Registration for the 2026-27 tackle season information:

San Antonio Patriots football is a part of the TAIAO state league, and we follow a very specific guidelines for grade/age eligibility. Make sure to read all of the information provided to know which grade you must register as to avoid any issues with your athlete's season and any administration conflicts with TAIAO which could result in loss of season/game time. The information following comes directly from the TAIAO website under their football rules.

If your athlete attended a traditional public or private school between K-8 then they should be classified with respect to the grade at which the athlete attended the school.  To classify an athlete using the “traditional school method” the school must have been an accredited entity with the state of Texas (so Co-ops and micro schools do not count).

Junior High Guidelines:

• If your athlete is 14 years of age he must be registered as a freshman on the high school team. Unless, you can provide proof from a public, private, or charter school that your athlete was held back sometime between the grades K-6. Evidence such as a transcript showing age/grade/year with class level. This would get submitted to TAIAO to either approve or deny the athlete for their requesting grade.

High School Guidelines:

• No homeschool athletes born before June 1, 2008 should be playing in TAIAO without having received an exemption.
• Athletes born between June 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009 should be classified as Seniors
• Athletes born between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010 can be classified as Juniors (or Seniors if they have already played 3 years of varsity sports)
• Athletes born between June 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011 can be classified as Sophomores (or Juniors if they have already played 2 years of varsity sports)
• Athletes born between June 1,2011 and May 31, 2012  can be classified as Freshman (or Sophomores if they have already played 1 year of varsity sports).

If an athlete starts playing any varsity sport at any age then they may only play 4 consecutive years. Exemptions to play younger players are rarely granted and must be given before the player starts playing varsity sports.

If your athletes did not obtain an age exemption before they became a varsity athlete they CAN NOT apply for an exemption after the fact. For example, if an athlete turned 14 years old before the season and did not apply for an exemption, the athlete would be classified as a Sophomore when entering play the following year.

It is important to remember that an athlete who starts his or her varsity participation in any sport (regardless of the league) will not be granted more than four years of eligibility in TAIAO without an exemption.  This means middle school athletes that compete in varsity sports in other leagues will need to apply for an exemption if they want to participate in a TAIAO varsity sport and not lose a year of eligibility.