By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
December 5, 2018-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is pleased to announce former pro player and current Red Bulls II head coach John Wolyniec was inducted into the Eastern New York Hall of Fame during our Holiday Party on December 1 at Marina del Rey in the Bronx.
The now 41-year-old grew up playing in ENYYSA for Silver Lake of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) and Northport/Cow Harbor Celtic of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL). It was then on to Fordham University where he was the NCAA leading scorer in both 1998 and ’99 plus became the Rams’ all-time scorer.
John was drafted by the MetroStars in the first round in ’99 but played for the Long Island Rough Riders that year. He then went on to win a US Open Cup with the Chicago Fire in 2000, the A-League title with the Rochester Ragin’ Rhinos in 2001 and the Milwaukee Rampage in 2002, being honored as MVP of the championship final in ‘02. John returned to MLS to play with the MetroStars (scoring one of MLS’s best goals ever in 2003), Columbus Crew, LA Galaxy and Red Bulls. After his playing career ended in 2010, he was voted into the Red Bulls Best Legends 20 in 20.
At that time, John became a Red Bulls Academy coach, then a Red Bulls assistant coach in 2013 and ’14, helping lead the team to the Supporter’s Shield in ’13. He has been the Red Bulls II head coach for the past four years, leading the team to the United Soccer League (USL) championship in 2016, the same year that he was honored as the USL Coach of the Year.
Congratulations to new Eastern New York Hall of Famer John Wolyniec!
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.