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The Staten Island Youth Soccer League Expands Its High School Program

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Photo of Owl Hollow Fields

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

July 1, 2015-Here we grow again! The Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL), the southernmost league in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), continues to expand its high school summer program.

The program debuted last summer with eight boys teams. For 2015, there are 11 boys squads and eight girls teams, divided by high school. The boys are playing on Tuesdays and Thursdays while the girls play on Mondays and Wednesdays, with all games at the four turf fields under the lights at Owl Hollow Fields in Arden Heights.

The program is popular as all players get a uniform, all games have three officials, the teens receive insurance coverage through Eastern New York, all for just $55 per player.

“Our players are receiving a great deal for $55 and that’s the reason why our summer program is so popular,” commented SIYSL President Bill Smith. “We hope that we can continue to expand this program in the future.”

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 Special Children. 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 Youth Soccer Association Looking to Honor Those Who Make a Difference

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

August 8, 2013-With well over 100,000 youth soccer players from Long Island to the Canadian border, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) can only function with over 25,000 passionate volunteers.

Eastern New York would once again like to remind you of the importance of recognizing those adult volunteers, coaches, TOPSoccer buddies and young referees without whom we would not be able to provide the wonderful soccer experience our youngsters enjoy. We continue to solicit nominations for a variety of awards designed to demonstrate our appreciation for the hours of devotion these valued individuals give to the kids.

In the past, response from our members has been poor, with several awards not presented due to lack of nominations. Therefore, we are again asking that each member organization turn their attention inwards to their volunteers and make an effort to recognize those whose contributions have truly been outstanding. The person chosen by us in each category will receive not only our recognition at our annual Holiday Party in December but will also be forwarded as Eastern New York’s candidate for additional recognition at the Regional and National level.

Last year, Cathy O’Brien in the Eastern New York office nominated Nkosi Burgess of the Dix Hills Heat for the Goal of the Year. Not only did his wonderful flick and overhead kick become the Eastern New York Goal of the Year, Nkosi was honored for scoring the US Youth Soccer Goal of the Year this past winter. But this would not have happened if Cathy did not take a few minutes to nominate Nkosi.

The nominations MUST be on a specific form and completed as comprehensively as possible.

These forms can be found on US Youth Soccer’s website (http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/Workshop/GalaAwards/) for each of the specific awards. Simply paste the link into your address bar.

Nominations must be received at the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association office (53 North Park Avenue, Suite 103, Rockville Centre, NY 11570) on or before September 15, 2013 to be considered and should reflect the season ending August 31, 2013.

The categories are:

Girls Competitive Coach of the Year

Boys Competitive Coach of the Year

Girls Recreational Coach of the Year

Boys Recreational Coach of the Year

Volunteer of the Year

Administrator of the Year

TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year

Female Young Referee of the Year

Male Young Referee of the Year

Goal of the Year

Save of the Year

Please take this opportunity to nominate our members through this great program!

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. 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 Special Children. 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.

Periodization: Science or Just Plain Common Sense

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

It’s very strange to me that as adults we all understand that the body can only do so much. We get it, that if you over work, over train and ignore the rest that the body needs it simply breaks down. We are careful to get enough rest, to plan and think intelligently about what our bodies can do and what makes them breakdown. Professional athletes, guided by an army of sports scientists with a complete understanding of the adult body prescribe to a well-planned diet of training and games. They listen to their bodies, they listen to the experts and of course they rest! After all the body can only take so much before it breaks down.

As I have written about over the last three years, US Soccer and its education department have gone through a drastic and complete overhaul. We have new licenses and teaching methods from the F to the A and above. One of the biggest changes that continues throughout the courses is the concept and science of periodization. A complicated word that simply means understanding cycles of work/rest – we are so concerned that we don’t get it that we have made it a science. The core of this science we all understand adults and kids need to recuperate or we break down. The clinical definition is:

Periodization is the systematic planning of athletic or physical training. The aim is to reach the best possible performance in the most important competition of the year. It involves progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific period.

