The birth year dilemma describes the unique challenges facing age classifications for youth sports. Here, we’ll define the birth year dilemma, examine the various policy changes from U.S. Soccer around this topic, and explore how age cutoffs shape youth girls’ soccer.
What is the Birth Year dilemma?
The so-called birth year dilemma refers to the challenges surrounding the age cutoffs for youth athletes.
In 2015, the U.S. Soccer Federation implemented a major policy change from school year to birth year when determining a young athlete’s eligibility. Instead of grouping athletes by chronological age or grade, the birth year system goes by (you guessed it!) birth year, beginning January 1 of any given year. Prior to 2015, August was the age cutoff and many young athletes were on teams with students from their own grade.
The shift from school year to birth year was intended to align US Soccer with the international soccer community. The birth year system was also meant to reduce the likelihood of Relative Age Effects (RAE) or selection bias towards students born earlier in the calendar year.
What are the advantages and criticisms of the birth year structure in youth soccer?
When the change was implemented, many expressed frustration as teams…
