It is important to state that the Play-Up Exception has been in place for every assessment process since 2015. See below for how it will be applied and who it will apply to.

• The Play-Up Exception is only applicable to those players who are playing in the Competitive Program from ages U11-U18/19 (See School Year Age Group Matrix above to see which age group your player will be next year).
• The Play-Up Exception is not applicable for any other program apart from the Competitive Program.

1st Step - The first step is to make sure that your player is registered for their own age groups assessment and that they successfully attend this tryout. This is where your player will receive their first assessment score to see if they are applicable for a 1st assessment with the age group above. If your player does not make a 1st assessment in their own age group, they will be unable to move to the 2nd step in the process.

2nd Step - The player attends the assessment for the age group above and waits to hear back from the soccer club on whether or not they were evaluated as a top-3 player in that age group. 

Flight also has a responsibility to ensure that any exception is truly in the best interest of the player. While these situations are considered exceptions, each one will be reviewed individually, with final confirmation provided by Flight.

August/September Birth Exception (One-Time Choice)
In accordance with what is currently permitted within Ascension Parish Schools, and to align with the intentions of USYS (See Tom Condone Statement Above) to place players with their school-grade peers we have created the following exception.

Players born in August or September who were intentionally placed as the youngest in their school grade may make a one-time decision on which age group they prefer to play with (i.e., their school year social group or the US Youth Soccer registration year) pending LSA Play-up petition approval.

The example below is intended for you to be able to change out age ranges, grades and dates from the age-group matrix above to fit your child's situation. 

For example, a player born Aug. 1, 2013-July, 31, 2014 (7th grade) is an Under-13 player for the 26/27 soccer season. If this individual in question is born August 1 to September 30 of 2014 (Let's use August 30) and his/her parents decided that their child was to be the youngest in their grade (A 7th grade student), these children will be permitted the ability to decide the following:

1. To play with his/her school friends (Social group) and be an Under-13 player.
OR
2. To play in their US Youth Soccer Age Group with the 6th Graders (Aug. 1, 2014 - July, 31, 2015) and play as an Under-12 player.

Flight also has a responsibility to ensure that any exception is truly in the best interest of the player. While these situations are considered exceptions, each one will be reviewed individually, with final confirmation provided by Flight.

NB: THE PLAYER ONLY GETS TO MAKE THIS DECISION ONCE. THERE WILL NOT BE  A BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN WHAT THEY DO ON A YEAR TO YEAR BASIS. ONCE THE DECISION IS MADE, IT IS MADE FOR THE DURATION OF THEIR TIME WITH ASCENSION FLIGHT SOCCER CLUB. 

Reach out to dan_hawkins@ascensionflight.org explaining to him that exception #2 applies to your player and you would like for them to be considered for this exception so we can make a note in our files to ensure that communication is maintained throughout.

As stated in the previous FAQ, Flight also has a responsibility to ensure that any exception is truly in the best interest of the player. While these situations are considered exceptions, each one will be reviewed individually, with final confirmation provided by Flight.

The new age group registration format will go into effect for programs starting in the Fall of 2026 soccer season. 

Due to the disruption of changing from Birth Year (1/1-12/31) to School year (8/1-7/31) there is no guarantee of what any team will look like. Flight's advice is the same as every year, try out every where to allow for your player to find the best fit for them. Yes, we would love for you to remain with us, but one thing that we want more is for your player to be happy with where they are playing soccer so that they can continue to play long term.