By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
November 19, 2013-The New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA) serves colleges and junior colleges in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. At the NYMISOA Annual Awards Dinner at The Sterling in Bethpage on November 11, three longtime referees in both the Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association and Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) were honored by their peers for their contributions to soccer.
Sima Draguca of Levittown was selected as the Official of the Year, receiving one of the highest vote totals ever. He had also been voted by his fellow referees as the 2011 New Official of the Year. Brooklyn’s Ivan Castillo was tabbed as the Assistant Referee of the Year.
Both are very busy refereeing in the exact same leagues as they ref college soccer, the Public School Athletic League, the Cosmopolitan Soccer League and Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League plus the Long Island Soccer Football League and the Long Island Junior Soccer League.
Robyn Crawford-Smith of the Bronx, the webmaster of the Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association and Eastern New York Referee Program, was the landslide winner as the New Official of the Year. Robyn referees college soccer, in the Public School Athletic League, the Caribbean Cup, the United Soccer Leagues, the W-League, the Women’s Premier Soccer League and the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League.
Congratulations to these three excellent referees!
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.