Club's Level Structure / Player Development

The Club offers recreational and travel soccer programs, as well as camps, clinics, and private classes to improve individual skills and build a solid understanding of soccer and ensure all players have the opportunity to advance through the different levels within the club. Therefore, there are primarily two types of teams within the Club: Recreational and Travel teams.

Cosmo Stars Soccer Club’s program organization is a pyramid structure consisting of three (3) levels: Apollo 1, 2 and 3. These levels represent our three (3) season-based programs to develop and advance throughout each level of the club.

Apollo 1 is mainly our recreational soccer program for ages 4-15, and will be made of grassroots, community, and camp programs. This level serves as the introduction to the basic skills necessary to becoming a competitive soccer player, and a great place for players to grow in confidence, skill acquisition, game experience, and be part of the Cosmo Stars club family.

Apollo 2 is the first step to competition level for ages 7-15. It is made of futures and junior programs as an accelerated soccer training program prioritizing skill development in a challenging age-appropriate environment. This category will focus on local and regional league and tournament participations for futures and juniors.

Apollo 3 is the top competition level for ages 9-15. It is made of the league and club teams that will compete against National and State-based regional teams playing in the Elite Development Program (EDP) and USYS national leagues at the appropriate level. This team will be the foundation for future top-level tier made of MLS Next (boys) and Girls Academy League (GAL) to compete against other regional and national clubs and at national showcase events. 

TEAM SIZE

Apollo 1 Recreational teams will be grouped by age, grade bracket, and approximate skill level. Teams may be coed or gender specific. Special requests will be allowed by parents to have friends, family members, and/or classmates in the same group. Each recreational team will consist of a maximum of 15 players.

The size of the Apollo 2 and 3 Travel teams will have the maximum number roster size for their age group per the MSYSA/USYS guidelines, as follow:

• U7-U12, the team size will be 12 players,
• U11-U12, the team size will be 16 players,
• U13+, the team size will be 22 players.