Cougar Soccer vs. Community First

At the risk of starting a MOL soccer war was wondering what people's opinions are on the differences between the Community First travel soccer and the Cougars for 10 year olds - a boy in this case. We are wrapping up our first experience with the Cougars which has been fun but it seems a little lacking in instruction. The boy can choose between the two for fall.

We are not considering Soccer for Life because of the cost and the time commitment.

Thanks - and I hope this is not like asking opinions on the best pizza or grocery store...


Our son did the Cougars travel for 3rd grade and did Community First this past year for 4th grade. I can give you my thoughts if you PM me.


The OP is far from the only one interested in this question, if you have thoughts you are willing to share...my boys took some time off soccer after a group they didn't like. Any thoughts on best program for boys who aren't prepping to play varsity, but just want to play


Susan, for kids who just want to play, South Mountain is a great program. I have coached both Cougar and South Mountain, FWIW.


Sigh. I wish Cougar would improve its instruction. I love that it is a large organization and everyone is local but the program for younger kids sometimes feels like an unstructured playgroup and, as they get older, the need for better instruction is so glaring that families end up driving to Millburn or Montclair for what I wish were just available here. It is especially confounding since we use the same trainers as, e.g., the Montclair league. But I know it is volunteer run and we should just be grateful for what we have blah blah blah... I would be interested in hearing about people's experience with a full year of Community First. FWIW, I believe tryouts for the fall have already happened for all of the leagues for that age.


We, too, are in a similar predicament. Have an almost 9 year old who has played Cougars for 4 years and will play travel U9 next year but... the training is a mixed bag, the communication from the leagues is poor, and the organization of the club is lackluster at best. As parents, we are frustrated. My son loves it- and we love that the kids are local- but hearing more about Community First would be great. NYC2SO and others: Please post openly- not via messages- b/c there are a lot of us who want to hear this info. I want info on kids who want to play competitively but locally.


@melandmike you will see a difference between U8 and travel--a big change. My kids love Cougar and playing with their friends. We're frustrated too at times but most of the frustration seems to be with a lack of fields and trying to schedule and the last-minute emails that come flying across. The training has been really good, and when we priced out other options, the for-profit options were 50% more $$ annually or more. But my kids aren't Messi or Ronaldo so it likely varies by the skill set. We went to a parent meeting last Fall and the head trainer told us that the Travel Cougar program is designed to be get the child ready to try out for HS soccer. Their goal is to be flighted properly so that your season record is close to .500--not what a lot of parents want to hear but again, my kids are in the middle of the pack but are thriving in Cougar. Unsure how green the grass may be elsehwere but have heard people happy with other programs. Tough call--good luck!


I agree that skill development is paramount at this age (9, 10) but to continually lose and to see teams we played even or beat in the fall be so much better now is disheartening. My kid is feeling the stress of always losing. We still have not decided but we may well try to other league.


@bak: My kid actually played U9 travel w/ Cougars this year. He played up an age bracket so will play U9 as a true U9 in the fall. We lost way too many games by blow-out proportions for my liking. Yes, my kid learned to be tough when he lost and there is definitely value in that but it was quite disheartening, esp when we had to drive over an hour home from an 8-1 loss. All that being said, he loves Cougars, we thought the coaches and parents were fantastic, we like that it's local so he can see his teammates around town, and most importantly he's having fun.

But I feel as a parent that other leagues are doing more and wish Cougars did as well. He is doing Cougars next year and we did not look elsewhere. I have heard mixed things about all the local (and not-so local) programs and was just curious about others' perspectives.


I'm happy to provide more detail via PM but in general terms, we have been happy with Community First (CF) and intend to stay there. The biggest difference is in the training- my son felt like he got much, much better training with CF than in Cougar travel. The Cougar trainers are nice and knowledgeable about soccer, but are young and weren't experienced in teaching kids. In addition, our Cougar trainers showed up to only half of our games so the parent coaches didn't really know what was worked on in practice or how the kids practiced. As another poster said, our team never got better and we lost to teams in the Spring season that we beat in the Fall season. The coaches at CF are top notch and have been training kids for many years. They keep soccer fun but certainly at a more serious level than Cougar travel.

CF also satisfied our desire for a local club. All of the kids on my son's team are from South Orange and Maplewood. Further, since we did a fair amount of travel for Cougar, the travel was actually a bit less in CF. In addition, the level of competition was better with CF, forcing my son to really improve his skills (it did lead to some lopsided scores as the kids played catch up against more established clubteams). Finally, the coaches at CF are very accessible and willing to discuss your child's development. I think there were some growing pains as this was their first year putting together their own teams, but things ran very smoothly in the Spring season.


Slight thread drift: Are any of the local options more "working parent-friendly" than Cougar? My son is 5.5 and enjoyed fall and spring Cougar soccer, but I can't sign him up for next fall because there's a weekday practice in the next age group, and there's no way I can get him to a practice at 4 or 5.


As President of the Cougar Soccer Club (CSC) for the past 3 years, I am pleased to be part of a not-for-profit, volunteer-driven and lead organization that is currently celebrating 50 years of bringing the game of soccer to the youth of Maplewood and South Orange. The philosophy of the CSC is focused on player development; skills, strategy, mastery of the game, and sportsmanship. This year CSC will host over 800 boys and girls, U4 – U19, making CSC one of the largest clubs in the state of NJ. CSC works collaboratively with the MSO Recreation Departments and the Columbia High School Athletic Director to share 9 local, outdoor, natural grass play locations between the two towns that host many community and school athletic programs along with town events during the FALL and Spring Season, and an indoor Winter training program to keep skills sharp and bodies in motion between seasons. CSC utilizes the professional, skilled, and credentialed soccer trainers from UK Elite and SDA. For the Cougar Kickers and Academy Programs (U4 – U8) trainers lead practice 2x weekly and weekend games. For U9 – U19, trainers lead practice 2x weekly and attend 50% of tournament and league games as contracted. For all ages, trainers work together with volunteer parent coaches for consistency from practice to game day. CSC has trained a great many talented players; many CSC Alumni have gone on to play successfully on competitive high school teams, at the collegiate level, and even nationally.

As with any program that relies solely on limited, natural grass, outdoor space, there are often challenges from weather delays that cause last minute scheduling changes and shifts in practice, game times, game locations that result in a flurry of emails to ensure that everyone is aware of the changes. This is true with any Club. CSC certainly is a strong, rooted, thriving and growing program. CSC continues to learn and improve on all fronts – from tryouts and registration process, to training, scheduling and communication. CSC is not without an occasional glitch or issue – the Club is NOT perfect. CSC is 100% volunteer-based group and rely on parents and community members to step up, pitch in, and support the organization. CSC continues to be dedicated to the MSO community, to the sport, and most importantly to the players.

I welcome any questions, comments, or feedback nd certainly would welcome anyone who wants to volunteer in any capacity. Please reach out directly to me at CSCprez@verizon.net

Keep on playing soccer, Brian Callahan.



I prefer Cougar by a long shot.




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