By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
October 22, 2020-Amanda Ferranti, an Olympic Development Program (ODP) coach in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), has co-authored a new workbook with Sean McMannis titled Own Who You Are. It is the first book for both budding authors.
Published by Complete Well Media, Own Who You Are is specifically focused on helping an athlete develop fundamental routines to build and maintain confidence, joy and pride in their performance. Designed for athletes ages 12 and above, Own Who You Are is 124 pages long and the five chapters are named My Well, My Breathing, My Core Values, My Character and My Gratitude.
Ferranti has a MA in Sport and Exercise Psychology, a BA in Psychology from Princeton University and is a CMPC (Certified Mental Performance Consultant) for youth players, teams and coaches. An advocate of mental skills training from personal experiences, she understands the importance of emotional management and uses her innovation and unique knowledge specifically for youth sports.
Ferranti is a former semipro soccer player with the Long Island Rough Riders and played for the Princeton Tigers in the NCAA Final Four. She grew up in the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) with the Huntington Boys Club (HBC) Lasers and HBC Fury, competing in three national championships for the Fury. She played in Eastern New York ODP for six years and Regional ODP for two years.
The Northport resident grew up in Melville and has been coaching ODP for six years.
Smithtown Hurricanes Win the Boys-Under-16 Livio D’Arpino Cup
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 11, 2018-Two Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) teams, the Lynbrook/East Rockaway Sting and Smithtown Hurricanes, battled it out for over two hours for supremacy in the state. The Boys-Under-16 State Open Cup final for the Livio D’Arpino Cup was played on June 3 at Stringham Park in LaGrange.
Livio was a beloved Vice President of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) who was involved in seemingly every level of local soccer before his untimely passing in 2002.
“Our two teams are so evenly matched and we kept coming back as we never quit,” stated Smithtown coach Charles Bell.
Issah Khanat scored for Smithtown in regulation, which finished 1-1, and Andrew Agunzo tied the game at 2-2 in overtime. Smithtown won the championship in the shootout, 4-1. Smithtown keeper Mike Gasparino saved two penalty kicks in the shootout while Smithtown’s Jake Shin, Jared Sciarino, Ryan Safran and Noah Lavenchik converted their kicks.
The new champs also received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award, as determined by the game officials. Amoroso, a US Soccer Life Member who died in 2016, started the LIJSL Sportsmanship Program in 1980 and it spread around the world.
Smithtown will represent Eastern New York at the Regionals from June 29 to July 3 in Spotsylvania, Virginia as part of the National Championship Series.
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 11 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/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.
CJSL President Ron Restrepo Being Honored as the Personality of the Month in Eastern New York
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
October 9, 2018-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) President Ron Restrepo has been named our Personality of the Month for October.
“We are very happy to honor Ron as he has hit the ground running in his new role as CJSL President since his election in June,” ENYYSA President Richard Christiano stated.
Ron, a 39-year-old resident of Jackson Heights, first became involved with soccer back in 1996 as a teenage coach, working as an after-school soccer coach with the Sports & Art Foundation Program under the umbrella of the New York City Board of Education. In 2001, Ron took the reins coaching a Boys-Under-11 team in the Brooklyn Patriots Soccer Club and the men’s team of the Borough of Manhattan Community College. The next year, he coached the Manhattan Kickers women’s team in the New York Metropolitan Women’s Soccer League.
2002 was a pivotal year as he founded the Chelsea Piers Soccer Club and it joined the CJSL two years later. Chelsea Piers prides itself as a boutique club that believes in quality over quantity and features youth development classes starting at the age of two. Besides playing outdoor soccer, the club organizes indoor leagues at the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex in Manhattan.
Ron has coached various age groups at Chelsea during the past 16 years and currently coaches three teams, of boys born in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Ron explained, “I would like to be able to assist and contribute to the growth of the sport in New York City. I want to have the ability to impact young athletes in a positive manner with exposure to the world’s most beautiful game.“
Ron started volunteering as the CJSL Games Chairperson in 2010 and worked his way up the ladder to being elected CJSL President this past June. Ron is the 16th CJSL President, dating back to the league’s founding as the first youth soccer league in the United States in 1933. The first President, Erwin Klaus, reigned for 27 years, which was the longest Presidency, from the league’s founding to 1960.
