From Cougar Soccer Club:
Cougar Soccer Club is now registering players for spring soccer, summer camp and tryouts for the 2024-25 season.
Cougar Soccer Club, the only registered non-profit soccer club playing and practicing South Orange and Maplewood, has been serving the community for nearly 60 years.
Registration is now open for children born in 2020 and older. Academy soccer is for children born between 2020 and 2016. Our summer soccer camps serve children born in 2017 and older. Players born in 2016 and older who are looking for a spring-only rec soccer experience can sign up for South Orange Rec Soccer, which is facilitated by Cougar Soccer Club. For older players looking for a full-year commitment, registration for 2024-25 tryouts is now open.
Spring Academy Soccer
All practice sessions are run by professional ESA trainers and are focused on building skills and gaining a love for the game. It will run for 8-10 weeks starting when fields open in Mid-April. Fees include uniform, but do not include a $20 Town Field Usage Fee per player.
Mini-Kickers (U4-U5)
Mini-Kicker sessions are co-ed, and they meet for a 1 hour session each Saturday around noon. Sessions consist of fun games, skills and scrimmage. $215. Register here.
U6 Kickers
Kickers are our oldest pre-schoolers. Kicker sessions meet once per week for an hour with ESA Soccer trainers. You choose the day of the week to practice when you register. Sessions consist of lots of touches on the ball and continued development of fundamental skills and scrimmage. Kickers have one weekday practice (on the day you choose, Mon-Thu) at 4pm and one weekend session on Saturdays. $295. Register here.
Academy (U7-U8)
The Academy program is the last age grouping leading into Cougar Travel Teams, and includes U7 and U8. Our Academy players continue to build on the fundamentals of the game with the introduction of a team format for practices and games. The players are introduced to rules, positions and real game play, and sportsmanship and team play are emphasized. Training sessions run by ESA trainers are one hour long and meet once a week for U7s and twice a week for U8s. On Saturdays, teams play 4v4 games against other Academy teams. The games are refereed by the same trainers the players practice with during the week, and supervised by volunteer Parent Coordinators.U7 $295 U8 $385 Register here.
Summer Soccer Camp
Cougar Soccer Club will offer morning soccer camps for seven weeks this summer in South Orange. Training will be provided from 9 am to noon Monday through Friday by our professional training partners, ESA.
The camp is open to all children from birth year age 2017 to birth year age 2010. You do not need to be a Cougar Soccer Club player to register for the camp. Each day, campers will develop their individual and team skills through drills, small games and scrimmages all while having fun. Each child will receive a t-shirt for enrolling. You can register here.
The cost for the camp is $250 per week for Maplewood and South Orange residents. Non-residents will also be charged an additional $20 field fee. If you book more than one week, the cost drops to $200 per week plus the field fees. Players who book all seven weeks get the seventh week for free.
There will be seven weeks of camp:
- June 24
- July 15
- July 22
- July 29
- August 5
- August 12
- August 26
South Orange Rec Soccer
South Orange Recreation and Cultural Affairs is partnering with Cougar Soccer to once
again offer our spring soccer recreation soccer program. The partnership with Cougar
Soccer will allow for recreation players to have high quality soccer training.
South Orange Soccer registration is by birth year, not age or grade, in conformance with
revised New Jersey Youth Soccer rules and regulations.
South Orange Soccer is a recreational soccer program which offers a wide range of
opportunity to players at all levels in the fall/spring season. There are no tryouts. Teams
are formed randomly and participate in the Suburban Youth Soccer League against
teams from nearby communities. The SYSL divisions include U9, U11, U13, and U15
as follows:
- U9 division includes players born in 2015-2016
- U11 division includes players born in 2013-2014
- U13 division includes players born in 2011-2012
- U15 division includes players born in 2009-2010
The soccer season is tentatively scheduled to begin the first week of April (pending field conditions). Players will be contacted by a volunteer coach regarding team placement and their schedule in March. All teams practice with professional trainers once a week (time and day to be determined by registration levels)
Practices will begin the first week of April (pending field conditions). Practices are scheduled on Tuesdays or Thursdays with times TBD and generally play one game per weekend from April through early June.
The registration fee is $275 and includes a $20 per player fee that is dedicated to
future field restoration and improvements. All players receive a complete uniform
(shorts, jersey and socks).
2024-25 Travel Tryouts
Teams will be formed this spring for 2024-25 travel teams. Cougar Travel soccer is geared to players who wish to make a higher commitment to their personal soccer development and level of competition. Playing for a Travel team is an ANNUAL commitment to team practices throughout Fall, Winter and Spring, and league games in Fall and Spring.
Players born in 2016 or older should register for tryouts to get more information on when the tryouts are scheduled in mid to late April.
