By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
April 11, 2023-You don’t hear as much anymore about soccer volunteers but a good deal of the work in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), our 10 member leagues and hundreds of soccer clubs throughout our state association is still done by youth soccer volunteers. All this volunteerism keeps the costs of youth soccer down for our youngsters and their families.
Becoming a youth soccer volunteer is a wonderful way to follow your passion and feel fulfilled. It could also lead to being paid for what you love to do one day in the future as this has happened to countless youth soccer volunteers.
Two examples from my life include being willing to do more as an art director at Manhattan ad agencies as I thought that I could write as well as design. So I went to then Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) President Peter Collins in 1989 and asked if I could volunteer by writing articles about the LIJSL. I became the LIJSL’s Public Relations Director, volunteering for two decades and was paid my last year in 2010 to create an e-letter. I knew about using a PR template but did not want to limit myself by doing that so my press releases became my personal creative writing assignment to fulfill my creative juices, while always including the important info found in every press release. The amount of writing that I did increased dramatically as soccer continued to become more popular in the United States. After over two decades of volunteering for the LIJSL, I became ENYYSA’s Public Relations Director and am now paid for my writing.
Additionally back in 1978 as a teenager, me volunteering to coach an informal summer soccer league, so informal that each coach had to ref half the game. I quickly discovered that I was a much better referee than coach so my coaching career soon ended and I started getting paid for reffing intramural games that fall, $4 for a game if I was refereeing with a partner, $6 if I was reffing the game solo.
There are many opportunities to volunteer as our leagues and clubs need coaches, committee members, concession workers, writing, photography, etc. So follow your passion and inquire about becoming a youth soccer volunteer by contacting Eastern New York or the league near you:
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: 516-766-0849
Big Apple Youth Soccer League: 718-267-0828
Capital District Youth Soccer League: 518-435-2325 or 518-435-2326
Central New York State Soccer League: 315-534-2930
Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League: 718-491-4009
East Hudson Youth Soccer League: 845-765-2864
Long Island Junior Soccer League: 631-648-9020
Metrokids Youth Soccer League: 646-643-1871
Mid-State New York Soccer League: 607-432-7485
Staten Island Youth Soccer League: 718-524-6023. If busy or unavailable, call 917-596-2539.
Westchester Youth Soccer League: 914-235-5110
All volunteers must pass a background check before they start.
With approximately 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 10 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 Children With Special Needs. 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. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/