By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
July 29, 2014-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Kayley Jensen has received a Jack Bauman Scholarship.
In the East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL), Kayley plays for the Kingston Warriors and she scored two goals when they won the Arch Capital Group Cup in 2011, the last year that they were eligible to play in that competition. Her coach, Emmanuel Nneji, wrote, “I have coached the Kingston Warriors since 2007. Several players have come and gone but there have never been any like Kayley Jensen.
I first met Kayley in the spring of 2008 when I went to a meeting at the home of my team manager whose daughter Brooke played on the team. Kayley and Brooke had been swimming. It was mentioned to me that Kayley was interested in playing soccer but had never really played before. I said that it was okay for her to come and give it a try. She did, and then to every extra session I scheduled for her to develop her skills and proficiency.
Kayley is a pure thoroughbred athlete––endless energy, endless speed, wiry, tough and tenacious. She also came with endless desire to learn, to practice what she was learning and to fully become a beautiful player in our beautiful game. I am truly amazed at what this kid has done and become in soccer in this area, and the adoration and admiration from little kids who simply just want to be or play ‘like Kayley.’ “
At Kingston High School, Kayley served as the captain of the soccer, spring track and indoor track teams plus somehow also found time to play lacrosse while being a member of the National Honor Society as well. Additionally, she played for the Eastern New York Olympic Development Program (ODP) and has served as a youth soccer referee since 2010.
She tore her ACL in the second game of the 2013 high school soccer season but Kayley has now recovered and was able to play for the Kingston Warriors and run track again.
The scholarship’s namesake, Jack Bauman, is considered the father of women’s soccer on Long Island. He was devoted to the Massapequa Soccer Club, Eastern New York and making sure that girls had as many opportunities to play soccer as boys did in an era when girls playing sports was not as accepted as it is today.
Good luck to Kayley as she studies and plays soccer at the College of St. Rose in Albany this fall.
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.