AKKA SOCCER FOUNDATIONS - A soccer club for U7, U8, U9s Giving your player the start in the game they deserve!

 

What is the Foundations program?

This is a program we have tried not to do, but we can’t sit on the sidelines any longer and watch player after player, year after year, be underserved, over-coached, burned-out, and treated as completely dispensable and their families as an ATM machine.

We see it as our responsibility to provide more than a training option, so we’re taking action by launching AKKA Soccer Foundations, a club-lite model to address many of these issues we find prohibitive to players having a healthy youth soccer experience….one that has an intelligent training to game ratio, limited travel with a manageable schedule, effective training sessions matching the characterstics of the age group that focus on technical ability with decision making, (we’re not expecting 8 year olds to play like 18 year olds), and ultimately one that keeps the player and the game at the center of the youth soccer experience.

This is not a rec program and it’s not a travel program by traditional definition. You may consider it a hybrid approach but ultimately it’s simply soccer teams at U7, U8, and U9 that will train 2x’s a week fall/spring, 2-3 festivals on Saturdays each season, 1 tournament each season playing 7v7, and with limited optional activity in the winter and summer.

AKKA Soccer Foundations

The club players need and players the game needs!

  • Please complete the information collection form at the bottom of this page.

  • On Thursday night June 26 from 6-8pm we will hold a 3v3 pick-up soccer for the kids from 6-715pm, letting us observe a little of the player’s personality and base ability/ideas, after the 3v3 concludes at 7pm we’ll hold a brief Intro/Q&A and discuss next steps. If a second tryout is needed we will announce the details soon after the first tryout.

  • We want a minimum of 8 players in each age group/gender and a max of 12 players.

  • Tuition is $1900 for the year and must be paid in full by Sept. 1 or $2000 with half by Sept. 1 and balance by Nov. 1. This includes player registration, coaching/training, tournament, and ref fees, plus each player will receive 4 passes ($120 value that can be shared with siblings) to classes in our AKKA Player Advancment Program that can be used anytime throughout the year. Uniform package is an additional cost paid directly by the parent to the supplier which entails two tops, one short, and two socks. Players will also receive a 10% discount on all AKKA Gear sold at AKKA (tees, sweatshirts, bags etc.).

  • We are offering $400 off full tuition for any parent that serves as the age group manager/coordinator. We will reach out separately after the teams have been selected to enlist volunteers for the role. The role will entail a couple hours per week, especially in the beginning of the season with duties including maintaining an accurate TeamSnap account, getting players carded, tournaments entered, and other miscellaneous but important needs.

  • Quite the contrary regarding falling behind. One of the most important things in protecting a player’s enthusiasm is defined down-times away from an adult telling them regularly how to play their game, the game they love. No truer sentiment than “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”, players need to miss their teammates, the game, and their coaches, it’s a time for them to dive into another pursuit, to play more on their own, and if they choose, to not grab the ball for a few weeks. They will of course have the option to electively attend any of our programming through out the year, like our 3v3 pickup league, AKKA classes, summer street league etc., but we have no expectation the players will and we will 100% not judge or treat them punitively if we don’t see them over the winter or summer.

  • Subject to change between now and start of the season on 9/10 but we’’re pretty confident this is the way forward;

    AKKA Foundations Training (Wed.s) U7/8/9

    Location - AKKA Soccer in Hainesport 709 Park Ave. 08036

    530-630  U7 Boys and Girls

    630-730 U8 Boys and Girls

    730-830 U9 Boys and Girls

    Fall 2025 (10) Wednesdays

    Sept. 10, 17, 24

    Oct.1, 15, 22, 29

    Nov. 5, 12, 19

    Winter - OFF

    Spring 2026 (10) Wednesdays

    Mar. 11, 18, 25

    April 1, 15, 22, 29

    May 6, 13, 20

    AKKA Foundations Game Nights (Fri.s) U7/8/9

    Location - AKKA Soccer in Hainesport 709 Park Ave. 08036

    515-615pm U7s 2v2/3v3

    620-720pm U8s 4v4

    725-825pm U9 4v4

    Fall 2025 (10) Fridays

    Sept. 12, 19, 26

    Oct. **3  10, 17, 24

    Nov. 7, **14, 21

    Spring 2026 (10) Fridays

    Mar. 13, 20, 27

    April **3, 17, 24

    May 1, 8, 15, **29

    **all ages training at Westampton in prep for fests/tourn.

  • Festivals are a select few dates each fall/spring where our teams will either host (outside at Westampton Sports Complex) or we will travel to our friend MAX Soccer in Warminster (Outside) for a couple hours of friendly scrimmages.

