ISC Academy

Purpose, Description, and Goals of the ISC Academy Program

The ISC Academy is our entry level program for 6U to 8U players.  The Academy is a practice only program for young players with a developing interest in soccer .  Practices are held only on one day per week on Friday nights and each practice is one hour long.  The kids always scrimmage at every practice, but there is no travel involved with this program and the kids do not play official games on a separate day.    This is a fun and educational program for the kids with a low time commitment from the parents and families.  Practices are held over the course of ten weeks (10 sessions) in both the Spring and Fall each year.  Players do not need to have any experience playing soccer to join this program.  The kids who join the ISC Academy come to us because their parents want their kids to learn from highly qualified coaches who value an educator’s approach to running an age appropriate, growth focused program.

Our program is unique because we provide expert level coaching to all players joining the Academy.   The expertise in coaching young players is different than the expertise required in coaching junior high and high school players.  Part of what makes a coach an expert at this age is understanding that the kids MUST learn through having fun and when skill building activities are used they must be introduced only for short periods each practice.  Moreover, the expert youth coach must understand the differences in how 5-8 year olds learn compared to older kids.   In the ISC we take great pride in our educator’s approach to coaching young players and while we will build the skills and knowledge of all kids in the program, we know how young players learn, when they are ready for more challenges, and when they just need to play.  This is not a volunteer, figure it out as you go, program.  Our Director has run this program for 21 years.  We have other staff coaches who have been with the Academy program for over 10 years continuing to come back and help the ISC’s most well known program.  In addition to our staff of qualified adult coaches, we also use our high school aged youth players who have completed the entry level US Coaching Course to help coach at the Academy.  Using these energetic and licensed high school mentor coaches really helps the program run smoothly and gives all of the kids more coaching attention.

Why Choose the ISC Academy?

• In the Iowa City community there are a number of very good soccer programs for young kids. However, the main difference between the ISC and most other programs is the level of expert coaching that we offer.
• We limit the number of participants to ensure that the kids who participate are working with our top coaches and educators.
• The ISC Academy program is run by full-time director of coaching, Jon Cook. Jon is a former Division I Collegiate player, educator, and a highly licensed coach through the United States Soccer Federation. Jon holds the USSF “A” License, USSF Grassroots Coaching Instructor License,  and the USSF National Youth License. In addition, he earned a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Iowa.

Player Eligibility

• Players born in the following birth years can participate in the 2023/2024 ISC Academy Program:
  • 6U – 2018 birth year
  • 7U – 2017 birth year
  • 8U – 2016 birth year

Registration

For more details and registration information concerning the ISC Academy program, please CLICK HERE.

Questions?

• Please contact Diana Arpey at registrar@iowasoccerclub.com