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Wantagh-Seaford Fury Take the Boys-Under-13 Challenge Cup

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

June 16, 2024-In the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) championship match for the Boys-Under-13 Challenge Cup on Saturday, June 1 at Stringham Park in LaGrange, the Wantagh-Seaford Fury of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) defeated the Brewster FC Eagles of the Hudson Valley Youth Soccer League (HVYSL), 3-1.

Andy Limaj scored two goals for Wantagh-Seaford while Gio Stornello added the other.

“I’m proud of the boys who have all come a long way,” Wantagh-Seaford coach Mike Dichiara said. “We’ve been together for the past four years.”

Brewster received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award as selected by the match referees. Amoroso, a US Soccer Life Member who died in 2016, started the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) Sportsmanship Program in 1980 and it spread to Eastern New York, nationally and then to China and Ireland, making soccer games kinder and gentler in the process.

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 10 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 US Youth Soccer. For more information, please log onto http://www.enysoccer.com/

Deaf and CP Soccer Camp Being Hosted at Golden Goal Park in Fort Ann

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

May 29, 2024-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is committed that every child who wants to play soccer is able to do so.

Special Children playing soccer, now called TOPSoccer, originated in Eastern New York in 1978 when the Huntington Boys Club and Massapequa Soccer Club seperately started programs. The USA National Amputee Team consists of a few players who grew up playing youth soccer in Eastern New York.

We’re very happy to send out information on the upcoming Deaf and CP Soccer Camp at Golden Goal Park in Fort Ann, marketing itself as “the perfect balance of serious training and enjoyable activities” from Saturday, June 22 to Thursday, June 27. There are only 10 places available.

Go to https://usdeafsoccer.com/upcoming-events/?eid=11335 to register.

For more info, please contact USA Deaf Soccer’s Youth Representative, Sydney Andrews, at sandrews@usdeafsoccer.com

49 Teams Competing in the NY Winter Tournament

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

January 11, 2024-Indoor tournaments and futsal leagues dot the landscape of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) during the winter. But the hardy souls of Juventus Academy New York started an outdoor Winter Tournament last year which has gained in popularity. 23 teams played last year and it has more than doubled with 49 boys squads from Under-10 to Under-16 competing this winter. Juventus Academy had entered into a strategic partnership with the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) to organize the Winter Tournament.

“I was a pro player back in Italy and played outdoors in all weather conditions,” stated Giovanni Russo, President of the Juventus Academy New York. “When I moved to the United States 12 years ago, I found out that teams play indoor tournaments and futsal during the winter because of the harsh weather. Futsal improves technical skills but it takes a few weeks for the players to adjust to playing outdoor soccer again in March so we created the Winter Tournament.”

All games are played in accordance with US Soccer’s Cold Weather Guidelines on turf fields on Randall’s Island, Queens and Brooklyn as Juventus Academy partnered with other CJSL clubs in finding available fields. Games started in December and run until the semifinals on March 2 and the championship games on March 9.

Russo added, “It is a competitive tournament, the level of play has become better but the emphasis is on safety. My staff tries to be at all the games.”

Some CJSL clubs have teams that are playing in the Winter Tournament while other squads in the same club are playing indoors, dependent on the choice of the team and coach.

For more info about the NY Winter Tournament, please contact Giovanni Russo at 917-558-1551 or giorusso@juventusnyc.com

Planning Your Winter

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

You would hope or assume that all or least part of the annual soccer calendar could be devoted to long-term player development and learning, a time to get some much-needed rest before starting some well-planned training. How wrong you would be.

As we head into the “winter soccer period” which in the Northeast of the US is typically a period from December through to March consider some of following key factors as you plan your winter soccer diet.

Let us begin with the basics:

1) At the end of a full fall season with regular training and games the best thing to do IS REST. Youth players of all sizes, ages and levels of development can benefit from a soccer rest.

2) INDOOR, OUTDOOR conundrums. Again you would assume common sense would rule the debate, again you would be mistaken. Although US Soccer does have cold weather guidelines. The two charts shown below should help:

The chart above simply shows the more wind the colder it feels, best to be governed by the real feel temp that your phone weather app shows.

The chart below takes that real feel temp and tells you if it’s suitable to train or play:

3) Sensible outdoor winter training has a definite high activity zero standing still look and feel to it. All the players should be active throughout and learning should take place through the activity and not the coach standing, the players still for long periods of time while they share their thoughts about the game.

4) Sensible indoor training also has a definite look and feel about it. Perhaps the best starting point is for coaches to ask their players , “in this space what parts of the game do you think we can train?” Most indoor spaces lend themselves to a soccer diet based on 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and possession-based activities––not crossing, finishing and 11v11 games.

5) Sensible indoor coaching also should fit the context: small space, quicker pressure, quicker decisions equate to less coaching interference. Players should be able to enjoy making decisions and reflecting on their success as coaches pose questions post-action.

