Building a Safe Environment: Why Our Coach Background Checks & Requirements Matter When parents entrust us with their young athletes, our primary responsibility extends beyond teaching proper footwork, tactical awareness, and sportsmanship. Above all else, our top priority is player safety and wellbeing. To uphold the highest standard of protection on and off the field, our club strictly adheres to the coaching compliance standards established by U.S. Soccer (USSF) and US Club Soccer . Here is a look at why our background screening process is so critical and what goes into keeping our sidelines safe. 1. Prioritizing Athlete Safety Above All Else Youth sports should always be a sanctuary where players learn, grow, and build confidence free from harm. Implementing thorough background screenings ensures that every adult stepping onto the pitch as a coach, assistant, or team manager has been thoroughly vetted. It provides families with peace of mind, knowing their children are guided by trustworthy role models.  2. Complete Compliance with USSF & US Club Soccer Guidelines As a sanctioned club operating under USSF and US Club Soccer governance, compliance isn't optional—it is a mandatory pillar of our organization. Both governing bodies mandate that all staff and adult participants meet federal, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), and organizational risk-management policies before receiving clearance to interact with youth players. 3. What Our Screening & Onboarding Process Includes Our coaches complete a multi-step vetting process prior to taking the field: Comprehensive Background Screening: Handled through approved national screening providers, this check searches criminal registries, sex offender registries, and official eligibility lists. Screenings are renewed every two years to maintain active status. SafeSport Certification: Coaches complete mandatory U.S. Center for SafeSport education covering abuse prevention, recognizing signs of misconduct, and understanding proper reporting procedures. Annual Safety Training: Includes safety modules through platforms like the U.S. Soccer Learning Center or GotSport, keeping coaches up-to-date on modern athlete-protection protocols. A Shared Commitment to Our Soccer Community While completing background checks and annual training requires time and dedication from our coaching staff, it is a non-negotiable step in maintaining a culture of safety, trust, and accountability. We are incredibly grateful to our coaches for their commitment to these standard procedures, and to our soccer families for placing their trust in us every season.

What is changing? Since 2016, age groups have been determined by the calendar year (January 1 to December 31). Starting in the Fall of 2026, the cutoff will revert to a seasonal-year model (August 1 to July 31). T his shift is designed to align youth soccer more closely with the traditional school year, allowing players to compete alongside their classmates and reducing the social and logistical challenges for "trapped players" (those separated from their grade-level peers). CLICK HERE to find out more from US Club Soccer As announced at the February U.S. Soccer Youth Council meeting, the National Associations – US Youth Soccer (USYS), American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), and US Club – have agreed to adopt an age group formation cycle running from August 1 to July 31, beginning with each Organization Member’s 2026-2027 season/registration year. As a reminder, there are no age formation cycle changes for the upcoming 2025-2026 season. U.S. Soccer will continue to monitor other Organization Members’ decisions and post those decisions once confirmed. We are also continuing to work with the Youth Council to capture frequently asked questions (FAQs) received from membership, parents / guardians, clubs, and leagues and will make them available once consolidated. Player Age Group / Roster Formation Tool This tool will help determine a player’s age group based on their date of birth. After entering the player’s birthdate, the tool will display the possible age group options for three roster formation cycles: January 1–December 31, August 1–July 31, and September 1–August 31. The results are intended as a guide; please consult your club, league, or Organization Member to confirm the most appropriate age group for the player. >> Access the Tool Our Process U.S. Soccer conducted a survey with members, leagues, and clubs, while also gathering formal feedback from the broader ecosystem. We received over 15,000 responses from members, leagues, clubs, coaches, families, and participants. Results We’ve gotten very clear feedback: members need the flexibility to organize their player registration calendar based on what will best support soccer in their environment and communities. U.S. Soccer members want more kids to experience the joy of soccer — and to offer the optimal opportunity for each player’s desired development. Starting in the Fall of 2026, members will have reasonable flexibility to choose the best registration option for their participants. There is no registration change for the 2025-2026 season. Final Decision U.S. Soccer’s new policy allows organization members to be the decision-maker on the registration choices for leagues and competitions that they sanction and/or run. For the organization memeber's 2025-2026 season, there should be no change to the age group formation cycle (i.e., registration cycle). For the organization member's 2026-2027 season, organization members will be responsible for approving the age group formation cycle for their leagues and competitions. The primary age group formation choices are: (1) Birth Year – January 1-December 31, (2) Seasonal Year – August 1-July 31, or (3) Seasonal Year – September 1-August 31. The Why Behind The Final Decision As outlined in our previous statement , we recognize how important this decision is and ran a thorough process to capture feedback about the best path forward. Below outlines the key insights that emerged from our assessment of over 15,000 ecosystem stakeholder responses to support this decision. Localized Decision-Making | Player registration should reflect the unique characteristics of local participants (e.g., school year timing) Segment-Based Considerations | Acknowledgement that registration choice may need to differ across the recreation, competitive, and pre-professional segments Primary Registration Choices | Three registration choices emerged as the best options to cover participants across the country; more than three may become confusing, but a different option could be appropriate at the recreation level Scouting Clarity | Regardless of the registration choice, players will need to be scouted based on their birth year Member Visibility Over Leagues & Participants | Organization members, with the visibility of their entire sanctioned league population, can ensure leagues are appropriately aligned via the annual affiliation / sanctioning process Alignment of Post-Season Play & Standalone Competitions | It is generally seen that for regular seasons serving as qualifiers for post-season competitions, those seasons should be on the same registration choice as the end-state competition (e.g., national championships); for standalone competitions not part of league play (e.g., showcases), organization members will be responsible for working with the competition organizers on clearly communicating the approved registration choice >> U.S. Soccer’s Statement on Final Player Registration Decision