By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
May 23, 2023-The coaching ranks of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) will be a little poorer after John Bussi retires from coaching next month.
Now 65 years old, John grew up playing for New York Hota in the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) and started coaching his two children, Jacqueline and Michael, playing intramurals in the Farmingdale Soccer Club.
The Farmingdale T-Birds in 1996. John is standing on the far right. John’s daughter Jacqueline is kneeling, third from the right.
“As my children’s Farmingdale teams got into travel, and people watched them play, I began to get offers from other clubs to be a trainer for their teams. For 10 years, I traveled to clubs all over the Island, sometimes working with eight clubs simultaneously, doing 10 to 12 sessions a week. A lot of driving around!” John explained. "I did that for 10 years. Then a fellow I used to coach against at Commack, John DeAngelis, asked me to train his teams, and then other Commack teams hired me. At that point, I fully committed to Commack, and have been there for almost 20 years. About a dozen years ago, the club asked me to design and run the developmental training program for Under-7 to Under-9 and I have been doing that ever since. I truly found my niche in the sport as working on skills with young players is really what I love to do. Commack is an excellent and devoted club and they have treated me very well!”
Over the years, John’s teams have played in State Cups plus won tournaments and Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) Sportsmanship Awards.
"My philosophy was developed through some of my experiences working with and learning from talented coaching peers such as the Alber brothers, Kurt Kelley and Kaz Gungor. Simply put, skills are everything! I have rarely worked on tactics with youth players, unless you consider 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 tactics, which I do. If you can provide a strong technical base, the game will teach them how to play well and effectively.”
In addition to all this coaching, the Farmingdale resident is a singer and songwriter mainly of country music. You can listen to his music at Reverbnation/Johnbussi and he is the male singer on the track. Plus John owns TAB Technology Electronics, an electronic component distribution company that supplies the transport industry primarily.
John concluded, "I am looking forward to watching my 2-year-old granddaughter, Lennox, play soccer. But I would be just as happy if she took up the piano instead!"
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/