There are so many aspects to the conundrum that understanding periodization issue brings to the foreground that this article could turn into a novel – I will try to be brief and to the point. The following all affect the periodization debate:

1. Desire of trainers and teams to play more and more games so they can charge more money.

2. Parent demands to play in more and more tournaments to collect Got Soccer points.

3. Lack of understanding by all that players get more touches and develop more in well-designed training sessions than they do playing games.

4. High school seasons and coaches that completely ignore the concept of rest work ratios and play and train far too many times in a brief time span.

5. Parents and adults who forget that the body needs rest.

6. Complete ignorance to sensible training/playing game ratios and the training hours needed to achieve ones maximum potential.

7. Tournaments – enormous money-making events that make no physical sense at all.

Before I address each point in turn, we need to acknowledge a few basic truths:

• Sports science is the most active space in youth sports and very few if any comprehensive studies exist of what happens to the overstressed U12 body.

• We have a growing number of pre-pubescent injuries in player’s U12 that seemingly are caused by overuse.

• The multi-sport culture that is being promoted by all pays no attention at all to the basic message of rest and recovery.

• At 14, a youth player who has played a 90-minute game needs 72 hours planned recovery time

If we can remember the truths above let's plow through the reasons why are kids are playing way to many games. So in order presented above:

1. Desire of trainers and teams to play more and more games so they can charge more money.

Whether they are driven by greed or by the fear of losing players too many “professional trainers” allow their players and teams to enter and play in simply too many leagues. By definition, professionals put the interests of their customers as their number one concern. Our customers are the youth players we teach not the parents writing the check. We must always put their well-being at the center of all the decisions we make. This means avoiding two games a day, tournaments and any situation where we simply cannot give our players the rest they need.

2. Parent demands to play in more and more tournaments to collect Got Soccer points.

The more we educate the parents the better for all our players and programs. What we can simply not allow or bow down to is those parents that demand game after game and tournament after tournament. If all professional trainers agree to a common sense game/training ratio and have the courage and moral conviction to stand by the decision these helicopter parents will have nowhere to go. Even without the support of your local community do the right thing and be prepared to let the parents go!

3. Lack of understanding by all that players get more touches and develop more in well-designed training sessions than they do playing games.

The statics and figures are easily available from many sources. Our youth players get more touches in training than they do in games. They get to make more decisions and perform skills under pressure more frequently in training than they do in games. This increased performance time has profound affects upon player development. Imagine if an Olympic swimmer was only allowed in the water two a month as opposed to two a week. We are robbing our players of vital developmental play. Look at some of the drastic numbers illustrated by the quotes below

“In a study of 1500 ODP level female players, the average number of games reported played over the previous twelve months was 116. With an average game duration of 80 minutes and a maximum roster of 18, and with the ball out of play for an average 33%, the typical player would experience 1.5 minutes of active play per game for a total of 174 minutes per year. Less than 3 hours of ball contact!" (Turner, 2003)

Turner continues, "Under FIFA 3-substitution rules, a young soccer player competing in 100 games per year will only come into contact with the ball for a maximum of 300 minutes, or 5 hours. The recommended ratio of training sessions to games for 9-12 year-old players is 70% training and 30% games.”

Dr. Thomas W. Turner, U.S. Youth Soccer Total Player Development, On behalf of Region II Coaching Committee, fall 2006.

If further illustration and evidence is needed how about this from a former ENYYSA Director of Coaching, Alfonso Mondelo:

“The first thing we realized was the 4,000 prospects we consider our elite were playing way too many games. A survey revealed the average under-15 player took to the field over 100 times a year, suiting up for high school, club, district, regional and national teams."

As Mondelo evaluated the American system, he noticed that our kids play way too many games too. He recommends a schedule that is 4:1 training to games: four training sessions for every one game. Based on four sessions per week during certain months (10 months), the math adds up to 350 hours. By contrast, Ajax youth academy averages 576, Barcelona’s 768.

4. High school seasons and coaches that completely ignore the concept of rest work ratios and play and train FAR TOO MANY TIMES in a brief time span.

It seems very un-American to attack high school sports, a bit like attacking apple pie, everything to lose and nothing to gain. It seems to be one of those topics that is instantly taboo.

