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From left to right, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association President Richard Christiano, Hall of Fame Chairperson Rocco Amoroso, Steve LaRosa, Hall of Famer Peter Collins, Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association President Sal Rapaglia

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

December 9, 2014-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association are pleased to announce that Steve LaRosa has been inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place at our 2014 Holiday Party on December 7 at Marina del Rey in the Bronx.

Steve was a prominent figure in youth soccer who helped grow the sport when it was not nearly as popular as it is today. The Southern New York Youth Soccer Association, the predecessor to ENYYSA, was founded in 1972 by George Donnelly and Enzo Magnozzi. Tony Perez became the first President.

In 1976, Steve LaRosa became the second President of Southern New York, serving until 1978 when he was succeeded by Ivor Foster. There was great expansion at the start of the youth soccer boom during Steve’s one term in office as clubs all over the Empire State, from Long Island to the Canadian border, were admitted. With the state youth soccer association going “from Montauk to Massena,” the term Southern New York was no longer appropriate so the name was changed to Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association in 1982.

By then, Steve resident was very active as a coach for the Long Island women’s team that competed in the Empire State Games and in the old Massapequa Athletic Club of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL).

Steve is one of only six head coaches that the Adelphi University women have known during the four decades of the program’s existence.

Congratulations to Steve LaRosa of Great River upon his induction into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame.

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 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.

Laura Francis (left) and Arthena Sherwood

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

April 8, 2015-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce two additions to our non-profit organization at our headquarters in Rockville Centre.

Laura Francis of Mineola joins Eastern New York as Operations Director. She is primarily responsible for implementing policy interpretation related to the management of Eastern New York’s operational unit, managing office staff, recommending policies to the Board of Directors, developing procedures plus is also responsible for customer service. Laura has much non-profit experience and she was previously Executive Director of Just One Break Inc. at the Viscardi Center in Albertson.

Arthena Sherwood of Queens Village is our new Communications Associate. In this role, Arthena represents Eastern New York and its 11 affiliated leagues through social media, maintains Eastern New York’s website as well as coordinates photography of games and events. She was previously a Communications Intern at the New York City Council in Manhattan and is a recent graduate of Molloy College.

Please phone them at 516-766-0849 for assistance in helping your soccer club.

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.

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

April 3, 2014-With 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 and TOPSoccer buddies 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.

Two years ago, Eastern New York’s Operations Administrator, Cathy O’Brien, 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 also honored for scoring the US Youth Soccer National Goal of the Year. 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 by July 15, which is sooner than previous years. The winners chosen by us in each category will receive not only our recognition at our Annual General Meeting in August but will also be forwarded as Eastern New York’s candidate for additional recognition at the Regional and National level.

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 (265 Sunrise Highway, Suite 38, Rockville Centre, NY 11570) on or before July 15, 2014 to be considered and should reflect the current season ending August 31, 2014.
 
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

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 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.

By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
 
June 7, 2016-In the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association’s (ENYYSA) Boys-Under-12 State Open Cup final, Staten Island United Dinamo Jrs. of the Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL) and Eastern New York Premier League (ENYPL) topped the Garden City Arrows of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), 2-1, in overtime. This championship game was played on June 4 at Stringham Park in LaGrange.
 
“Our team has been together since they were six years old,” explained Staten Island United coach John Tardy. “The boys work extremely hard but we often finished in second place. All those second place finishes were motivation enough to grind out a victory in overtime on a hot day.”
 
Andrew Podolsky scored in regulation and Mike Rofail added the game-winner in extra time for the new champs.
 
Garden City received the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. Now living in Kentucky, Mr. Rubenstein was seemingly involved in every facet of New York soccer for decades and is a member of the Halls of Fame of Eastern New York, the US Amateur Soccer Association and the LIJSL.
 
Eastern New York will help pay for Staten Island United’s costs when they play for the Regional title, as part of the National Championship Series, from June 30 to July 5 in Barboursville, West Virginia.
 
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.

Chris Wingert won a Triple Crown as a teen in the LIJSL five decades after his grandfather,
Warren Mehrtens, was a Triple Crown-winning jockey aboard Assault. Photo courtesy of The Salt Lake Tribune.

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

May 2, 2016-Sports history was made last June when American Pharoah became only the twelfth thoroughbred to win the Triple Crown. This Saturday, Gun Runner, Nyquist, Exaggerator, Outwork, Creator and other horses all hope to win the Kentucky Derby and go on to win the Triple Crown next month.

In Major League Baseball, the Triple Crown refers to the hitting achievement of leading the league in home runs, batting average and runs batted in (RBI) over the same season. Roger Hornsby (1922 and 1925) and Ted Williams (1942 and 1947) are the only Major Leaguers to win the Triple Crown twice.

The Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) has a Triple Crown as well. Every Spring Season, LIJSL teams try and win it by taking the State Cup, Long Island Cup and LIJSL division title. It’s a nearly impossible task for the LIJSL’s 1,490 travel teams but just about every spring, a couple of squads do it as they win most of their three group games plus all three elimination games in the State Cup, all five elimination games in the Long Island Cup and nearly all 9 or 10 regular season games for the LIJSL division championship.

