Marty DiCola Honored as Girls Competitive Coach of the Year

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By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

November 11, 2021-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Marty DiCola has been selected as our 2021 Girls Competitive Coach of the Year.

Marty first became involved in soccer when his son Joe tried out for a rec team in the town of Cortlandt. His coach, Roger Arnold, was a friend and teacher in the district. Roger asked Marty to be his assistant coach in 1988.

The Cortlandt Soccer Club was founded in 1993 and Marty volunteered as its President from 1995 to the present. As this non-profit organization has fielded its final travel team, the Cortlandt Soccer Club has made donations to the scholarship programs of its league, the East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL), and to start a scholarship for the ref org that serves it, the Hudson Valley Soccer Referee Association (HVSRA).

Kids in Cortlandt can continue to play for the Town of Cortlandt Soccer Program, organized by the town’s recreation program.

Marty served as a referee from 1994 to 2007, retiring as a State Referee. But the Cortlandt Manor resident is probably best known as a coach, serving as both a youth coach for the Cortlandt Soccer Club and two tours of duty with Eastern New York’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) from 2000 to 2010 and from 2016 to 2019.

“I found myself constantly learning as much as I could about the game. I began playing every Thursday night and Sunday morning as well as becoming a successful referee,” Marty stated. “I have attended US Soccer’s B, C, D, E and F license programs over the many years I have been involved. This journey in soccer has given me a very satisfied feeling that I have given back to the youth soccer community over the years. I still have contact with many of the players who played for me, now many are adults with children of their own.”

And all this soccer is in addition to owning Peekskill Paint & Hardware in Peekskill for 43 years along with his brother Jerry. Since 2015, Marty has owned Peekskill Power and Repair Services and he repairs all types of gasoline power equipment. Marty quipped, “Yes, I still sell hardware. It's in my blood!”

With approximately 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. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/