Cougar Soccer Club’s Academy Program

Since 1965 the Cougar Soccer Club (CSC) of Maplewood & South Orange has provided boys and girls of all ages and abilities a competitive, friendly and fun environment to learn and play soccer.

In 2004 the Club started MSO Kickers. Know originally as Cougar Kickers and designed for children in Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Focused on fun and lots of touches of the ball the program grew. MSO Kickers offers three independent “seasons” – fall, winter (indoor) and spring.

In the spring of 2008 Mini-Kickers was launched. Due to popular demand from parents we began to offer a program for 3 and 4 year olds. The focus at this level was fun, no crying and minimal time hanging onto the parent’s leg.

Today MSO Kickers serves over 400 children in both towns. As we have grown so has the need for a program that would assist our players in the transition from Kickers to Travel or Rec. Many of our 7 and 8 year olds had played one, two and three years and were ready for more.

In the fall of 2008 we introduced the U8 Academy program and we adjusted the age requirement for MSO Kickers as well. Instead of K – 2nd it’s now 5-7 year olds (with Minis remaining 3-4). This change was to bring our programming in-line with the ages the state leagues use to determine teams. We wanted to move the 8 and soon to be 8 year olds (typically 2nd graders) out of Kickers and into the Academy program. Kickers now has 5 year olds together and 6-7 year olds together.

The Academy program was designed to fill a void between for our Kickers players. At U9 ( kids whose birthdays make them 8 or 9 years old based on the cut off) the players move up to Travel offered by the Cougar Soccer Club or Rec offered by SouthOrange recreation dept. A lot of our 2nd graders were 8 years old and had to make the jump from the quartersized field we use for Kickers to a small sided soccer field 4 times larger. We wanted a program to bridge this gap. While the leagues in NJ offer U8 travel programs we decided to keep the program in town.

Working with our professional trainers at Ashley Soccer we have designed a curriculum building on the fundamentals they receive during the week in practice while introducing modified small sided games against other CougarAcademy teams on the weekend. The players are introduced to rules, positions and real game play. Sportsmanship and team play are emphasized. The games are reffed by the same trainers the kids practice with during the week and our supervised by the parent coaches on the sidelines – offering support, encouragement and managing substitutions. Upon graduating from the Academy program at the end of the spring season parents have the choice of getting their player involved with the Cougar SC Travel program or the Recreation program offered through the BairdCenter. Whichever program best suits the needs of the player and the parent the U8Academy program will have them better prepared to continue to enjoy playing soccer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old must my player be?

Players born between Aug 1 2001 and Jul 31 2002 are eligible for the 09/10 season.

Is it coed?

We have boys teams and girls teams in Academy. At the Kicker level we have moved to coed teams over the past two years. It opened up more spaces for more kids to play. As the kids get older the leagues in NJ are boys or girls only teams. The Cougar SC has 10 boys travel teams and 6 girls travel teams. The Cougar SC and the Cougar United Club merged this past fall back into one club.

What’s the game day difference between Kickers vs. Academy?

While the typical Saturday for Kickers consists of some fun games, skills and 20-30 minutes of scrimmage the Academy Saturday begins with a warm up, a review of lessons learned in practice and 40-50 minutes of game play

Game days will be two teams playing one another in a small game setting. Trainers will run the “games” in a 5v5 upt to 8v8 line-ups with and without a goalkeeper. Games will focus on field awareness, re-starts, and substitutions. Each game will end with a brief group summary to reinforce the week’s progress. All of this making the following year’s transition to U9 travel an easier one.

Really, No travel?

All games are played in town. There will be plenty of time for travel next year.

Is it more serious?

We’re serious about providing the best soccer experience for the players and their parents. Is the Academy program more serious than Kickers? No, we’re all about having fun and teaching the game.

How long is the season?

We play 7-8 weeks in the fall and again in the spring. The commitment is usually for one year – fall, winter and spring. This year we are allowing players to sign up for just one season at a time. We realize that some of our families view soccer as a fall sport and focus on other sports in the spring. And a lot of our players are interested in playing almost year round – to prepare for travel soccer the following year.

What about practices?

Teams will train once a week, 1 1/2 hour per session in the fall and spring. Days of the week haven’t been decided yet but we are aware that kids are playing multiple sports. Training will be entirely skill based. First weeks will focus on dribbling with the players getting many touches on the ball. This will progress into passing and final by the end of the season shooting.

Are there tryouts

There are no tryouts at this age.

How much does it cost?

The price for just the fall season is $150. The cost for the full year program is $375 – it includes the fall and spring season and indoor training in the winter. Both include uniforms, shorts and socks and each team will be assigned a professional trainer to run practices during the week and to supervise/run the weekend games. Each team will need a coach and assistant coach to oversee the administration of the team during the season and substitutions during the games. Parents will be required to watch and cheer and be supportive and insure that everyone is having fun!

How do I sign up?

Go to the Cougar SC web site NOT the MSO Kickers site. Our site has a red theme while Kickers is blue. Go to to register. If your son or daughter played Kickers in the fall of 2007 they should be in the system under your account. Simply log in and register. If you have an older player in Cougar soccer you may only need to add your younger player. If you are entirely new to the Cougar SC web site you will need to create an account for your self first, add your player and then register. The process is exactly like that on the Kickers website (we use the same web company – Blue Sombrero). Instructions to complete the process are located on the home page for new and returning parents.

ph 973-847-9400