Guides · By LeagueTables Editorial Team · Reviewed
MLS NEXT and ECNL age groups
Match the age label on your schedule to the competition page before you compare teams or plan a trip. Labels look similar across leagues, but the calendar behind them can differ.
What you will see on LeagueTables
Current MLS NEXT, ECNL, and ECNL RL pages use U-style age labels such as U13, U15, or U18/19. Pick the league first, then the age group, then the conference. That path keeps each standings standings tied to one competition group.
Club chats and older materials may still say B2010, G2011, BU13, or GU15. LeagueTables keeps the season's public labels rather than forcing every league into one format. The 2025-26 archive still uses birth-year labels for ECNL and ECNL RL. If two people are holding different labels for the same kid, search the club name and open the team page, then follow the conference link.
The 2026-27 age-group change
Beginning with the 2026-27 season, US Youth Soccer, AYSO, and US Club Soccer moved age groups to an August 1 through July 31 window instead of January 1 through December 31. The change is meant to better align many players with school-grade peers and reduce the trapped-player problem.
A U15, U16, or U17 page can now cover an August-to-July window rather than one calendar birth year. Players born from August through December may sit in a younger age-group label than they would have under calendar-year grouping, while players born from January through July may stay with the older part of that school-year group. Confirm eligibility with the league or club when tryouts, roster placement, travel, recruiting, or advancement depend on the answer.
MLS NEXT uses two calendars
For 2026-27, MLS NEXT Academy Division uses school-year age groups (August 1 through July 31). MLS NEXT Homegrown Division keeps birth-year age groups (January 1 through December 31) to stay aligned with the professional pathway. Both still appear on LeagueTables with U-style page labels, so open the correct division before you compare records.
ECNL and ECNL RL follow the US Club Soccer age-group cycle. LeagueTables does not decide age eligibility; it preserves the labels and groupings in the public source data.
Age groups sit between league and conference
Age-group pages list the conferences for that band. Conference pages hold the standings standings, recent results, and upcoming matches. Showcase, playoff, and finals events can use the same team and age label without counting in that conference standings. A club can appear under one age label in one competition and another label elsewhere.