Trenton Youth Soccer (TYS), a program offered after-school and Saturdays to Trenton girls and boys, ages 5-16, is holding two Soccer Festivals, April 26 and May 7, to celebrate the spring sessions and the hard work, growth and enthusiasm of the TYS players and coaches. The TYS program strives to engage and benefit the Trenton community through its mission to “Offer Trenton children and young adults free and equitable access to quality soccer programs that advance their skills and go beyond the fun of the game to enhance health and wellbeing, build social skills, support education and empower individual, family and community engagement that contributes to positive impacts and development. “
The Saturday, April 26th Festival, which will be at the Trenton High School playing fields, begins at 9:30 AM, with an opening Ceremony, and ends at 1pm. The Wednesday, May 7th Festival will start at 1:30 and finish at 4:30 PM, Both events will be held at the Trenton Central High School girls’ varsity field. This spring, 12 schools will be participating: Cadwalader, Copeland, Gregory, PJ Hill, Rivera, McKnight elementary Schools; Hedgepeth-Williams, Kilmer, Parker intermediate schools; MLK and Holland middle schools; and Thrive Charter School. The inaugural Festival was held last fall, and the plan is to continue to “grow” this event to include as many soccer enthusiasts as possible!
TYS, a program that was started in 2015 by Play Soccer Nonprofit International, a local 501C3, received a 2023-2024 ARP grant from the City of Trenton and for 2025-2026 is honored to have received a Mercer at Play for All Grant from Mercer County. Other Trenton donors have included NJM Insurance Group, and I AM Trenton. The TYS is also grateful for the support of the Trenton Public School District Board of Education which approves the program on a yearly basis. In the fall, the TYS collaborates with Mooch Soccer and the City of Trenton Department of Recreation to provide a Saturday League structure. An important part of the TYS program mission is to build public and private support and community engagement across the City. The program registered about 1000 children in 2024 for its free accessible, educational, and fun soccer activities.
The TYS program operates under an all-volunteer Board of Directors who donate their time and energy and make possible the cost effective and free programming that are its hallmark and underpin its motto “Play for Fun, Learn for Life.”