By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
December 16, 2015-As the New Year kicks off, the largest league in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) will have a new leader.
Addie Mattei-Iaia is retiring as President of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) after 10 years at the helm. Anthony Maresco has been elected as the new President and will become the 10th President during the 48-year history of the LIJSL. Addie served as President for the second-longest period after Peter Collins’ amazing 27 years as leader.
As President of one of the world’s largest youth soccer leagues, Anthony will lead the Board of Directors, an office with an Executive Director and staff of five, oversee the scheduling of over 11,000 games and management of the Peter Collins Soccer Park grounds in Plainview, all while not being paid a dime.
Not surprisingly, Peter, Addie and Anthony have all been inducted into the LIJSL Hall of Fame for their decades of volunteering.
Anthony has volunteered for the LIJSL’s Terryville Soccer Club for the past two decades and started in the intramural program. In 1995, he was elected to the executive board as the travel team treasurer. From 1998 to 2004, he was an assistant coach for the Terryville Fire and from 2000 to 2009, he served as President of the Terryville Soccer Club. It was on his watch as club president that the Fire won the United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) national championship in 2007. He is currently the coach of the Boys-Under-19 Terryville Rush who play in the Eastern New York Premier League (ENYPL).
The South Setauket resident was elected LIJSL Trustee in 2008, and moved up the ladder to Treasurer, then First Vice President before being elected President last month. He has also volunteered on the LIJSL games, supervisory, rules and coaches arbitration committees. The LIJSL also hosts and directs the Long Island Cup, one of the the largest cup tournaments in the world, and the LIJSL Convention every March, which are both under the direction of Anthony’s wife Holly.
“At first, I’m going to take some time to evaluate all the programs that the LIJSL runs and review them with our Board of Directors,” Anthony stated. “We want to ensure that we continue to put out an excellent product focused on the children. Addie did an awful lot for our league and we always worked very well together.”
Anthony can draw on his success as the Terryville Soccer Club’s President for guidance. When he became President at the turn of the millennium, the club faced many challenges. With the help of the board members, he rewrote the constitution and then distributed it to the coaches and members of the club so everyone had a written set of directions. Anthony also put the club finances in order by hiring an accountant and establishing Terryville as a non-profit organization. As a result, the club could focus on its intramural, interleague and travel team programs.
It was through the Terryville Board of Directors' dedication to its players that has helped build up the club to what it is today. They have increased their programs, providing an outstanding soccer club for more children.
The new LIJSL President will surely continue the league’s inclusive policies as he has always believed that every child who wants to play soccer, no matter the level, should be able to play. He’s helped numerous families so that their children can participate in soccer programs without worrying about the financial burden.
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 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.