“My goals as CJSL President are to provide New York City with a competitive league that not only develops players but assists clubs with opportunities to grow their club,” Ron stated. ”Create a league that has a structured pathway to provide the best playing platform for our youth athletes.“
Congratulations to Ron Restrepo, Eastern New York Personality of the Month for October!
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 onto http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.
Lauren Lee Named TOPSoccer Chairperson in Eastern New York
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer 
Association
AssociationFebruary 23, 2023-The non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to name Lauren Lee to the volunteer position of TOPSoccer Chairperson.
TOPSoccer stands for The Outreach Program for Soccer, an innovative program run by volunteers, which provides a safe and fun environment plus an opportunity for the child who deviates from the average kid in mental, physical or social characteristics and requires modified educational practices and services in order to develop to his or her potential. The first program started in Eastern New York when the Huntington Boys Club (HBC) and Massapequa Soccer Club separately kicked off programs back in 1978 at a time when Special Children playing sports was not as readily accepted as it is today.
From those first steps, Long Island continues to have by far the largest TOPSoccer Program in Eastern New York. Lauren founded West Hempstead TOPSoccer in 2012 after finding interest in such a program during a one-day event in the fall of 2011. She had been approached by then club president Brendan Smith about finding a team for a special child to play on.
“My primary goal as Eastern New York’s TOPSoccer Chairperson is to expand our TOPSoccer Program throughout the state. Of the state’s 860 TOPSoccer players, 750 of the players live on Long Island. The Long Island Junior Soccer League has a wonderful group of coaches who run the programs and Ann Marie Toth is a tremendous LIJSL TOPSoccer Chairperson. We meet and share ideas, coordinate tournaments and other fun events for TOPSoccer players,” Lauren explained. “My second goal is to offer a TOPSoccer coaching course for existing programs and for clubs interested in starting a program.”
Lauren lives in West Hempstead and her “real job” is partner at Kerley Walsh Matera & Cinquemani, P.C., a litigation firm in Seaford. Her specialty is appellate practice, which makes sense for our new TOPSoccer Chairperson as it’s a distinct discipline providing a “last chance” to undo an unfavorable judgment or preserve a hard-fought victory.
Lauren continued, “TOPSoccer is a very special program that permits players of any ability to play soccer and be part of a team, being inclusive for all players. It also provides volunteer opportunities for middle school and high school students. The volunteers learn about being inclusive, dependable and are able to see that they have made an impact on someone’s life when the player smiles at the encouragement given and celebrates an accomplishment.”
Lauren’s own daughter, Jessica Lee, was honored as the 2020 National TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year by US Youth Soccer.
Lauren is hoping that her own West Hempstead TOPSoccer Program will host a visit from the local Fire Department to assist on the soccer field without their equipment and after the practice, put on their equipment for the players to see.
“This will serve two purposes. The fire fighters will gain a better understanding of a child with diverse abilities when they encounter one in a crisis situation. And it will provide our players with a positive interaction with the fire department in case they are ever in an emergency situation such as a car accident, medical emergency or fire.”
For more info about TOPSoccer or to inquire about kicking off a program in your area, please contact Lauren at llee@enysoccer.com
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/
LIJSL President Anthony Maresco Inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame
From left to right: Hall of Fame committee member Emil Cohill, Hall of Famer Anthony Maresco,
ENYYSA President Richard Christiano
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
December 3, 2018-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that longtime volunteer Anthony Maresco 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 South Setauket resident began his career in youth soccer in 1993 with the Terryville Soccer Club by volunteering in its intramural program. Two years later, he was elected to its Executive Board as the Travel Treasurer. From 1998 to 2004, he volunteered as the assistant coach for the Terryville Fire, who won the Boys-Under-18 national championship in 2007.
When Anthony became the Terryville President in 2000, the club was floundering as it was disorganized, financially unstable and had no direction, obviously affecting the soccer program being offered to the children. Anthony took charge of the situation and with the help of the Board of Directors, they rewrote the constitution, put the club finances in order, hired an accountant and established Terryville as a not-for-profit organization.
Not stopping at the club level, Anthony started volunteering for the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) by holding various positions including LIJSL Games Chairperson and served on the Supervisory, Rules and Coaches Arbitration committees. He started as a Supervisor, then became a Coordinator and Girls Chairperson for the Long Island Cup.