The first leg of the Triple Crown, the State Cup, features teams from each of the 11 member leagues of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) in two different competitions. The State Open Cup finals will be played on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5 at Stringham Park in LaGrange in Dutchess County. The Arch Capital Group Cup finals will be contested on Saturday, June 11 at the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview.

The Long Island Cup kicked off in March and with 22,000 players, it's the largest single elimination youth soccer event in the United States. The finals will be played on Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19 at the Three Village Soccer Park in Stony Brook.

All LIJSL regular season games will be completed by the end of June so at that time, we’ll know which LIJSL teams won the Triple Crown and if any race horse succeeded American Pharaoh in doing the same.

Interestingly, one LIJSL player won the Triple Crown five decades after his grandfather was a Triple Crown-winning jockey. Real Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert, now 33 years old, won the Triple Crown as a teenager with Commack United. In 1946, his maternal grandfather, Warren Mehrtens, won the Triple Crown aboard Assault, horse racing’s sixth Triple Crown winner.

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.

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

It is sometimes difficult whatever the season to remain full of hope when you spend a huge amount of time involved in youth sports. I have recently been trying to spend time visiting all the leagues within the ENYYSA sharing some of the more brutal truths within the youth game. These truths make difficult reading.

1. 7 out of 10 youth players quit sport by 13 years of age.
2. Less than 10% of youth coaches in the U13 age group get any sort of coaching education.
3. For the first time in history, today’s youth will die younger than their parent’s generation according to a recent Nike report on the heath of the world’s children

Driven by the facts above and with a firm belief that we as a nation of coaches and parents simply cannot let this continue, I have produced an ENYYSA parent education piece. Please take the time to both watch the piece below and share it with as many parents and coaches as you can.

http://my.brainshark.com/Soccer-Parent-ENY-version-45369814

The message to the leagues I have visited so far is simple … together we can make a difference. Our aim is 10,000 views by Jan. 1 so please help out.

It is my hope that if enough people participate in our parent education project that in turn will lead to thousands of coaches wishing to get involved in coaching education which in turn will lead to a complete reversal in the numbers I started this article with. Imagine if only 1 out 10 players stopped playing by 13 (is even that acceptable?) and more than 90% of parent coaches at the U13 point had some type of coaching education… now that sounds like a world we would all like to live in.

I decided to finish this newsletter with a story of hope; I guess tis the season after all. Recently when presenting to the East Hudson Youth Soccer League, I heard the story of the Shrub Oak Athletic Club (SOAC). Less than 12 years ago, SOAC had around 300 recreation or intramural players and just four travel teams. They were losing players to other sports and other clubs. To their credit, those responsible in the club opted for drastic change. In addition to ensuring that players played in-house in an environment which stressed participation and player development rather than win at all costs, they also restructured the age groups so young children got to play year round with their age groups from their schools

The most dramatic and effective change was in their request that all travel coaches within 1 year of taking a team have a minimum of an F license. This change combined with the provision of lesson plans provided via e-mail for all coaches has helped the club flourish to a stage where they have over 600 recreation players and 16 travel teams. What a difference some education can make congratulations SOAC for being an example to all.

Best wishes to all the players, parents and administrators involved in the beautiful game

Tim

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

April 30, 2019-Hundreds from the New York City metro area came to windy Flushing Meadows Park for the Second Annual Eastern New York Soccer Festival, presented by the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), on Saturday, April 27. The Festival coincided with the 80th anniversary of the park as it was built for the 1939 World’s Fair. Although Flushing Meadows Park is better-known for New York Mets baseball and US Open tennis, soccer has gained much more than a foothold in the park as games are played from dawn to dusk.

Players from the men’s teams at St. John’s University and Queens College, whose campuses are both a short corner kick away, taught the kids skills at six stations while the NYPD provided security.

Eastern New York Soccer Festival volunteers, which includes St. John’s University and Queens College players

6-year-old Carlos, who plays for Juca's Soccer Club of the Metrokids Interregional Soccer League, said, "I had fun and I won the game while shooting the ball through the James Rodriguez hole."

8-year-old Lindsay stated, “My favorite part was kicking the ball over there” while Victoria, 3 years old, was more interested in dancing to the music of 96.3 FM La X, El Ritmo di New York (The Rhythm of New York), than in playing soccer.

Everybody was admitted free of charge and the kids won prizes that were donated by Eastern New York sponsors at the skills events. As the festival concluded, numerous pick-up games broke out among the kids plus some of their parents and a good time was had by all.

Interested in bringing the Eastern New York Soccer Festival to your community? Then contact us at 516-766-0849.    

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.

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

July 1, 2017-In a very tight six-team division, the Uniondale Pitbulls scored 11 goals and surrendered 9 while recording a 2-2-1 record, leading the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) team to the Boys-Under-15 championship in the Eastern New York Premier League (ENYPL). This was their second consecutive ENYPL championship. They won the Long Island Cup during the past two years as well.

"All this is due to the hard work of the team's coach, Victor Guerrero, and the rest of his staff, who not only have displayed great leadership skills but also a great sense of discipline," explained Uniondale Soccer Club Public Relations Director Angel Sosa. "These players have been taught that hard work and respect, on and off the field, is making them great soccer players and great human beings."

The ENYPL, organized by the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), is America’s oldest continuous Premier League, having originally kicked off play in 2001.  

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.