Players are separated by gender and by age. See the age grouping chart below to determine your child's division. For example, GU8, also called U8G, refers to the "girls under 8" division. Players in this division are typically seven-year-old girls in second grade. The U10 and above divisions encompass multiple ages. 

A Division Commissioner (DC) oversees each division. The DC is responsible for forming teams and assigning players and coaches to the teams. Parents are always assigned to coach or assistant coach their own children. The DC attempts to balance the teams in terms of skill level and experience, and actively manages the division throughout the season, mentoring coaches, receiving feedback from parents, and facilitating the smooth operation of the division.

Our Region offers flexibility in our younger divisions for players with Fall birthdays to play with grade level peers in Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grades or up in their birth year division. Starting in the U10 Division, National policy requires that players play in divisions strictly by birth year rather than grade in school. See the “Divisions” section at the top of this page for specific cutoffs.

The division for your child is always determined by birth date.

Contact with the registrar at registrar@mpsoccer.org if you believe your child should be playing in an older division. Even if a child is physically more skilled than other players at his or her age level, he or she may not have the maturity to focus and participate effectively in a practice with older children.

For the wellbeing of all players, children cannot play “down” in a lower age division unless there are significant physical or developmental reasons for doing so. The Regional Commissioner must approve the rare exceptions, and may require a doctor’s letter that explains the reasons for playing down. Email rc@mpsoccer.org

Players are grouped into divisions based on their age. From there, players are placed onto teams. One of the six Philosophies of AYSO is “Balanced Teams.” Each year we form new teams as evenly balanced as possible, because it is fairer and more fun when teams of substantially similar ability play. In Kinderleague, experience and skill are presumed to be equal for purposes of team formation since it is normally the first year of play. Your child will be on a team with at least one or two other children from his or her school (unless it is a very small school, in which case we will try to include another similarly-situated player on your child’s team), but teammates may be from different classes or even different grades. AYSO provides terrific opportunities for children to make new friends.

Because of all the factors that have to be managed and balanced to create teams for 1000+ kids, AYSO cannot honor requests to play with a specific coach or player. Each team includes players from your child’s school and from different schools, so that children can make new friends from around the region and so that we can minimize the likelihood of dominant teams emerging in an age division. We are counting on you to support your child's AYSO experience regardless of which team he or she is on, consistent with the AYSO philosophy.

Our field space is extremely limited (a situation which is only becoming more challenging), and fields are assigned by age to ensure that all teams have enough room to practice. Within those parameters, coaches select the fields and practice times to best synchronize with their own schedules and work commitments. If you are coaching, you will be able to specify your practice field preferences.

Kinderleague (U6) holds a combined practice/scrimmage session on Saturday. U8 teams practice once or twice a week. Most teams U8+ practice twice a week. Practices are approximately one hour long, 75-90 minutes for older divisions.

Kinderleague is another name for the Under 6 (U6) divisions. Boys and girls play in separate divisions (BU6 and GU6) on single-sex teams. Players are typically between 4 and 6 years old and are most likely attending pre-kindergarten/preschool or kindergarten during the fall season. In Kinderleague, children learn basic skills and play 3-on-3 games in an informal, no-pressure, fun-focused setting. Each player must be accompanied by a parent or other adult who will assist with drills as required. Parents will also be recruited to coach.

Kinderleague teams meet once a week on Saturday afternoons for one hour. Typically a team works on drills for the first half hour and then scrimmages with another team for the second half hour. No additional games or practices are scheduled during the week for Kinderleague teams. Teams usually have 14 players and break into four squads of 3 players each for scrimmages.Players receive a uniform and socks; parents must provide shinguards and appropriate shoes. Soccer cleats are not required.