From left to right, Hall of Fame Chairperson Rocco Amoroso, new Hall of Famer Jim Eleftherion, ENYYSA Vice President Ken Gulmi and ENYYSA President Richard Christiano
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
December 11, 2013-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association are very happy to announce that Jim Eleftherion was inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame at our 2013 Holiday Party on December 8 at Marina del Rey in the Bronx.
"Jim has been an extraordinary presence in youth soccer for the past 20 years," commented ENYYSA Vice President Ken Gulmi, "During his time in soccer, he has served as an intramural, travel team and men's adult team coach, soccer club president, Trustee, 2nd Vice President and currently 1st Vice President of the East Hudson Youth Soccer League as well as Trustee and currently Treasurer of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association."
As President of the Mahopac Sports Association Soccer Club, he oversaw the financial restructuring of Mahopac, grew registrations by 25% in only three years, created a TOPSoccer program for the physically-challenged, renovated town fields and promoted a culture of coaching education where little had existed before him.
The Mahopac resident joined East Hudson’s Board of Directors as Trustee 15 years ago, eventually moving into the position of 2nd Vice President, then 1st Vice President and Games Chairperson. Jim also served as Director of the Hudson Invitational Tournament for four years, improving the quality of the tournament and helping make it the premier summer event it has become today. He has chaired the league's risk management program since its inception, making it the benchmark in child protection throughout the state association. He also chaired or served on the office management, supervisory, appeals and Premier League committees.
Five years ago, Jim was elected to the Board of Directors of ENYYSA, then became Treasurer two years later. In the past three years, Jim has done an incredible job of completely restructuring our association's financial controls and reporting systems, moving to both a very sound financial footing and also to iron-clad auditability. This required that he add to his already considerable volunteer workload but he did it gladly for the good of the organization.
Jim served first as a founding member and then became chairperson five years ago of Eastern New York's risk management program and is an acknowledged leader, not only at the state but also at the regional and national levels in establishing programs to protect children.
With Jim again leading the way and agreeing to serve as President, the Greater Hudson Valley Soccer League was founded in 2009. Today, Jim continues as its President and the league has boasted seven men's and seven women's teams including every Under-23 Men's State Cup champion since the cup was established.
"The number of committees and jobs in which he serves, from highly visible and important to very quiet and unobserved, mark him as a selfless man who first, last and always does what’s right for the players and the sport," Gulmi added. "His capacity for work, his passion for the sport and especially for its players, his dedication to our two state associations and their success has been consistent throughout his 20 years in soccer."
With 123,843 youth soccer players––68,587 boys and 55,256 girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 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.