The B/W Gottschee Royals with Zeljko Subotic on the right
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
April 7, 2015-Congratulations to Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) coach Zeljko Subotic, who is being honored by the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) as our Personality of the Month for April. Zeljko has been coaching B/W Gottschee teams for the past four years in an exemplary coaching career that saw him coach his son, Neven Subotic, in two different countries as a boy before Neven played internationally.
Zeljko was born in the former Yugoslavia in what is now the independent nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He lived in Slovenia, then went back to Bosnia, and moved to Pforzheim, Germany, where he coached Neven as a child playing for TSV Schwarzenberg. In the late 1990s, the family's residence authorization in Germany expired and instead of returning to the war-torn Balkans, they opted to move to the United States in 1999. They settled in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Zeljko had a cousin.
Right after the turn of the millennium, the family was on the move again, this time to Bradenton, Florida, so that Zeljko’s other child, daughter Natalija, could play at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy as she was a top tennis prospect. Bradenton is also the base for the United States Boys-Under-17 National Youth Team. Keith Fulk, one of the American team's assistant coaches, “discovered” Neven while playing in G.T. Bray Park. Zeljko had been coaching his son on the Manatee Magic Soccer Club in Florida.
While Neven went on to play for the United States National Youth Team, then for Serbia and has played for Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga since 2008, Zeljko continued coaching in the United States. Zeljko quipped, “My players see Neven playing on TV, therefore they like me.”
Such as the 2013 UEFA Champions League final, where Neven played all 90 minutes in the 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich. With the now 26-year-old playing in Germany, the Subotic family resettled to Middle Village. Natalija, now 27, took a position at Deutsche Bank and still plays tennis recreationally after playing in college for Pace University. Zeljko started coaching the boys and girls at Christ the King High School in Queens and boys teams at B/W Gottschee in the hope that kids from New York City will have the same opportunities that his son has received. He’s coached at B/W Gottschee since 2011 and during the summer, when kids are off from school, he volunteers his time by training children at Juniper Park every morning.
“Zeljko is a person who is humble, patient and a tireless worker,” commented CJSL President Dimitrie Draguca. “He trains two teams, three times a week back-to-back, and on his off days, if he is not at games with either team, you can find him on the field doing small group sessions or one-on-one training with players. Additionally, I’ve noticed coaches at many times seeking his wisdom and advice.”
In the past year, Zeljko has coached the Boys-Under-10 B/W Gottschee Royals and Boys-Under-14 B/W Gottschee Blue, winning many tournament titles along the way. Congratulations to Zeljko Subotic, Eastern New York’s Personality of the Month for April.
With over 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 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.