WHY? – We or they have it wrong. The science here is proven and unquestioned at the age of 14 a player needs 72 hours recovery time before going at full pace again. If you play three games a week you can only do very light sessions at a maximum workload of around 20% for any session’s in-between the three games. The number of training sessions and games that are ultimately involved in high school soccer defy all common sense. We simply put our athlete’s at risk and despite all the sensitivity and hype around high school sports it has to stop- simply calling it High school sports does not mean it is beyond either reproach or commonsense. Either cut back on the number of games or the ridiculous two training sessions every night in-between the games – the greatest travesty of all is that this happens in institutes of education – how can that be?

5. Parents and adults who forget that the body needs rest.

Do we forget or simply get carried away with bumper sticker mentality? The kid is … syndrome. I suspect it is a mixture of the two. We can all see the alarming amount of pre-pubescent injuries that are starting to plague today’s youth players. We surely understand the body needs rest and therefore the disconnect here is incredible. As a purely social experiment, I would like all the soccer parents reading this article to, during the next seven days, play three 90 minute games and train at 75% on all the days in-between. I suspect that those of you that do may never demand more games and tournaments again.

6. Complete ignorance to sensible training /playing game ratios and the training hours needed to achieve ones maximum potential

And so we are back where the discussion began. With all the research and interest in youth sports and educational offerings on the meaning of periodization there can be no excuse for continuing down a path that ultimately hurts our athletes. Even if are not concerned with placing them in environments that allow them to fulfil their athletic potential and flourish we simply cannot be a nation that turns a blind eye to environments that cause our players harm

Nelson Mandela said it best, “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

7. Tournaments – enormous money-making events that make no physical sense at all.

20 or 30 years ago these events may have made some type of common sense as the only way to play other high level teams may have been to travel and compete. This is no longer true there are enough high level leagues when top teams travel and play 1 game a week that there is no longer a real need for these events. College coaches now spend more time and effort on their own combined or internal training id clinics so the college showcase argument also carries little weight.

To be a physically viable event tournaments would need to be a 3 game max spread over a weeklong event. No one does this. We must all stop pretending that tournaments are anything more than a tremendous money generating event that is a good social opportunity for parents.

Having highlighted the issues I wish to present a table that suggests a sensible one year soccer diet – I will use the example of a high level u14 team

TABLE 1 – assumes no high or middle school soccer and each session is 90 minutes long and that these players are single sport players

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Some notes – total sessions – 114 – total hours training is 171 hours.

Total games – outdoor 36 at 90 minutes 54 hours plus 6 hours of futsal.

Total pure soccer hours is 231 hours per year.

Cross training sports suggestions would be beach volleyball (summer) and basketball recreational in the winter.

TABLE 2 – assumes they play high or middle school soccer and each session is 90 minutes long and that these players are single sport players

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Some notes – total sessions – 74 – total hours training is hours.

Total games – outdoor 24 at 90 minutes 36 hours plus 6 hours of futsal.

Total pure soccer hours is 116 hours per year plus school

Cross training sports suggestions would be beach volleyball (summer) and basketball recreational in the winter.

Whether you agree with the suggestions above or not I would ask that all spend serious time considering the idea of rest and a sensible sports diet.

Remembering Beacon Soccer Club Co-Founder Robert Galloway

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

July 5, 2023-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is mourning the loss of Robert Galloway on June 11 at the age of 89. He was born in Dumbarton, Scotland on July 3, 1933. On May 25, 1968, Robert married Christine Livingstone in Scotland. The two met at a bar in Queens and they were happily married for 51 years, until Christine predeceased him on July 21, 2019.

Prior to emigrating to the US, Robert served in the British Army as part of the Seaforth Highlanders, 1st Battalion serving Gibraltar. Upon completing his tour in the Army, he returned to Scotland and began his five-year apprenticeship as a painter. When he finished his apprenticeship, he began his career in painting as a ship painter.

In 1962, he made the move to come to the US and as the story goes, he began working immediately as a union painter. Career-wise, he eventually went into business with his partner, David Sullivan, creating Old Firm Contracting. The company got its name from the intense Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers in Scottish soccer. Robert was a Celtic fan and David a Rangers’ supporter but they were very close friends and everybody at the company got along.

