Registration is open for the 2017 AYSO soccer season.

–With the start of the summer, sign-ups for AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) soccer season are well underway. Final walk-in sign ups for Atascadero AYSO is Saturday Jun. 24, from 9 a.m.- noon at Colony Park. Sign ups can also be done online at www.atascaderosoccer.org.

Recent changes set by the U.S. Soccer Organization regarding age grouping have resulted in both confusion and trepidation across the nation. SLO county leagues are no exception either, with age and division confusion in both AYSO and Cal South. These local leagues hope to clarify some of the issues that have come up with new rules. U.S. Soccer is the umbrella organization over all soccer leagues, including AYSO and Cal South and the new rules created by them affect all leagues in every city on the central coast.

Some rule changes include smaller field sizes for “12U” (under twelve division) and below, new rules for goalkeepers, but the most pressing change is to age groups. In past years, age groups were determined based on the child’s age on Jul. 31 of that year. Therefore, if kids were born any time after that date, they were considered a “year younger” than those born before that date. This meant that peers were in different divisions, despite their close age difference. Now, the new age separation is strictly based on the calendar year that the child was born. While this would seemingly clear up previous age-related issues, what is shown on paper only creates more confusion.

In registration, the child’s age group seems to be much broader. For example, in previous years, an eleven year old child born after Jul. 31, would have been placed in the “12U” division. Now, according to the new rules of registration, that child will be placed in the “14U” age group. Naturally, many parents saw this and thought that meant their eleven year old child would be playing with soon-to-be fourteen year-old teenagers and were hesitant to sign up their child to play soccer this season. However, despite the apparent age gap, the reality of the situation is much less drastic.

Continuing with the example of the “14U” age group, the “14U” division is for all players born between Jan. 1 of 2004 and Dec 31. of 2005. Therefore, the oldest player will be thirteen years old and the youngest player will turn twelve by the end of December, leaving an age gap of only one year. This means that the said eleven year old will not be playing with fourteen year-olds, but the soon to be twelve year old will be playing with thirteen year-olds. Essentially, the change in registration is not so much a change in reality as it is a change on paper. According to Atascadero AYSO commissioner Jody Watty, “All the changes to the division and registration process have been difficult on both the board and parents. We are working hard to break down all the info into digestible bites so that we can all work through these changes and have a fun soccer season.”

For this soccer season, the age division stands as such:

“6U:” born between 2012-2013

“8U:” born between 2010-2011

“10U:” born between 2008-2009

“12U:” born between 2006-2007

“14U:” born between 2004-2005

“16U:” born between 2002-2003

“18U:” born between 2000-2001

It should also be noted that the Atascadero AYSO currently lacks a “16U” division, but intends to reinstate the division once the final registration numbers are in.

Board members of AYSO and Cal South understand the confusion that can come from the new changes created for this season. But, they also wish to show that these new rules and regulations regarding age division aren’t as dramatic as they appear initially. They also wish to express clarification to these concerns now, knowing that the deadlines for registration are fast approaching.

The price of player registration for Atascadero AYSO is $140. From there, parents will have until Jul. 1 to sign up their players before registration closes. AYSO and Cal South urge parents looking to sign up players to do so as soon as possible. For more details about the upcoming soccer season, questions or concerns can be answered at local soccer organization websites:

Atascadero: www.atascaderosoccer.org

Paso Robles: www.pasoroblessoccer.com

Templeton: http://m.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=tys