Hi RPSC Families,
We hope your spring is going well and wanted to reach out with some information ahead of our Fall soccer season.
2026 RPSC Board
In February we held our Annual General Meeting and voted in our new board for 2026. I’d like to welcome our new at large board members, Dennis Bierwirth and Reed Strege and thanks to Allison Cunningham and Dylan Holcomb for their commitment over the past few years, who left our board.
Fall Registration
Registration will open on May 1st for the Fall season and remain open until May 31st. We will then start assigning players to teams along with coaches. If you are interested in coaching, please ensure you mark your interest when registering your child in May. Registration information and link to register can be found on our website
Season Start Date Change
We will be forming teams a little earlier in 2026 due to the fall season starting a few weeks earlier than in past. All local clubs have agreed to start the season earlier in 2026 to align with local school district’s return to school dates. This also helps with end of season and issues with the time change, when we lose light for practices
U10-16 age groups will start their 10-game league season on August 15th and end on October 31st. There will be 2 weekends off for Labor Day on Sept 5th & the regular Bye week for re-seeding on September 26th.
U6-U8 age groups season dates that we run in house (with East Sac SC for U8) will be confirmed this spring ahead of registration opening
Age Group changes – Birth year to School year
What’s Changing?
For the 2026-2027 seasonal year and beyond, US Youth Soccer (the organization who governs the game in the US) will use the School Year age grouping method from August 1 – July 31 instead of the Calendar Year method that has been used for the past years of January 1 – December 31. This means players will be grouped based on their school year rather than their birth year alone
Why the Change?
This update ensures that all players, both competitive and recreational, have a greater opportunity to play with their friends from school. By aligning with the school year, it helps foster stronger team chemistry, a better player experience, and a more inclusive playing environment!
Especially in recreational soccer – Many kids begin playing on a soccer team in order to be with their friends. Under the calendar year system, a child born in December would not be able to play on the team with their best school friend who was born in January. At the youngest age groups it is our mission to grow the game & at U6/U8, provide opportunities for as many players as possible, and help children fall in love with soccer. Any barrier to a player starting to play the game goes against those goals.
At River Park SC, we are a small club and will follow these new rules for the 2026 fall season, but there could be some teams that still have a mix of players from 2 different School years due to registration numbers and us having to form teams based on numbers available.
We look forward to a great season of soccer ahead & Go RPSC!!
Ps. Spoiler alert – our new club uniform’s look amazing!
Jamie Kent
RPSC Club Manager
www.Riverparksoccer.com