Anthony was inducted into the LIJSL Hall of Fame in 2010, the same year that he was elected to its Board of Directors, serving as Treasurer and then First Vice President. In 2015, Anthony became LIJSL President (with its 60,000 players) and also began serving on the ENYYSA Board of Directors.
"As LIJSL President for the past four years, he introduced new ideas, programs and rule changes that enabled the league to become more user-friendly and transparent,” commented LIJSL Executive Drector Joan Czach.
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.
Parents, Tryouts and Growing Up!
By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer
Association
I realize this is maybe a month late and wished I could keep track of all the teams, clubs and leagues and when they had tryout dates. Perhaps what I wish more is that both kids and parents believed once they had tried out and committed to one team, they felt the ethical need to stand by that decision.
I typically and consistently insist that youth coaches involve parents in the sacred soccer triangle of kid-parent-coach as all three are needed for players to fulfill their potential. But to be honest, tryouts and consequent behavior challenge all that truly matters.
So to try and help, I offer the following advice for parents’ reaction to any tryout that is professionally run.
Perhaps the best place to start is to help parents understand what a professionally-run tryout looks like. To help, I offer the following criteria as good things to consider.
Victoria Alonso Being Honored as Eastern New York’s TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
October 11, 2017-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Victoria Alonso has been selected as a TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year. Victoria will be honored at the ENYYSA Holiday Party on December 17 at Marina del Rey in the Bronx.
TOPSoccer (The Outreach Program for Soccer) is a wonderful program for Children With Special Needs. It’s a community-based training and team placement program for young athletes with challenges so they have the opportunity to play the great game of soccer just like other kids. Although the program is now national, its roots date back to 1978 in Eastern New York.
Victoria received three glowing letters of recommendation, the longest of which came from John Lauria, Co-Founder and Vice President for Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL) TOPSoccer. John wrote:
“Victoria has been assisting as a coach for the Staten Island TOPSoccer for over seven years. She joined us when she was nine years old and initially helped with our younger players. However, for the last five years, she has been working with our teenage players and teams. In addition to coaching, she sometimes shadows some of our more challenging players, a task most will not volunteer for. In this capacity, she patiently encourages them and urges them to look beyond their disabilities. Victoria also recruited six of her classmates to join us as volunteers this past year, giving a much-needed boost to our program.”
“Victoria is well-liked, patient, always cheerful, and being a soccer player herself, a very competent instructor. In addition to being an outstanding role model and dedicated volunteer, she genuinely enjoys what she does.”
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 11 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.
Eastern New York Continues Its Video Series––Week 7––Longtime Youth Club President Pat LaManna
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 17, 2016-Thousands have watched this series of videos presented by the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), in response to the increased pressure on parents and players regarding college scholarships. This week’s interview is with Pat LaManna, the longtime club president of the Smithtown Kickers Soccer Club of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL). Pat played for former LIJSL president and US Soccer Hall of Famer Peter Collins on the Hicksville Minutemen, which made the McGuire Cup Boys-Under-19 national finals. He then was a full scholarship player at Adelphi University, playing for coach Bob Montgomery.
The video is linked here:
“The volunteer used to be the backbone of the team when I played, but over the past five or six years, it has become a trainer-based environment,” LaManna explains. “The level of the volunteer was not experienced enough to take players to the next level nowadays. With the trainers, it’s a much more costly endeavor for the players.“
LaManna states that college scholarships go to only the top half of one percent of youth soccer players and he uses a great team such as Smithtown Arsenal, Boys-Under-16 national champions in 2013, as an example.
“With Arsenal, their top players got full scholarships while other players on the team received partial scholarships,“ LaManna said. “Sports give youth players a great ability to get into the college of their choice, whether they are receiving a scholarship or not.“
LaManna concludes by stating that “they could be superstars at ages 10 or 11, but 13 or 14 is when they start to understand how good they want to be. If they truly want to be that good, it’s a rarity and it’s a matter of how much they play the game or want to watch it. Too many times, I hear that because they are paying a trainer twice a week, they are going to turn into the highest level of player. Not happening as they need three or four hours a week watching the game and playing on their own (in addition to their team’s training).“
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 11 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.
