We follow the US Soccer Guidelines for youth soccer and have adjusted our programs accordingly in recent years.

One of the rule changes that had the biggest impact was the age change rule, which requires that all players will now be registered and compete by birth year rather than by school year or grade, as was typical for decades, until a few years ago.  As a result, there are some players (particularly those born October-December) that may be unable to play on teams with their classmates, since league rules prohibit playing "down" to a younger age group.  While players may play "up" to an older age group, that practice is generally discouraged except in unusual circumstances.   See more below the chart about that.

For younger players just starting out, the primary impact is possibly playing with players from a different grade -- as a result, though, it gives boys and girls an opportunity to make friends with players they may not have otherwise played a sport with.  However, younger players that adhere to the birth year age grouping will be accustomed to playing with players from other grades at the outset.

The PWSC suggests that all players, including those in our younger intramural programs, register for the appropriate birth year age group based on the US Soccer guidelines.  That being said, for the youngest groups, since they are not playing in any outside league sanctioned by US Soccer (and subject to age restrictions), we are able to provide a bit more flexibility for players that wish to start out with players in the same grade.  Of course, once those players "graduate" to a travel-style program, we can no longer offer that flexibility (due to league rules), so those players will experience disruption with the players they are grouped with at some point down the road.

For a more complete explanation, and for the latest US Soccer "Age Matrix" chart detailing what age group ("U_") a player would currently be classified in, please see below:

That's a question that is decided by our Director of Coaching, but those exceptions are only made in specific instances, and not just because a parent prefers it or believes it's better for their player.   We take a long-term view of a player's development, and avoid pushing them too hard, too early - burnout does ensue for many players by the time they get to high school, after bouncing around from program to program searching for "more", whether it's playing up or playing with a highly competitive (and demanding) team.  We want our players to have fun, first and foremost - the soccer skills and physical attributes develop at different paces (including early for some players, who at first appear way ahead of their age group, but less so a few years later when everyone else 'catches up').  Unless the player is so far above their age group, we prefer to see them continue to gain confidence and excel, and keep having fun at the younger ages.  Once we get near U12-U13 ages,  our Director of Coaching may eventually bring them to a tryout for NYCFC Youth Academy, through our youth club affiliate partnership with NYCFC.

"My kid runs circles around the other players, so they should play up."

Sure, we've heard that, but is that so bad at a young age, and why not let them just enjoy it?

Here's a video of young kid that ran circles around kids his age, and developed into a pretty decent player... ;-)