By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
April 3, 2014-With over 100,000 youth soccer players from Long Island to the Canadian border, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) can only function with over 25,000 passionate volunteers.
Eastern New York would once again like to remind you of the importance of recognizing those adult volunteers, coaches and TOPSoccer buddies without whom we would not be able to provide the wonderful soccer experience our youngsters enjoy. We continue to solicit nominations for a variety of awards designed to demonstrate our appreciation for the hours of devotion these valued individuals give to the kids.
In the past, response from our members has been poor, with several awards not presented due to lack of nominations. Therefore, we are again asking that each member organization turn their attention inwards to their volunteers and make an effort to recognize those whose contributions have truly been outstanding.
Two years ago, Eastern New York’s Operations Administrator, Cathy O’Brien, nominated Nkosi Burgess of the Dix Hills Heat for the Goal of the Year. Not only did his wonderful flick and overhead kick become the Eastern New York Goal of the Year, Nkosi was also honored for scoring the US Youth Soccer National Goal of the Year. But this would not have happened if Cathy did not take a few minutes to nominate Nkosi.
The nominations must be on a specific form and completed by July 15, which is sooner than previous years. The winners chosen by us in each category will receive not only our recognition at our Annual General Meeting in August but will also be forwarded as Eastern New York’s candidate for additional recognition at the Regional and National level.
These forms can be found on US Youth Soccer’s website (http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/Workshop/GalaAwards/) for each of the specific awards. Simply paste the link into your address bar.
Nominations must be received at the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association office (265 Sunrise Highway, Suite 38, Rockville Centre, NY 11570) on or before July 15, 2014 to be considered and should reflect the current season ending August 31, 2014.
The categories are:
Girls Competitive Coach of the Year
Boys Competitive Coach of the Year
Girls Recreational Coach of the Year
Boys Recreational Coach of the Year
Volunteer of the Year
Administrator of the Year
TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year
Goal of the Year
Save of the Year
Please take this opportunity to nominate our members through this great program!
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.