HBC Impact Win Their Fourth Consecutive State Championship
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 13, 2018-The Girls-Under-18 State Open Cup final was an intriguing game between two teams over 300 miles apart. The Long Island Junior Soccer League’s HBC Impact, from Huntington, Long Island, shut out the Plattsburgh Lakers of the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL), 4-0. The game was played on June 3 at Stringham Park in LaGrange.
“Our last State Cup, I’m extremely proud of our girls and I don’t think anybody would have believed we could reach the level we are at,” said an emotional Billy Carroll. “We are proud of ending it the right way and Plattsburgh gave us a very good game.”
Isabella Glennon scored a three-goal hat trick and Julianna Kissane added a goal. Keepers Morgan Novikoff and Amanda Sternberg shared the shutout.
HBC will represent the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) at the Regionals from June 29 to July 3 in Spotsylvania, Virginia as part of the National Championship Series.
Plattsburgh received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. Amoroso, a US Soccer Life Member who died in 2016, started the LIJSL Sportsmanship Program in 1980 and it spread to Eastern New York, nationally and then to China and Ireland, and in the process, made soccer games kinder and gentler.
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 11 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/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.
Lynbrook’s Carlos Ospina Being Honored as the Personality of the Month in Eastern New York
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
October 11, 2016-Pretty in pink is not normally how you would describe football players but the NFL, through its October “Crucial Catch“ campaign, has its players wear pink in their uniforms. The league works with the American Cancer Society every October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to promote the importance of regular breast cancer screenings for women.
Throughout this month in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), our players, both boys and girls, wear pink in their uniforms as well. In Eastern New York’s largest league, the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), the players are encouraged to wear pink and play with pink soccer balls in October.
Eastern New York is honoring longtime LIJSL volunteer Carlos Ospina as our Personality of the Month for October because of his lengthy work with breast cancer support.
Carlos was born in Colombia and his family emigrated to Manhattan when he was 10 years old.
”Immediately, soccer was a way to make friends here,” he stated, so he played with the Manhattan Kickers of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) and for St. Francis Xavier High School in Manhattan.
After he joined Esteé Lauder’s Melville office 20 years ago, where he is the Director of Manufacturing Engineering, he became involved with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, founded by Evelyn Lauder. In 2002, he started the Pink Ribbon Soccer Festival. Originally, the festival featured adult coed teams from Esteé Lauder’s offices in New York and Pennsylvania playing on the third Sunday in August at the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview but LIJSL girls teams have joined all the fun during the past several years. Under Carlos’ enthusiastic leadership, the Pink Ribbon Soccer Festival has raised $30,000 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
”We started when a co-worker, Rich Sommers, who was coaching his daughters in the Hicksville Americans Soccer Club, and I proposed to Esteé Lauder a new way to raise money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation,” Carlos explained. ”Our company is always looking for ways to get employees involved. Rich and I met with Mike Clarke at the Peter Collins Soccer Park and together we made it happen. Each year, the response from the LIJSL, the coaches and parents has been incredible. This could not have been possible without the help of Mike, his staff, the LIJSL and the Long Island Soccer Referees Association, whose refs have been volunteering with us for years.”
In acknowledgement of Estée Lauder’s slogan of “Everything Counts,” the Lynbrook resident plus seven other employees noted for their charity work rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on October 1, 2015.
But Carlos is much more than a player with Esteé Lauder and the director of the Pink Ribbon Soccer Festival as he is a longtime coach in the LIJSL’s Lynbrook/East Rockaway Soccer Club whose teams keep on winning the LIJSL Sportsmanship Award. Along with Richard Ford, Carlos coached the Lynbrook/East Rockaway Lizards (with his daughter Natalie on the team), taking them from an intramural team in 2003 to a LIJSL travel team until the girls graduated from high school this past June. The Lizards won the LIJSL Sportsmanship Award four times, were division champions several times, won the Oceanside Bob Schrager Memorial Tournament plus were Long Island Cup champs in 2015.
Mr. October has been coaching the Lynbrook/East Rockaway Landsharks since 2010 with son Sebastian on the team and they are currently competing in LIJSL Boys-Under-17, Division 1. The Landsharks are following in the Lizards’ footsteps as they too have won the LIJSL Sportsmanship Award under Carlos’ calm guidance.
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 11 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.