THE BERKELEY COUGARS YOUTH FOOTBALL AND CHEERLEADING ASSOCIATION, FOUNDED IN 1971, IS COMPRISED OF YOUTH, PARENTS AND VOLUNTEERS FROM THE BERKELEY COMMUNITY AT LARGE. AS MUCH AS THEY ALL LOVE THE GAME OF FOOTBALL, IT IS THE COMMON THREAD IN THE LOVE OF CHILDREN THAT KEEPS THEM PARTICIPATING SEASON AFTER SEASON. THE COUGARS ORGANIZATION HAS ENJOYED A RICH WINNING TRADITION BOTH FROM OUR FOOTBALL TEAMS AND CHEERLEADING SQUADS. THIS TRADITION HAS BEEN ACHIEVED NOT ONLY ON THE FIELD, BUT IN THE YOUTH THEMSELVES. WE STRIVE TO TEACH THE FUNDAMENTALS AND VALUES OF TEAM SPORTS AND PARTICIPATION, AS WELL AS PRIDING OURSELVES ON PROJECTING POSITIVE SELF IMAGE AND GENERAL GOOD SPORTSMAN-LIKE QUALITIES, WHICH INCLUDE HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND HUMILITY BE IT WIN OR LOSE. IN ADDITION, WE ALSO MENTOR TO AT-RISK YOUTH IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THE ORGANIZATION IS COMPRISED OF 5 TEAMS WHICH SPAN AGES 6 TO 14. EACH TEAM, MIGHTY MITES, JR. PEE WEE’S, PEE WEE’S, JR. MIDGETS, AND MIDGETS ARE DIVIDED BY AGE AND WEIGHT.
THE BERKELEY COUGARS HAVE WON NUMEROUS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TITLES AND THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WAS LAST AWARDED TO OUR TEAM IN 2002. BOTH OUR MIGHTY MITES AND JR. MIDGET TEAMS ARE DEFENDING BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONS, BOTH FINISHING UNDEFEATED.
WE ARE ALSO VERY PROUD THAT SEVERAL OF OUR COUGAR ALUMNI HAVE PLAYED & CURRENTLY PLAY IN THE NFL.
OUR PRACTICE FACILITIES ARE LOCATED AT THE SAN PABLO PARK. PRACTICES ARE HELD 3 DAYS PER WEEK, 2 HOURS EACH DAY. WE HOST OUR HOME GAMES ON SATURDAYS AT THE BERKELEY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FIELD.
THE BERKELEY COUGARS ARE A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION & REQUIRE DONATIONS, SPONSORSHIP OR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE OF ANY TYPE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FULL ACCESS OF OUR WORTHWHILE PROGRAM TO ALL DESERVING CHILDREN. THE RISING COST OF INSURANCE, EQUIPMENT, UNIFORMS, TRANSPORTATION (TO AND FROM GAMES), AND IN SOME CASES LODGING AT GAMES HELD OUT OF THE IMMEDIATE BAY AREA, PROHIBITS FULL PARTICIPATION FROM OUR COMMUNITY. BEING A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.