By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
 
November 22, 2011-The Assessment Program of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and Eastern New York Senior Soccer Association evaluates referees, offers suggestions and helps refs climb the ladder of success as they move from youth soccer to senior matches to possibly professional games.
 
Klaus Mueller has been Eastern New York’s Director of Assessment for the past five years. The Levittown resident started refereeing in 1984 and eventually became a State Referee.
 
“A highlight of my officiating career was working some professional games,” Klaus commented.
 
He was honored on November 14 as he received the Service Award from the New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA), a college referee group. The NYMISOA referees voted for Klaus for the Service Award and he received twice as many votes as the runner-up.
 
Klaus joined NYMISOA over a decade ago and received the New Official of the Year Award in 2000.

Also honored by NYMISOA last week were New Hyde Park’s Brian Dunn as the 2011 Official of the Year, Saam Jalayer of Coram as Assistant Referee of the Year and Levittown’s Sima Draguca as the New Official of the Year. Especially during this Thanksgiving week, ENYYSA is very grateful that wonderful referees such as Klaus, Brian, Saam and Sima continue to be actively involved in youth soccer when they are not officiating college or senior games.
 
With 120,000 youth soccer players and more than 25,000 volunteers, the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 12 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.