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Birth Year to Grade Year Team Formation Update
Effective Summer/Fall 2026
Oregon Futbol Academy (OFA) is committed to keeping families informed as youth soccer continues to evolve nationwide.
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Beginning in Summer 2026, OFA will transition from forming teams based on a player’s birth year to forming teams based on a player’s school grade year. This update is required by U.S. Soccer and Oregon Youth Soccer Association (OYSA) and will affect clubs across the country.
Our goal is to make this change clear, smooth, and family-friendly.
US Youth Soccer & OYSA Policy Change
Why Is This Change Happening?
The primary goal is to better align soccer teams with school-grade peers. Under the old calendar-year system, some players became “out of sync” with classmates. This created what associations call “trapped players” — children who were placed in age groups that didn’t match their school grade.
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From a developmental perspective, aligning teams by grade year helps create:
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Stronger team chemistry
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Better social connection among teammates
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More consistent emotional and physical development environments
OFA Timeline: When Does This Begin?
May 2026
Grade-year teams will be used during our Assessment & Placement Period
Summer 2026
Grade-year groupings will be used for Summer Programs and Camps
Fall 2026
Grade-year grouping becomes the standard for official team formation
How Grade-Year Placement Works
Grade-year groupings follow a school-year cutoff window:August 1 – July 31Example (for the 2026–27 school year):
Aug 1, 2016 – Jul 31, 2017 → typically the 4th Grade group
Aug 1, 2015 – Jul 31, 2016 → typically the 5th Grade group
This means players with close birthdays (late July and early August) may now stay together if they are in the same grade.
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