USClub Soccer (alongside most other youth soccer sanctioning organizations) has decided to switch back to a school-year-based age group system beginning in the 2026/27 season.

See the tryout age matrix page for additional help

When you join a team, you’re committing to that team for the entire registration year, June through May. The club has not yet published its 2026-2027 registration fees and dues; you can view the prior year’s registration dues. The club will continue to offer more payment options this year, including Credit Cards, Checks, and an 11-month payment plan.

Starting in 2023, Woodland Soccer Club began formalizing the process of player-to-team assignments post-tryouts, with the goal of producing the most competitive teams and providing players with the best match of skill level to competition. Woodland Soccer Club Coordinators created ranked teams in each age group and assigned an ‘Orange’, ‘White’, and ‘Black’ team order. During tryouts, players will be selected for a team in the order of the team’s rank. The coach of the ‘Orange’ team will be granted first rights to offer a squad position on their team to any player in the age group; the coach of the ‘White’ team is granted second rights, and so on, depending on how many teams are present in that age group.

A player/parent may reject a coach’s offer to join a higher-ranked team, in which case the coach of the next lower-ranked team can then offer a position on their team to that player. Players and family should have candid and open discussions with the Director of Coaching, Coordinator, and the coaches about what is best for their player’s development.

Tryouts run for 3 days, and to give coaches the best opportunity to evaluate the player and their skill level, it is best to attend all tryout days. However, the minimum is 1 tryout day.

Woodland Soccer Club cannot guarantee a spot on a team to every player who attends tryouts. Unlike recreational soccer, a competitive soccer club seeks to produce the most competitive team(s) possible given the available player pool. The following situations may result in your player not being asked to join a team.

1. The available player pool exceeds the number of spots across all teams in that age group. This number can be different for different age groups and for teams, as the age group and coach determine how many players they need for their team.
2. There is no team (Coach) available for a specific age group; this is particularly an issue for the youngest age groups if no team has yet been formed.
3. The player’s skill level does not match the competitive level of the team(s) in that age group. For example, if all teams in a particular age group are playing in the Gold and above divisions and the player trying out is a novice/beginner player, the competition level of the team is much higher than the skill level of the player, and would be a poor fit.

Every effort will be made to provide each player during tryouts with the best option that matches their skill level with a WSC team. Some new teams may form from the process, and new coaches may be sought. Every family, however, will receive some form of notification and explanation.

Playing Up an Age Group

Beginning with the 2026/2027 season, Woodland Soccer Club will transition from birth-year teams to school-year–based teams (August 1 – July 31). Due to this significant change, approval to play up an age group will be granted only in limited and exceptional circumstances.

Tryout Requirement

All players are required to attend tryouts for their school-year-eligible age group ONLY. This requirement is mandatory and applies to all players, including those requesting to play up.

Players must participate in the full tryout process for their school-year-eligible age group in order to be properly evaluated and considered for placement. Players who do not attend tryouts for their school-year-eligible age group will not be eligible for selection to any team.

Players may be invited by the club to attend additional sessions with older age groups after evaluation in their school-year-eligible group, but attendance at older age group tryouts does not replace the requirement above.

Eligibility to Play Up

Playing up is not guaranteed and will be considered only when all of the following conditions are met:

• A formal nomination by a WSC coach
• Completion of a Playing Up Request and Consent Form by the parent/guardian, coach, and club after tryouts
• Availability of roster space, as each team will have a strict limit on the number of players permitted to play up
• Determination by the club that playing up is in the best long-term developmental interest of the player

Competitive Placement Priority

For player development and competitive balance, players will not be approved to play up if:

• The older age group team is competing in a Silver or lower division, and
• A more competitive team is available within the player’s school-year-eligible age group

In these situations, the player will be placed with their school-year-eligible team.

Final decisions regarding playing up are made by Woodland Soccer Club and are based on player development, team needs, roster balance, and league competition standards.