6) The final conundrum revolves around the debate on which environment is likely to deliver the most development. Another situation that ultimately revolves around the quality of the coach managing the situation. I offer the following suggestions with the options of futsal, indoor training, indoor tournaments in purpose-built facilities, indoor tournaments in school gyms:

Futsal-Quick, free flowing, touch intensive game full of player decisions and freedom when coached correctly, meaning players are free to be independent thinkers and decision makers.

Indoor training-A pressure free chance to simply focus on player development that if approached this way should be a great chance for learning to take place.

Indoor tournaments in purpose-built facilities-Assuming they do not squeeze unrealistic numbers on a field, should replicate the time and space the players get in their regular games. Too frequently pressure becomes too much due to the proximity of the parents and coaches all wishing to shout out commands to the unfortunate participants

Indoor tournaments in school gymnasiums-I would try and avoid typically too many kids in to small a space and a very intense win at all costs atmosphere that do little for player development.

Street Soccer-perhaps the best option of all on those days where the temperature cooperates would be to offer to sit in a chair and read a book while a group of kids set up a traditional street soccer game with no adult interference. Let them pick the teams, the rules, the size of the goals and everything else.

It is appropriate to finish this monthly piece with a seasonal wish that everyone have a truly wonderful holiday and remember to try every day to spread a little kindness and laughter to all you meet.

A Coach’s View of a Good Ref

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Tim_for_Web Association

A friend of mine asked that I pen a piece on a coach’s perspective of what a good ref may look like. Before I start creating a list, it is worth noting that no matter what the opinions of players, coaches or parents are, all refs must be respected at all times. The days of refs being verbally abused and challenged by parents and coaches must come to an end. Despite what you think, they are closer to the action than you, understand the Laws of the Game better than you and have no agenda other than to keep the kids safe and ensure the game is played in a fair manner. We should aspire to be role models with respect and the way we talk to refs at all times.

I believe good refs constantly display the following characteristics:

Paul Bascomb Elected President of the Capital District Youth Soccer League

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

November 14, 2023-The new President of the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL), Paul Bascomb, is familiar to many soccer families in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) partly because he was honored as Eastern New York’s Personality of the Month in February 2018. Nearly 7,000 kids have fun playing soccer in the CDYSL.

Paul, a Cobleskill resident, has been involved in soccer nearly his entire life. Amazingly, he went to high school and college in the same town as he played midfield at Cobleskill High School and then at SUNY Cobleskill in the 1970’s. Paul did not play club soccer as his playing career started long before the CDYSL was founded in 1978.

Paul coached his daughter Kelly in the Valley Soccer Club on various teams from 1996 to 2003 while he and his wife Mary Ann’s other child, Katie, played soccer a little but was more into cheerleading.

Paul started refereeing as he wanted “to find another way to stay involved in soccer.” He has refereed in the CDYSL for over a quarter-century, local high school games since around the turn of the millennium and college soccer for nearly 20 years. Paul was on the Board of Directors of the Capital District Referee Association (CD-REF) and was honored as their Referee of the Year in 2008. He has stepped back from the referee org’s Board of Directors.

“We have some outstanding young members on the Board and I’m still involved with the Mentoring Program,” Paul explained.

Prior to becoming CDYSL President, perhaps Paul’s biggest contribution to local youth soccer had been volunteering as President of the Valley Soccer Club for nearly two decades. He became involved in the construction of the Valley Soccer Complex, with three large fields and two small-sided fields. Paul personally maintained the fields, mowed and aerated them plus bush-hogged the perimeter so the kids of the Valley Soccer Club could have good grass fields to play on.

Paul volunteered on the CDYSL Executive Committee and served for over a decade as Chairperson of the Games Committee, a huge task whose responsibilities include ensuring that the league’s games go smoothly every weekend during the spring and fall. He stepped aside as Chairperson of the Games Committee to concentrate on his new role as CDYSL President.

“I took a very roundabout way of getting here as I was inducted into the CDYSL Hall of Fame before I became President,” he said.

Paul explained that he has two goals:

1. He would like to see what the CDYSL can do to encourage local Premier/Division 1 and 2 teams to stay and play home. In the different leagues, he said that it seems the local teams wind up playing each other anyway and other teams don’t like to travel up here, so why not stay home and play some “Limited Play” games in a separate league that we could establish?2. He’s looking into the feasibility of establishing a “Club Roster” for the lower division teams that would essentially eliminate a “Guest Players” roster. This would allow the smaller clubs/teams the ability to move players around easily without more paperwork for them and the CDYSL office while still recognizing the age groups and division eligibility.

With these changes, he’s hoping to increase the number of teams and players within the CDYSL.

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 10 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/

Geoff Davis Has Dedicated His Life to Soccer

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

Association

July 26, 2023-Geoff Davis has done pretty well for himself in soccer especially when considering that he never played in a youth soccer league as a kid. He grew up in the Bronx where local kids originally from England, Ireland, Germany, Hungary and Greece played soccer in the street using a Spaldeen.

Geoff came to Oneonta State as a student in 1965 and never left the area. He taught Physical Education at Oneonta State for 40 years.

His introduction to organized soccer came when his kids, Alexis and Zachary, started playing.

“Since I had very little background in playing soccer, as soon as I could find someone who knew what they were doing, I demoted myself to team manager,” Geoff explained.

