Blackhawks Position on Grade Year Change
The Board wanted to share updated information about the Birth Year to Grade Year change for team competition starting in the Fall 2026 season.
As we previously shared, The Blackhawks will align with NJ Youth Soccer, US Youth Soccer, and US Club Soccer and move to an August 1 through July 31 age-group timeframe. This change will be used for tryouts this coming spring for team formation for the Fall 2026 / Spring 2027 seasons.
Grade-Level Exception (August & September Birthdays)
We recognize that New Jersey’s October 1 school cutoff does not perfectly align with U.S. Soccer’s new August 1 age cutoff. As a result, some players may find themselves placed in a different soccer age group than their current school grade.
To address this, players who:
- Were born in August or September, and
- Are currently enrolled in the grade level that aligns with the next oldest US Soccer age group
may request to try out with their grade-level (older) age group.
This exception applies only to players who meet both criteria. Even when eligible, families are encouraged to carefully consider whether aligning with the new August 1 age grouping may better reflect the player’s current developmental and competitive level.
Team placement decisions will continue to be based on coach and trainer evaluations, tryout performance, and roster size considerations to ensure we can appropriately field teams at each grade level.
If a player who requests the exception does not place on the top-rated team for that grade, they may be assigned to a lower flighted team within that grade or placed on another age-eligible team, depending on overall roster needs.
Tryouts & Team Formation Process Update
Spring tryouts will proceed as usual; however, players will register and be evaluated according to the new U.S. Soccer age-group calendar (August 1–July 31). Please look at the 2026-2027 column to verify which age group your child will register to tryout.
Eligible August and September-born players who are enrolled in the older grade may indicate during registration that they wish to try out with the older age group. Those players will also be required to attend their age-eligible (younger) group session to allow for proper evaluation and comparison if needed.
We understand that change can be challenging and appreciate your continued patience and support as we implement this transition.
The Board of the Blackhawks