Robert and Christine were very proud to have been founding members of the Beacon Soccer Club in 1978 along with Patrick Kerr. Keeping the philosophy of the club’s founders 45 years later, all coaches remain volunteers.

If there was soccer being played in Beacon, you were guaranteed to see Robert there including just two weeks before his passing. He enjoyed his years of coaching in Beacon and also at Dutchess Community College in the early 1990’s after they asked for his help in revitalizing their program. His favorite players called him Gramps and he found such joy in watching/coaching his grandsons and his great-grandchildren. Along with his passions, he was very proud of his Scottish roots and was a member of the Dutchess County Scottish Society.

Ironically, Robert passed a day after former Ulster Community College men’s coach George Vizvary died as the community college teams they coached are rivals.

Robert’s daughter, Jacqueline Arroyo, explained, “My father quietly went about doing things but everybody knew who he was. Many of his former players came to the funeral home and said what a dramatic impact he had on their lives. He especially had a knack for boys without Dads without being preachy.”

Both Robert and Christine were also involved in volunteering for the East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL) and both were inducted into that league’s Hall of Fame, Robert in 2006 and Christine a decade earlier in 1996.

Longtime Beacon Soccer Club President Rheyan Cader gave the eulogy for Robert, stating, “Soon after I started dating my beautiful wife Saundra, she shared that a water leak in an upstairs bathroom sink had seeped through and stained the ceiling in her living room. I offered to try to repair it but she very quickly, too quickly, said no. She said that she had already reached out to her friend, Jacqueline, and that Jacqueline’s Dad was going to stop by the next day at 9:00 am to take care of it. She asked instead if I could be there to let him in as she had to work. My fragile ego was bruised but I obliged.

9:00 am the following day, the doorbell rang, I opened the door totally unaware of the impact that this man would have on my life. I showed him the damaged ceiling which he thoroughly assessed, and then just for good measure assessed again. He made his way outside to his white station wagon, gathered his supplies, which were neatly arranged into crates and returned, setting to work meticulously preparing the work area. Every exposed surface was carefully protected. Mr. G completed his prep work, hoisted his ladder, and set to work. Wow! Precision, as one carefully planned step was followed by the next. I was watching a master at work. And then, just like that, he was done. The final work product was perfect with no visible signs of the previous damage. After a quick yet extremely thorough clean-up, he looked me in the eye, firmly shook my hand and he was gone.

At that moment, I realized two things:

1) Saundra definitely made the right choice in having Mr. G do the work.

2) That this man was not only a painter, Robert Galloway was a true craftsman.

In fact, Mr. Galloway exemplified the true meaning of craftsmanship. He approached every task with meticulous precision, thoughtful consideration and unwavering pride.

He showed up when he said he would, leaving no room for doubt or uncertainty. His commitment to leaving things better than he found them was a testament to his character and work ethic. Robert’s craftsmanship extended beyond the realm of work, permeating every aspect of his life and leaving an indelible mark on all who knew him…

Mr G. Your life was a masterful performance that was played with a high level of intensity and passion, you left it all on the field. You will forever be our Most Valuable Player.”

ENYYSA is sad to announce the passing of Ray Wolfe

Ray

ENYYSA is sad to announce the passing of a true gentleman, Ray Wolfe. Ray passed peacefully today, July 11, 2017 surrounded by his wife, Hilda, his sons, and their families.

Ray began a stellar career as a referee in 1985 after he and his family moved to Franklin Square, Long Island. He quickly moved up the ranks from pee-wees to Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) youth games to amateur, professional and international matches. Ray officiated the World University Games in Niagara Falls in 1993 and did so well that he was assigned both a semifinal and the final. Two years later, he served as an assistant referee for the United Soccer League’s nationally-televised championship game.

He also excelled as a high school and college ref and was honored as the 2000 Official of the Year in the New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA).

Ray volunteered for many years as a Trustee for the New York Soccer Referee Association. In 2009, he received a promotion to State Youth Referee Administrator (SYRA), and tirelessly canvassed the Empire State to develop Eastern New York’s youth referees until his retirement last month.