In 1989, he took up the whistle as a soccer referee and is still officiating today. He’s refereed youth games, adults and high school games but stopped officiating college games a decade ago. Geoff is President of the Oneonta Soccer Referees Association plus Secretary/Treasurer of the Delaware-Ostego High School Officials. Additionally, he’s a referee instructor and assessor.

In the early 1990’s, Geoff served as President, Vice President and Treasurer of the Oneonta Soccer Club, then became Registrar and Treasurer of the Mid-State New York Soccer League. Geoff always made the lengthy trip south to attend Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) meetings.

After serving as Mid-State’s Registrar for 25 years, Geoff has left that role for a new one helping as the league’s Referee Retention Coordinator.

“In the Oneonta area, while we are losing about the same number of officials each season just like years past, we are not seeing people take the new course to be their replacements. We need to find ways to attract new officials. I plan on working directly with local soccer clubs to come up with new approaches to get more people involved.” Geoff stated. “I've been working on this problem with some folks who officiate other sports such as basketball, softball and baseball because they are experiencing the same issue as we are. We may also try and include the field hockey referees as well. A more formal committee cutting across multiple sports will be created to focus specifically on the recruitment issue.”

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 10 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 onto http://www.enysoccer.com/

Stony Brook LGN Wildlings Win Their Second Consecutive Regional Championship

Back Row, left to right: Matthew Mannina (Coach), Eli Rubio, Jack Salgado, Brandon Lopez, John Caso, Adrian Munoz, Elliot Burgueno, Ethan Kyle, Anthony Puleo, Brandon Cruz (Coach), Lou Puleo (Coach)

Front Row, left to right: Thomas Albertina, Logan Booth Alam, Aidan Velasquez, Dylan Lopez, James Schneider, Brandon Cruz, Jason Krol, Anthony Ruggiero

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

July 10, 2023-The Stony Brook Wildlings won all six of their games at Regionals in late June in Loudoun County, Virginia, outscoring their opponents 15 to 1. In the Boys-Under-15 championship game on June 29, Stony Brook LGN shut out the Lower Merion Thunder of Eastern Pennsylvania, 2-0.

“Having won Regionals last year and that lasted the full seven days, we knew the toll that six consecutive games would take on the players. So in preparation, we trained extremely hard leading up to it, three hours each day, on turf, in the heat, hardly any days off,” commented Stony Brook LGN coach Matt Mannina. “We were therefore in great shape and able to outlast our opponents. Our team also plays a high possession-based style and winning games by letting the ball do the work, especially early on, contributed to preserving us up until the finals. Our defense gets a lot of credit here. They are tough, organized and passionate, and in six games they were able to hold some of the top strikers in the region to only one goal.”

The Wildlings get their unusual team name as several local coaches were fans of the HBO series, “Game of Thrones.” One suggested naming a newly-formed Boys-Under-7 team something from the show so Mannina suggested the unique name of Wildlings, a tribe in the series. The first year, many of the boys could not pronounce the name correctly and often said “Wild Wings” instead.

The Wildlings, along with rivals Brentwood Premier Man City and New York Hota, are representing the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) at the Nationals from July 17 to 23 in Orlando as part of the National Championship Series. After winning Regionals, the Wildlings rested and recovered and then started training for Nationals on July 6.

Coach Mannina added, “This team is determined to be state, regional and national champions this year, and we realize that now at the final stage is the time to ramp it up and increase the intensity at training. We were also at Nationals last year so we know what level of competition to expect now, as every team there is a Regional Champion or National League PRO winner, and I believe we will be better prepared mentally having seen the majority of these teams at Nationals last year, Regionals, National League PRO, Jefferson Cup, Bethesda, Potomac and other high level tournaments.”

A example news article for USYS CalSouth Team News

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Games Go Much Better When the Opposing Coaches Greet One Another Before the Match

Photo courtesy of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League

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

May 2, 2023-It borders on the ridiculous. Opposing coaches standing 20 yards apart on the touchline without any interaction whatsoever with one another for an hour-plus before the game and during the match until shaking hands after the game.

If only they knew how better the match tends to go when the opposing coaches have a conversation before the game and wish one another good luck. A simple gesture goes a long way! And if nobody takes the first step, the home coach should welcome the visiting coach and players to the field.

Yes, I know that coaches and trainers before the match are busy sorting out who is at the field, who is still coming, putting the players through their warm-ups, etc. But there must be a few minutes to spare to talk to the opposing coaches.

During this Spring Season in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), the opposing coaches greeted one another before the game in roughly half the matches I officiated.

It’s so important to discipline because in the games that I’ve officiated so far this spring, there were 1.3 cards (yellow or red) for every 10 games where the opposing coaches greeted one another. And 13 cards (yellow or red) for every 10 matches where the opposing coaches did not interact. In other words, there were 10 times the number of cards in games where the coaches ignored one another until shaking hands after the game. Players recognize this and follow the coach, who is their role model on how to act.

And who knows, when you strike up a conversation with the opposing coach, you might have made a new friend.

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 10 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/