Coach Ahmad Manning surrounded by his players at the Care for Kids Radiothon.
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
May 13, 2013-Excelsior FC Premier, a proud member of the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL) and Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), participated earlier this month in the Care for Kids Radiothon to benefit the Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center.
Excelsior FC President and Director of Coaching Ahmad Manning plus players and parents from their Boys-Under-12 team volunteered at Albany Medical Center to answer phones and to help raise money for the Children’s Hospital. In addition, the boys collected soccer balls for patients and signed them with "Get Well" wishes and went on the air with radio personalities from The River to encourage donations.
"Whenever we can give back, that is a staple of our club," Coach Manning told the radio audience. "We compete on the field but our ultimate goal is to serve our community. One of our Soccer Moms saw this event and we jumped right on it."
The 15th Annual Radiothon, held May 2 and 3 on News Talk 810, 103.1 WGY and 99.5 The River, was a another record-setter. The two-day event surpassed the $600,000 mark for the first time, raising a total of $626,172, an increase of more than 10% from 2012. The Children’s Hospital is a 125-bed facility devoted exclusively to the medical needs of infants, children and adolescents, and is the referral center for all seriously ill and injured children from 25 counties in upstate New York and western New England.
Excelsior FC was founded in 2012 and during the past year, players, parents and coaches also have volunteered serving Thanksgiving meals at the City Mission of Schenectady and held a Holiday Toy Drive to give to less fortunate children of the Capital District.
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. Eastern New York 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. Eastern New York 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.