The Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame has four new inductees. Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association secretary Lynne Thibdeau, Region I director Bob Palmiero, long-time college coach Carlo Tramontozzi and referee Nino Catalioti were inducted during ceremonies in Franklin Square, N.Y. Saturday night. The Hall is a joint venture of Eastern New York State Amateur Soccer Association and ENYYSA.

Here are the background of the inductees:

The background of this year's class of the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame are as varied as their abilities and styles.

A youth soccer administrator. Another administrator who started as a volunteer. A player and coach who might have had greater impact as a referee. And an outstanding college player who gave back to the game as a coach.

Four uniquely talented and hard-working people who were honored for their contributions to the game.

Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association secretary Lynne Thibdeau, Region I director Bob Palmeiro, soccer referee and administrator Nino Catalioti and long-time college coach Carlo Tramontozzi were inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Franklin Square, N.Y. on Dec. 5.

The Hall is a joint venture of Eastern New York State Amateur Soccer Association and ENYYSA.

Lynne Thibdeau

Thibdeau's career and influence in youth soccer has been felt in three states in nearly a quarter century of service, but none any greater than in Eastern New York.

Thibdeau began her association with the beautiful game in 1986, when she volunteered to help with soccer teams in Florida. Two years later she managed a travel team in Indiana.

After settling in Bethlehem, N.Y. she became a recreational volunteer in 1990 and she has never looked back in Eastern New York.

With Bethlehem, she served as president, assisted in the development of the Bethlehem Soccer Complex, was tournament director of the Bethlehem Off The Wall Tournament, among other accomplishments, from 1994-2000.

Thibdeau took on more responsibilities with the Capital District Youth Soccer League from 1997-2000, as chairman of the games committee.

In 2003, Thibdeau moved on to the state as she was elected to the ENYYSA board as secretary, eventually implementing the organization's Risk Management system.

Add duties as the Premier League age group coordinator, team manager of the Clifton Park Soccer Club and Allen Cat Soccer Club, ODP team manager and CDYSL Select Team manager and you can appreciate Thibdeau's long and varied resume.

Bob Palmeiro

Palmeiro has served the sport in many capacities.

He began his youth soccer career in Rhode Island as a coach and administrator before serving on the Rhode Island Youth Soccer board in different roles, including president.

In 1989, Palmeiro was elected Region I director and has served in that position to this day. He is the longest tenured director in Region I and of all the regional directors in U.S. Youth Soccer history. He also has been a long-standing member of the U.S. Youth Soccer and U.S. Soccer board of directors.

Under Palmeiro's leadership and guidance, Region I has grown from 490,000 players to a peak of 1.1 million players. He has been instrumental in the introduction of new programs that have set the standard for the rest of U.S. Youth Soccer. That includes the Chiquita Cup, later known as the Women's National Cup, was born. These events help establish women's soccer in the United States. Palmeiro also spearheaded the formation of the Region I Premier League and its supporting sub-regional leagues.

Nino Catalioti

It should not be surprising that Catalioti got involved with soccer. He was born in Sicily, Italy, where soccer is more like a religion than a sport. He emigrated to the United State in October 1967 and wound up playing for the N.Y. Hota/Bavarians for three years.

When he discovered there was a need for youth soccer coaches at the Franklin Square Raiders, he became coaching six-year-old players. He eventually earned his coaching license and began to train plays at Hota. He directed the club's Under-12 and U-14 teams to Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League championships. He has been on the Hota executive board as vice president for 15 years.

Catalioti's contributions to the game did not stop at playing or coaching. In fact, it seemed natural that the next step in his career would be as a referee. He enrolled in several courses and began officiating for the Long Island Junior Soccer League Referee Association and then the Eastern New York Soccer Referee Association before becoming a State Referee.

He also has been a high school varsity soccer official for 16 years, and is on the organization's board of directors.

After serving a term as vice president, Catalioti was elected president of the Eastern New York Soccer Referee Association in 2000. He recently was re-elected for his 10th term. He certainly is a busy man, serving as a trustee with the ENY State Amateur Soccer Association.

Carlo Tramontozzi

Joining Halls of Fame isn't anything new to Tramontozzi, who already was a member of the Long Island University and St. Francis College Halls for his exploits as a player and coach, respectively.

At LIU, he was a vital member of the soccer team from 1964-66. During that time, LIU recorded a 36-7-2 mark, three consecutive Metropolitan Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1965 and 1966.

Tramontozzi and the Blackbirds reach advanced to NCAA final in 1966, falling to San Francisco, 5-2. Tramontozzi, who scored a goal in a stunning semifinal win over tournament favorite Michigan, ranked third on the team with 15 goals that season.

He tallied 46 career goals, which was seventh on the LIU career list at the time of his induction to the college's Hall of Fame.

Tramontozzi remained in Brooklyn, guiding St. Francis College for 20 years. He eventually became the coach of the College of Staten Island, directing the team to a City University of New York Athletic Conference championship.

His contributions also went beyond local soccer as Tramontozzi was a liaison with the Italian National Team in the 1994 World Cup. Italy finished second to Brazil, losing in a shootout at the Rose Bowl.