It has been said that beside every good man there is a good woman and the Wolfe family is no exception. Ray’s wife Hilda was a longtime Eastern New York staff member who was honored as the 2002 Region 1 Administrator of the Year. Both Ray and Hilda have been inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame and this is a rarity.

Ray will truly be missed by all! Our deepest sympathy to the Wolfe family!

10 Teams From Across New York Win the ENY Premier League Championship

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Staten Island United Gunners

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

June 25, 2015-The ENY Premier League finals showcased great teamwork and many competitive games as they were played from morning to night, under the lights, on Saturday, June 20 at Owl Hollow Fields on Staten Island.

The Staten Island United Gunners defeated Buenavista Futbol NY Kids, 7-1, in the Boys-Under-15 final in their home borough. Staten Island adds the ENY Premier League title to their growing team trophy case which includes the 2012 State Open Cup and 2015 ENY Champions Cup.

“Buenavista had some great talent but I thought we played more as a team,” commented Staten Island coach George MacDonald.

Another highlight was two cousins from different clubs becoming champions. Nisa Cortez, who lives Upstate in Schenectady, won the Girls-Under-18 ENY Premier League championship with FC Dutchmen Intensity while her Downstate cousin, Samantha Flores of Brooklyn, was a Girls-Under-17 champ with Manhattan Kickers Red.

The refs from the Staten Island Soccer Referees Association (SISRA), including 2014 Eastern New York Referee of the Year Albert Calise, officiated the games.

“As the Gateway to Regional Play, the teams that won the ENY Premier League title will be looking to move on to play in the Region 1 Champions League,” explained ENY Premier League Director Steve Padaetz. “I’d be remiss if I did not thank all our wonderful volunteers in helping make the ENY Premier League finals a huge success.”

The 10 championship matches were organized by the volunteers of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL). The results from a day of great soccer:

Boys-Under-12: HBC IA Real ‘02 2, Lynbrook/East Rockaway Sting 1 in overtime
Boys-Under-13: Garden City Gladiators 2, West Babylon Pride 0
Boys-Under-14: Uniondale NYSLA Leones 4, Hicksville Galaxy 1
Boys-Under-15: Staten Island United Gunners 7, Buenavista Futbol NY Kids 1
Boys-Under-16: Westchester United FC and FC Dutchmen Roughnecks tied 2-2 after overtime. Westchester won the title, 4-3, in the shootout.
Boys-Under-17: Lake Grove/Newfield Warriors and Hampton United Gladiators tied 2-2 after overtime. Lake Grove/Newfield won the title, 4-3, in the shootout.
Boys-Under-18: Commack Soccer Academy ‘98 2, FC Dutchmen Patriots 1
Girls-Under-14: Merrick PAL Storm 3, Lake Grove Blast 1
Girls-Under-17: Manhattan Kickers Red 2, FC Dutchmen Fury 1
Girls-Under-18: FC Dutchmen Intensity 4, Sachem Alliance 0

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Cousins Nisa Cortez (on left) and Samantha Flores

The LIJSL’s Laura Kozik Being Honored as the Eastern New York Personality of the Month in June

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

June 4, 2019-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) Office Manager Laura Kozik is being honored as our Personality of the Month for June. Laura’s co-worker Stephanie Hernandez nominated her and said, “Laura has been with the league for 30-plus years, and she continously is on the touchlines watching her grandkids play. Her son Keith and daughter Joelle are still involved in the game today.“

Laura was part of the very first wave of girls soccer players when she played for North Babylon High School back in the early days of the LIJSL when the league did not yet have any girls teams.

“I became more involved again when Keith started to play soccer in Deer Park at age 5 in 1981,“ she explained.

Both her kids played in the LIJSL’s Bay Shore Soccer Club in 1986, Laura coached Joelle while her husband Dennis coached Keith. Laura received her C coaching certificate from the NSCAA (now United Soccer Coaches) and Dennis got his A, B and C certificates from the same organization.

