Miller Field after Sandy
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
August 13, 2013-Against the odds, the Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL) and Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) managed to have a Spring Season after the destruction of Hurricane Sandy cancelled many games last fall. The SIYSL cancelled the rest of its Fall Season after Sandy while the CJSL was forced to play an amended schedule.
Both leagues use Miller Field, located on the Lower Bay in the New Dorp section of Staten Island and named after Captain James Ely Miller, who was the first American aviator killed in French combat during World War I. With 20 soccer fields and nine baseball/softball fields, Miller Field is the second largest soccer complex in New York City (after Randall’s Island) and is one of the largest athletic complexes in all of New York State. Losing those fields played havoc with the sports schedule for Staten Islanders.
Good news is on the horizon as Miller Field is set to reopen on Saturday, September 7, just in time for the SIYSL and CJSL Fall Seasons.
"The completed repairs at Miller Field are another sign of our recovery after Sandy," commented ENYYSA President Richard Christiano. "We are thrilled that it will once again be a vital recreational venue for Staten Islanders."
"I would like to thank Brian Feeney, William Tate and the staff at the National Park Service for a outstanding job completing the fields so we can play the Fall Season at Miller Field," said SIYSL President Bill Smith.
The new CJSL President, Dimitrie Draguca, added, "The CJSL is very happy about the wonderful news that Miller Field will be reopening in September. We know how much those fields mean to our clubs, their players and families and how much they rely on them for the success of their programs."
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 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.