    U7s will play 4v4, U8 play 5v5 w/gk, and U9s will play 7v7 w/gk.

    Here’s the dates/locations (times and dates could change, particularly if weather impacts. Makeups will be rescheduled as close to original date as possible)

    Fall (3 festivals)

    @ MAX Soccer Saturdays. Oct. 4 & Nov. 1

    U7 play 4v4 from 10-11am

    U8 play 5v5 from 1130am-1230pm

    U9 play 7v7 from 1-2pm

    End of Fall Fest. Sat. Dec. 6 @ Westampton

    U7 play 10-11am

    U8 play 1130am-1230pm

    U9 play 1-2pm

    Spring (2 festivals.)

    @MAX Soccer Saturday Apr. 4

    U7 play 10-11am

    U8 play 1130am-1230pm

    U9 play 1-2pm

    @Westampton Saturday May 9

    U7 play 10-11am

    U8 play 1130am-1230pm

    U9 play 1-2pm

  • Fall Tournament 2025

    EDP Fall Classic Nov. 15, 16

    Spring Tournament 2026

    Sunburst May 30, 31

    Note; for both events U7s will play up at U8 and U8/U9 both ages play 7v7

  • Yes absolutely and we would just need to get your player dually carded. That said, maintaining responsibilities to two teams will be a lot on the player physically/mentally and will lead to fatigue/burnout over time. That said, every child can be different in their capacity for activity and we trust you as the parents implicitly to safeguard them against ill effects of too much organized sport.

  • Coaches John Jenks and Paul Tanimae will lead the program and one if not both of us will always be at training, festivals, and tournaments. We are also working to enlist highly capable coaches to fulfill the main coaching duties but if we can’t secure great coaches then we will fulfill the role ourselves.

  • To be honest we’re not sure yet. We expect those players who have been with us for at least a year will have enough ability and confidence to tryout and move to a bigger club experience, and in that case we will help any players who want to tryout somewhere else with our best unbiased advice and recommendations. We also expect many will want to remain with us and play another year at U10. This is something we will be planning for over the coming months and will communicate options over the winter.

  • It is a program that will evolve over time as we continue to evaluate it’s effectiveness. We are not under any allusions of trying to be the biggest club with the most Got Soccer points, and playing at most prestigous leagues and tournaments, there are plenty of clubs pursuing that already. Our goals for the program will be to give players the best start in the game and every opportunity to grow in the game have the best foundation possible to go out and strive for more, to compete at higher levels, to find their ceilings and break through them.

  • We’re looking for two things specifically, enthusiasm for soccer and ideas with the ball. A player who is lacking in either area will show immediately through either a reluctance to get on the ball and/or continually trying to get rid of the ball. If the player wants the ball and tries to be positive with it then we are confident they’ll be a good fit for the program.

  • Yes there will be tryouts in May (details tba over the winter break) that will be mandatory for all rostered players to attend. Now that said, in a perfect world we’ll have the privilege to work with each player as they ascend in program from start to finish. In the real world we know some will choose to voluntarily leave in pursuit of a better fit for their player. And another real possibility is if a player is not growing in their ability to play the game more effectively each year then we’ll have a talk with the parents over the winter break and tell them our concerns. Why would a player not progress? This is almost always a case of a kid who has too much on their plate to give their best concentration each session and/or they have hard time attending sessions/events with a high frequency. In either of those cases we will look to fill their spot for the upcoming season.

Complete this form to register your interest in having your soccer player considered for the program.