history

Soccer in Cottage Grove had its beginning in spring of 1985. Ed O'Brien and his children had been involved with soccer in Madison and sought to introduce the sport to the community of Cottage Grove. His daughter Sheila began by offering soccer practices to any interested third grader. They met at Meadow Grove Park and began learning how to play soccer. Soon, Jean Gascho, seeing her son's enthusiasm for the sport, set out to organize a soccer program in Cottage Grove. She recruited parents as coaches, convinced the school district to provide space for two fields at Cottage Grove School, brought in UW's Jim Lauder to do a clinic, and ordered T-shirts for uniforms. The club started with five teams in 1985 and grew to 25 by 1995.

Eventually, additional fields were developed at Ravenwood, American Heritage, Town Hall, Arrowood, and Taylor Prairie. Dave Walhovd was instrumental in creating and marketing new fields. In the early years, each team found a sponsor to help pay for their uniforms, but eventually the club decided on T-shirts for the younger teams and a distinctive black and silver jersey for the older teams. The first teams were all coeds, but soon the club began forming all-girl and all-boy teams beginning at the U-10 level. In 1987, the first Cottage Grove teams played at Badger State Games and traveled to Neenah, WI for a competitive tournament. They were beat soundly, but later teams enjoyed much success at various tournaments.

Jean Gascho ran the organization single-handedly, but she had much help from a large number of community members. In 1993, Jean turned the reins over. Before leaving, she helped develop a Constitution and By-laws for the Cottage Grove Soccer Club. A Board of Director was appointed and Bruce Kramer became president. He initiated the K-1 soccer program in cooperation with the Monona Soccer Club. In 1997, Jim Hanson succeeded Bruce as president of the club, and the organization has continued to grow.

The Cottage Grove Soccer Club was organized to promote youth soccer and to encourage sportsmanship, teamwork, and the participation of all interested youth in Cottage Grove. Many former club players have been successful playing at the high school and college level. However, the real success of the organization lies in the great many parents and youth who have enjoyed playing and watching the great game of soccer.