31, 2013

**U15, 2011/2012:  August 1, 2011 - August 31, 2012

**U16, 2010/2011:  August 1, 2010 - August 31, 2011

**U17, 2009/2010:  August 1, 2009 - August 31, 2010

**U18, 2008/2009:  August 1, 2008 - August 31, 2009

*August birthdays fall in two age groups and families may choose which one age group their player will try out for

**High School Age Group - more information will be forthcoming

LTSC will continue to field teams for high school-aged players, provided sufficient player interest exists. The LTSC Board is currently working on streamlining these age groups to provide options for players that are engaged full-time in high school soccer and for those that prefer LTSC to be a primary soccer option during the Fall season. We will be in touch as we work through these details.

Lastly, we understand that some families may be interested in LTSC’s stance regarding a player “playing up” in an older age group. While we believe most players should play within their age group, LTSC does have an existing policy that allows our highest performing players to try out for an Elite team in an older age group.  Families interested to learn more should reach out to their coaches or age group coordinators for more information.

We understand that this change by USYS will disrupt our age groups and teams, and that LTSC’s plan to align with this change may disappoint some families.  Please understand that we took this responsibility seriously and dedicated significant time, effort, and thought to arriving at these decisions.  We encourage families to reach out to their current coaches or age group coordinators, who are the point of communication for all players in an age group, to ask questions and discuss these changes as needed.  Age group coordinators for the new age groups and tryout dates (typically late April–May) will be announced soon, and we will share more information as we work through additional details associated with this transition.  Families may also reach out to our Boys Travel Program Coordinator (Chris Mason) or our Girls Travel Program Coordinator (Jeff Gredlein) if needed.  Their contact information can be found here.