By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
July 14, 2015-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) would like to thank Jeff Wexler for his four years of service as Trustee. He will not be seeking re-election at next month’s Annual General Meeting in Nanuet.
“Travelling all over New York State on behalf of our kids playing youth soccer has been great but very tiring,” Jeff said. “I don’t know how any of our volunteers could be on the Board of Directors for over a decade and I take my hat off to them.”
Jeff, a Poughkeepsie resident, became involved with soccer when he attended Oneonta State College. He wanted to go to a football game and he was surprised when he found out the college did not play football but was big into soccer.
“I went to a men’s soccer game. There were all these fans there and the players were terrific. I was hooked and started playing recreationally at Oneonta.”
When Jeff’s daughter Lauren signed up for soccer at age five, Jeff became the coach of her intramural team, Town of Poughkeepsie All-Sport. As the girls grew, the squad became a travel team and joined the East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL). It was the start of Jeff’s quarter-century involvement with the EHYSL that continues to this day.
Jeff then coached his middle child, Michael, and then his youngest, Ryan, in the EHYSL. Ryan’s team, the Poughkeepsie Wildfire, won the ENY Premier League at Boys-Under-16 and Thruway League at Boys-Under-17.
“Eight of the players on that team won the state championship as seniors at Spackenkill High School,” Jeff explained.
15 years ago, then EHYSL President Ken Gulmi asked Jeff to serve on his Board of Directors and Jeff is now Second Vice President. That’s a lot of volunteering for a man whose “real job” is owner of a Konica Minolta copier dealership in Hyde Park.
“We at the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association would like to thank Jeff for his years of service and are very happy that he will still serve our players by continuing to volunteer with the East Hudson Youth Soccer League,” commented Eastern New York President Richard Christiano.
Jeff’s last official function as Trustee of Eastern New York was co-organizing, with Steve Padaetz, the ENY Champions Cup on June 21 at Owl Hollow Fields on Staten Island, a big event that was a smashing success.
With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and 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.