It was two years later that Laura started working in the LIJSL office, starting out part-time and becoming full-time in 1989, and she and her very positive attitude have worked at the three different LIJSL office locations in Plainview, as well as in the new office in Ronkonkoma for the past decade.

While the West Islip resident was going to work at the LIJSL every weekday, her kids continued playing. She coached Joelle in the LIJSL’s West Islip Soccer Club, then her daughter played for Newfield and Oceanside’s Under-23 team, in addition to playing for Wagner College’s soccer and lacrosse teams. Joelle now lives in Orlando and played for co-ed teams until very recently.

Dennis coached Keith at Liberty Cup Ireland in 1992, then Keith finished out his LIJSL career with the clubs in Brentwood and Newfield before playing for Newfield’s Under-23 team in the Long Island Soccer Football League (LISFL). Keith plays for the Amityville men’s team today.

There’s now a new generation of Koziks on LIJSL fields as all three of Laura’s grandchildren play soccer. Keith coached his oldest child, Alyssa Kozik, in Bellport and she went on to play for HBC, Patchogue/Medford, East Islip and Lindenhurst. Haley Kozik plays for the East Islip Destroyers and she previously was on West Islip, while the youngest, Dylan Kozik, plays for the West Islip Dragons.

Alyssa, Haley and Dylan have all spent a good deal of time at the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview as they played for the LIJSL’s Player Development Program (PDP) as well.

That’s an awful lot of soccer for one person to play, coach, administer and watch. Congratulations to Laura Kozik, Eastern New York’s Personality of the Month for June.

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.

CUNY Has a Proud Soccer Legacy in the Melting Pot of New York City

2013 CUNY men’s champions, Baruch College

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

November 13, 2013-The City University of New York (CUNY) has a proud legacy in Division 3 men’s college soccer as its nine four-year colleges have been playing the sport for decades.

Its very first championship game was played on October 27, 1990 at Lehman College in the Bronx and York defeated John Jay, 2-1. Players born in over 20 countries competed in that inaugural championship game and the winning York coach was Tim Bradbury, newly arrived from England. Tim was selected as the 1990 CUNY Coach of the Year and, more than two decades later, he is now the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) Director of Coaching Instruction.

The majority of CUNY players remain immigrants or the children of immigrants. These players learned the value of hard work, perseverance and sportsmanship in Eastern New York’s six leagues that play in New York City––Big Apple Youth Soccer League, Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League, Long Island Junior Soccer League, Metrokids Interregional Soccer League, Staten Island Youth Soccer League and the Westchester Youth Soccer League.

Zak Ivkovic, CUNY’s Executive Director for the past 11 years, volunteers as the Second Vice President of the Cosmopolitan Junior League. Zak was a four-time CUNY All-Star and still holds Hunter’s goalkeeping records for shutouts in a single season (9) and in a career (20) after a stellar youth career playing for Cosmopolitan clubs including Eintracht, GH Metros, Queens United and B/W Gottschee.

This year’s CUNY men’s championship match on November 9 in front of an enthusiastic SRO crowd at the renovated turf field at Brooklyn College featured top-seeded Baruch College and second seed City College of New York (CCNY) with Baruch prevailing in the 99th minute on a golden goal by Oren Kozlowski, selected as the playoff MVP. Baruch earned CUNY’s automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. Brooklyn College took the CUNY title on the women’s side to qualify for the NCAA playoffs as well.

Not surprisingly since these players grew up in Eastern New York, the CUNY colleges have been doing very well in the sportsmanship selections by the refs of the New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA), who serve the five boroughs of New York City as well as Long Island and Westchester. CCNY, Medgar Evers and York have all received the Doc Feld Sportsmanship Award for men’s college soccer in the past eight years with Brooklyn College receiving the award at NYMISOA’s Annual Awards Dinner on November 11.

What Makes a Soccer Club?

What makes a Soccer Club?

I have always done everything within my power to stay up to date with coaching education. I was lucky enough to be on the first NSCAA premier course and in the inaugural two year Master coach diploma. Perhaps one of the best aspects of being ENYYSA Director of Coaching Instruction is that I get weekly and sometimes daily updates in coaching education from some of the best soccer minds in the country. As I have alluded to in prior articles, now, is perhaps the most exciting time in soccer education with both the USSF and the NSCAA rewriting courses and introducing new and exciting ideas. The newly rewritten USSF D course is unveiled this year.

