Missouri Youth Soccer Association

Administration

Preparing Club Registrations for 26/27

As we look ahead to the upcoming season, we want to ensure you are fully informed and prepared for several important updates and enhancements across our programs and operations.

Key Dates to Remember:

June 1st:
  • 26/27 MYSA Competitive PLAYER Registrations may begin in GotSport
July 1st:
  • Background Check Applications Open Advise all coaches & managers to wait to complete their annual requirements
    (SafeSport cert. & Background check) until over the summer! This avoids mid-season lapses.
  • Official Roster Events Open for Registration (Registering Teams to a State Registration or League Event)
    • Players/Coaches/Managers can start being added to Official Rosters
August 1st:
  • 26/27 Opening Day! Roster and ID documents are officially active!

End-of-Season Registration Best Practices:

  • Before starting a new season registration, you should use the “Reset Team” function to remove all players from the Team Members list. This ensures that players are not mistakenly carried over to the new season who do not belong.
    GotSport Support – As a Club Admin- Resetting a Team’s Player Pool
  • Alternatively, you can also “Archive” all of the previous players in the club before the season. This removes them from your Players list to avoid roster mistakes. Players’ roles with your club will be reinstated when they complete a new Registration
    GotSport Support – How To Archive Players
  • Copy your previous season’s GotSport registration Program to make your life easier! Using the Copy Program function will allow you to Copy the Program Settings, payment plans, club branding, etc, while still allowing you to update dates and other settings as needed. 
    How to Copy Your Registration Program
  • As we all know, U.S. Soccer Federation will be transitioning from a calendar-year age matrix to a school-year age matrix beginning with the 2026/2027 seasonal year. To ensure your teams are set up correctly ahead of the new season, please view the document below with instructions on how to change your Team settings to match the new Age Group matrix.
    Age Change – Managing the Age Group Formation Change in GotSport: What Clubs & Teams Need to Know

If you have any questions regarding your registration, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Mitch@moyouthsoccer.org for assistance!

Understanding the 2026-2027 Season Age Group Changes

Age groups are changing? …Again?

Following extensive review and discussion, US Youth Soccer, AYSO, and US Club Soccer have all made a collective decision. They will move to an age group player formation cycle that runs from August 1 to July 31. This change will start with the 2026/27 season/registration year. This change was based on additional critical feedback. It was also influenced by data and expert input. The goal is to better align players with their school-grade peers.

The August 1 to July 31 age group player formation cycle will be used for all USYS league and Cup competitions for the 2026-27 season/registration year. This includes the National Championship Series (State Cup), the Presidents Cup, National League / Midest Conference and the MADL. 

US Youth Soccer CEO Tom Condone addressed the adjustment to the registration process: “At US Youth Soccer, our mission is to support the development of every player. After careful collaboration with our partners and listening to our membership, we believe this shift to an August 1 player formation cycle better aligns with school calendars, supports social and individual needs, and ultimately enhances the youth soccer experience for families across the country.”

When does this change occur?

This change will be enacted at the start of the 2026-27 seasonal / registration year, beginning August 1st 2026.
This will NOT impact the current, 25/26 season which runs through July 2026.

How does this change impact Missouri Youth Soccer Association players?

The simplest way to summarize the upcoming change is that on August 1st, 2026:

  • Players born January 1st through July 31st will progress to the higher age group for the 26/27 season.
    Ex. Player born in April 2017;
    25/26 Season: U9
    26/27 Season: U10
  • Players born August 1st through December 31st will remain in the same age group for the 26/27 season.
    Ex. Player born in September 2017;
    25/26 Season: U9
    26/27 Season: U9

Will there be exemptions for players born near the end of the cycle?

Unfortunately, we can NOT make any exceptions to the newly imposed age groups. MYSA do not have the authority to do so.
These new age groups are uniformly enforced at the national level. This guarantees that all states use the same standards. 

Many players will be affected by the change in age groups. We have tried to give everyone plenty of time to make the necessary adjustments ahead of next season.

Teams are assigned to an age group based on the age of the team’s OLDEST player.
If you intend on keeping the majority of your team together through next season, please be prepared. Some players may then be required to play-up to a higher age group in order to keep their team together entirely.
However, MYSA roster rules prevent players from joining teams more than 2 age groups above their natural age.

New AGE MATRIX 26_27Download