By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
December 3, 2018-Things are looking good for longtime soccer volunteer Michael D’Ambrosio as his birthday is coming up on December 9 and he has been selected by the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) as our Personality of the Month for December.
“Michael is an excellent choice for Eastern New York Personality of the Month as he is a hard-working, dedicated volunteer who always puts others before himself,“ commented Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) President Anthony Maresco.
Mike has lived in the South Shore soccer hamlet of Oceanside since 1981. He first became involved with youth soccer when he registered his daughter Danielle for soccer when she was four years old in 1988. Mike served as the assistant coach of her Oceanside United teams for the next decade and she went on to play for the United States Youth National Teams and Central Connecticut State University.
Back on Long Island, Mike was very busy moving up the ladder as a volunteer on the Oceanside United Soccer Club, serving on the Board of Directors from 1989 to 2003, including as First Vice President of the club from 1993 to 2003. Mike volunteered as Intramural Director, Bob Schrager Labor Day Tournament Director and Co-Director of the Rudy Lamonica Indoor Tournament, the oldest youth soccer indoor tournament in the United States.
Then Mike started directly volunteering for the LIJSL, serving as Trustee from 2004 to 2012 and Second Vice President for the past six years. So is it any wonder that Mike was inducted into the LIJSL Hall of Fame last year?
He also volunteers with the LIJSL’s parent organization, serving on the Eastern New York Board of Directors as Registrar since 2010. Additionally, he volunteers as Chairperson of Eastern New York's Arbitration, Membership and Supervisory committees and is Co-Chairperson of TOPSoccer.
ENYYSA President Richard Christiano commented, “Local soccer people know that when you need something done, you can call and depend on Mike D’Ambrosio. It’s absolutely incredible the number of hours he volunteers for soccer and other organizations!“
Mike also finds the time to serve on the Oceanside School Board since 2013, volunteer on the Pastoral Council of St. Anthony’s Church in Oceanside and earn a living as Special Assistant to the Nassau County Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Museums, which includes being appointed during Hurricane Sandy to coordinate LIPA and National Grid efforts in Oceanside and surrounding hard-hit areas.
Congratulations to Eastern New York's Personality of the Month, Mike D’Ambrosio!
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 nine 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 Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.