Player Information

Age Divisions

In AYSO (like most soccer organizations), we group players together on teams by the player's age and gender.  These soccer age divisions are usually defined using an "under-age" rule, meaning the players in that division are less than that age.  For instance, "under 10 boys" (often written U10B) is for boys who are at most 9 years old as of July 31.  Because there is a U8B division, players in the U10 division are almost always 8 or 9 years old as of July 31.  The Jamboree program is an exception: the player must be 4 before the first day of the current season's practice (as opposed to on July 31).

The age divisions we use for Region 390 are:

For more information about the AYSO age divisions, see the AYSO Age Guide.

Region 390 also provides the AYSO Very Important Players (VIP) program for our community.  This program allows youth and adults whose physical and/or mental disabilities make it difficult to participate on mainstream teams an opportunity to play organized soccer.  For more information about the VIP program, see our VIP page.

Uniform

A soccer player's uniform consists of a jersey, shorts, shin guards, socks, and shoes (soccer cleats, sometimes called boots, are often used but athletic shoes are OK).  We use jerseys with the official AYSO logo.  All parts of this uniform except the shoes can be purchased at the Region 390 office during registration.

The uniform colors we use depend on the age of the player:
  • U5: red t-shirt, any color shorts/pants, any color socks.
  • U6 and older: burgundy (home) or silver (away) jersey, black shorts, black socks.
The VIP team wears red and white jerseys.

Note the use of black shorts for these divisions is new starting Spring 2013.  (In the recent past, U12 and older used red shorts.)

Regardless of which jersey you wear, be sure to bring both jerseys to the match.  You never know when you might have to switch jersey colors.

Uniform Safety

For safety, anything hard such as baseball caps, hard casts, hair beads or hard plastic hair bands are not permitted during matches or practices.  Likewise, no type of jewelry (e.g., bracelet, watch, earring, rings, or necklace) are allowed.  Taping over these items is not sufficient - they must be removed for the player to be on the field.  The only exception is for medical or religious medallions are allowed but must be taped down.

Ball

The size of ball you use depends on your age division:
  • U8 and under: size 3 ball
  • U10-U12: size 4 ball
  • U14 and older: size 5 ball
You should have a ball of the correct size that you can bring to practices and games, and that you can use for practice at home.  Balls are available for purchase at the AYSO office during registration periods.

Heading Restrictions (New for Fall 2016)

In 2016, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF, of which AYSO is a part) placed restrictions on heading the ball by youth players to avoid the potential for concussion.  In AYSO, the restrictions are:

  • For players in the U12 and younger divisions, heading in games and practices is prohibited.  If a player heads the ball during a game, an indirect free kick from the location of the header is given to the opposing team.
  • For players in the U14 and older divisions, heading is allowed in games and practices.  However, for U14 players, heading practice is limited to 30 minutes per week.
Note that these restrictions are not optional -- AYSO coaches and referees must abide by them.