From left to right: Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association First Vice President Albino Guimaraes, 2015 Hall of Fame inductee Frank Lackner, Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association Fourth Vice President Peter Strumpf and Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association President Richard Christiano.
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
December 16, 2015-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association are pleased to announce that Frank Lackner has been inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place at our 2015 Holiday Party on December 6 at Marina del Rey in the Bronx.
Frank grew up and was a longtime resident of Ridgewood, Queens and started playing as a goalkeeper for B/W Gottschee of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) as an 11-year-old. He graduated to the B/W Gottschee men’s team and played for the blue-and-white from 1977 to 1995, winning the Cosmopolitan Soccer League (CSL) championship in the 1990/91 season.
He volunteered as B/W Gottschee club secretary starting at the age of 20 in 1978 and continued in that role until 1984. Frank served as club treasurer from 1984 to ‘89 and as club president from 1989 to 2001. During this time, he was very involved in organizing the summer festivals at the historic Metropolitan Oval. Highlights included concessions, the soccer tournament and the big dance tent. Rudolph Giuliani, when seeking election as New York City Mayor, came to the summer festival at the turn of the millennium.
During all this time, Frank also volunteered on the CSL Executive Board, organizing the CSL’s successful indoor tourney for the past 30 years. Frank has also served on the CSL Appeals Committee with John Kilby for the past three decades.
“Frank always keep his calm during heated discussions from people who are passionate about their soccer,” commented fellow Hall of Famer Peter Strumpf. “He is highly regarded by everybody he comes in contact with and is a man for all seasons.”
Congratulations to Eastern New York Hall of Famer Frank Lackner.
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.