By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
July 31, 2014-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Massapequa’s Nicholas Cestaro is receiving a Livio D’Arpino Scholarship. D’Arpino was an Eastern New York Vice President who was involved in seemingly every level of local soccer before his untimely passing in 2002.
Our honoree played an entire decade for the Massapequa Arsenal of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), 2011 and 2013 State Open Cup champions. He served as team captain the past three years and also received a LIJSL Scholarship.
Nick was very active as a volunteer with the Massapequa Soccer Club’s TOPSoccer Special Children Program, the coat and food drives at St. Rose of Lima Church, soup kitchen volunteer at Our Holy Redeemer Church, Cystic Fibrosis Bike Ride Fundraiser and Autism Walk. He had the time to do all this volunteering in addition to helping his family, whose home was destroyed two years ago during Hurricane Sandy.
Nick, recognized as one of the top student/athletes on Long Island, maintained an amazing 4.0 GPA at St. Anthony’s High School, was a member of SALT (St. Anthony’s Leadership Team) and received the Don Scotus Academic Award for all of his four years there while leading the Friars to the state championship in 2013. Soccer coach Don Corrao wrote that “I have watched Nick grow as a person for four years and I have come to know him and his family very well. Among the adjectives that describe Nick best are smart, solid, intuitive, caring, inquisitive, dedicated and fiercely competitive.”
Nick also served Eastern New York as a Grade 8 referee. His dream to play Division 1 college soccer will be realized this fall at Holy Cross.
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.