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Rumson Futbol Club

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16

Feb, 2026

Approach to the Change in Age Group Formation

If you haven't already heard, across the entire US Soccer ecosystem, there will be a change in how teams are formed by age that will take effect beginning with the 2026–2027 seasonal year (Fall 2026 – Spring 2027).

Currently, players are grouped by Birth Year (Jan 1–Dec 31) in order to ensure fair and consistent competition. Starting in Fall 2026, age groups will shift to Aug 1–Jul 31. While this is often described as moving to grouping by “school year," it will still go by the birth date of the player and not the player's grade in school. Nonetheless, in most cases, players will now be grouped with classmates, which is the intended purpose of the change.

Beginning with tryouts in April/May 2026 for Teams beginning play in Fall 2026, Rumson FC teams will follow the new age ranges, aligning with the leagues we play in and our State Association.

As such, all players will register for tryouts within the new birth date ranges and our goal will be to build teams in alignment with the new ranges. Our focus remains on providing the best environment for growth and development and we believe, for most players, this will be in alignment with the new age ranges.

That will mean that some players born between Aug 1st and Dec 31st may move from their current team to another team with younger players. For most, this will mean players in their grades in school, but, for some, this may actually take them out of playing with teammates from their current grades, depending on when they started school.

Therefore, since we always want to do what's right for an individual player's development, as part of the tryout process, parents will be able to request for their player to be evaluated to “play up” into the older age group (which will often be made up of players with whom they currently play). This is no change from our current "play-up" procedures and will involve the professional trainers evaluating the player to see if he or she fits on the older team skills-wise and will consider overall team makeup and the player's grade in school as part of the final team placement decision.

We know change can bring uncertainty, but we are committed to a focus on player development in a fun and fair environment. More details will be shared as we open up tryout registration in March.

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Rumson Futbol Club

Rumson, New Jersey 07760

Email: [email protected]

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Rumson Futbol Club

Rumson Futbol Club

News Detail

16

Feb, 2026

Approach to the Change in Age Group Formation

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