Our Mission
Our mission at Kick Start Soccer Academy is to encourage young people to enjoy playing fundamentally sound soccer. We provide athletes with a positive and safe environment that fosters a healthy lifestyle and a passion for athletics. All sessions prioritize individual ball skills and include focused games that allow players to put their new skills into practice while stressing the importance of teamwork. Our young athletes are encouraged to express themselves through soccer to build confidence and creativity both on the field and in life.
How It All Started
Teresa Weston and Jacklyn Kalaydjian grew up living and breathing soccer. They played travel soccer; both were a part of the ENYYSA team and even went on to play at the Regional Level. Teresa played Division 1 collegiate soccer at Boston University, and Jacklyn played Division 1 collegiate soccer at St. John’s University.
Later in life, they teamed up and co-founded Kick Start Soccer Academy in 2011. They developed First Kicks and TOPS Soccer, which became a huge success and they decided to expand. The two went on to coach teams for various clubs and they even grew their First kicks program into Long Island. They brought their knowledge of the game, leadership, and passion with them.
Being a top-level player and a coach brought a new understanding of the game. They decided to create an all-female leadership camp, For Girls by Girls, which introduces athletes to both soccer and lacrosse. Together with Tracey Hansman, the Head Director for the lacrosse side, the three women wanted to share what they loved about the sport in a positive way. Helping girls increase their self-esteem both on and off the field as well as create team bonds was key to their program's fundamentals.
Having such success, they created an all-boys multi-sport camp, Camp Beast Mode. Both camps work on positive strategies to become better players as well as create lasting friendships through teamwork and team building activities.
“BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, THINK POSITIVE, AND HAVE FUN!
ALONE WE CAN DO SO LITTLE; TOGETHER WE CAN DO SO MUCH.”
-Teresa and Jacklyn
