By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
November 15, 2013-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is pleased to announce that our Olympic Development Program (ODP) coach Ian Stone, also the head coach of the Region 1 East ODP Girls-Under-17 squad, received the Bob Blitz Sportsmanship Award from the New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA) at The Sterling in Bethpage on November 11. The referees of NYMISOA selected Ian for the award based on their officiating of college soccer games from Westchester to Long Island. He also won the NYMISOA Sportsmanship Award in 1994, his first year in charge of coaching the St. John’s Red Storm women, and is one of only seven coaches to receive the NYMISOA Sportsmanship Award twice.
Bringing success to his teams on and off the field, Ian is the third-longest tenured head coach at St. John’s University. He has received many impressive accolades, including 13 postseason tournament appearances, 2009 and 2013 NCAA Tournament berths, the 1994 Big East Championship and 2002 ECAC Championship titles, 2006 Big East Coach of the Year honors and 2009 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year accolades. The Mineola resident is also a two-time winner of the St. John’s Herbert Hess Coach of the Year award, which he received in 1998 and 2008. A coach that values his team’s classroom and character development, he has coached 10 consecutive squads that have earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award.
His dedication to St. John’s Vincentian Mission has been evident throughout his two-decade tenure. In 2004, 2008 and 2010, the women’s soccer team received the Athletics Department’s Community Service Award, which is given to the team that exemplifies the qualities of the college’s mission by taking part in activities that extend it beyond its academic and athletic arenas. His teams have participated in countless community service projects over the past 20 seasons, including breast cancer walks, the Score For A Cure initiative that began in 2011 and several other service activities.
Ian emigrated to the United States by way of Bristol, England. He reached a high level of success in the youth soccer ranks, playing for the nationally-renowned Bristol Boys team. He graduated with honors from the West London Institute of Education (now Brunel University) in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and English. During Ian’s collegiate playing career, the team won the British Collegiate Championship three consecutive years, from 1986 to ‘88. He captained the team his senior year and set the school record for goals scored in a season. He also played on the reserve team of the English Premier League club, Chelsea.
In 2005, he led the Eastern New York ODP South Girls-Under-16 team to the 2005 U.S. Youth Soccer Region 1 championship. He also coached the two-time Region 1 champion HBC Magic of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) from 1999 to 2002.
"I have been refereeing Ian’s teams for the past 20 years, both in youth soccer and at St. John’s, and I have never heard him complain about the officiating decisions," commented NYMISOA Vice President Randy Vogt. "It’s very nice that he has achieved a good level of success with the Red Storm while continuing to develop the character of his players."
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.