Perhaps one of the most important is the NSCAA club standards program. I have been asked a good number of times in the last 20 years to evaluate clubs from top to bottom and suggest developmental changes that would enhance player development within the ranks. Much to my frustration most clubs seem unable to get parents or coaches to accept change. I remain amazed by how many clubs still do not have their 5 year olds playing 3v3 or how many clubs have no coaching curriculum to operate from.

Our partners at the NSCAA have done a first class job with their club standards program. This program (offered at different levels) examines all the major components of player and team development. I would advise all club leaders to spend a moment completing the free introductory questionnaire that can be found at; http://www.nscaa.com/education/clubstandards

In completing the questionnaire, what should soon become apparent to all is that they are not really clubs, in the true sense of the word. Rather in most cases simply a group of kids who play under the same name, and sometimes but not always in the same uniform.

As a gentle nudge in the right direction I believe that to be considered a club, all of the following must be in place;

1. An age appropriate developmental curriculum for all coaches to follow.

2. Player and parent handbooks for each age group within the club that build on previous years.

3. A playing style that stays consistent throughout the club and all its teams so that player movement is smooth.

4. A club wide tryout system (not run by parent coaches) with kids within that group.

5. A player feedback system.

6. A comprehensive coach development system specifying unequivocally the coaching standards required to coach within the club at set ages.

7. A well thought out and frequently re-evaluated, systematic developmental approach to game days, i.e. 3v3 no outs, 4v4 pass in, 5v5 etc…

8. Monthly coach and board meetings with dedicated time on player and team development.

Perhaps I am haunted by training teams in a town where the A team embark on one training journey while B and C teams follow another route or perhaps it is my youth in the UK where I played in "real Clubs", or possibly reading so many articles about Barcelona, Manchester United and Ajax has left me disillusioned. I tend to think that I just see what could be, if clubs within ENYYSA were more determined to become true soccer clubs.

Long Island Junior Soccer League Helps Raise $5,000 For Breast Cancer Research

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2016 Arch Challenge Cup champions Brentwood Scorpions (with their fans) played in the Pink Ribbon Soccer Festival

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

August 23, 2016-This past Sunday, August 21, seven Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) teams in the Girls-Under-13 and Girls-Under-14 age groups played friendly games against one another at the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview as part of the 13th Annual Pink Ribbon Soccer Festival. The Brentwood Scorpions, B/W Gottschee, Connetquot Lady Sharks, Connetquot Ravens, Dix Hills Lightning, Rockville Centre Vipers and South Huntington Thunder were all part of the action. Additionally, five adult coed teams made up of Estée Lauder employees from their offices in New York and Pennsylvania had fun as well. Cheerleaders from Copiague added to the festivities.

Through team entry fees and breast cancer support merchandise sales, approximately $5,000 was raised last Sunday for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, founded by Evelyn Lauder in 1992.

“I thank the LIJSL for their generosity and cooperation in helping us put on an event like this,” said event coordinator and Estée Lauder employee Carlos Ospina. “The leadership of the league understands the importance of this fight and continues to support us. But it is so good to see the players and coaches who are members of the league come out and support the cause at a time of year when others may not yet be thinking about it.”

When he is not working at Estée Lauder or volunteering as event coordinator, Ospina coaches Boys-Under-17 Lynbrook/East Rockaway Landsharks in the LIJSL. In acknowledgement of Estée Lauder’s slogan of “Everything Counts,” he and seven other employees noted for their charity work rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on October 1, 2015.

“The LIJSL is proud and honored to be a part of this event. It allows us to provide a platform for the continued awareness and fight of this disease,” commented LIJSL President Anthony Maresco.

The league, through its partnership with the Estée Lauder Companies and Breast Cancer Research Foundation, has donated the use of the Peter Collins Soccer Park for the past 13 years. Teams from the LIJSL, the largest league in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), are also encouraged to wear pink and play with pink soccer balls throughout October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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.

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