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From left to right: Nick Pugliese receiving the Kabel Cup medal,
Alex Fyfe with Iraqi children a decade ago and with his wife Shelli today

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

March 11, 2014-Being the world’s game, soccer has the ability to unite diverse cultures more than any other sport. During the past decade, two New Yorkers took advantage of the unique opportunity that our sport gives them in war-torn countries in Asia.

23-year-old Nick Pugliese, who grew up playing for the Rochester Futbol Club and the Olympic Development Program of New York West, graduated from Williams College in 2012 after serving as captain of the Ephs men’s soccer team. He took a job with Roshan, Afghanistan’s major telecommunications company, in their office in Kabul. He played so well for the company team that he was noticed by Ferozi FC and wound up playing professionally in the Kabul Premier League. Ferozi’s home stadium is Ghazi Stadium, the same field where the Taliban executed people 15 years ago when they were officially in power. The joy of playing soccer and making new friends prompted Nick to concentrate on playing so he quit his day job and played futsal in a local park before training, earning $300 monthly from Ferozi. With his dirty blonde hair, he stood out on Afghan soccer fields and led Ferozi to the Kabul Cup championship in 2013. He is now back home in the Empire State, planning his next career move.

“Soccer was the best way that I knew to be part of the community,” Nick said.

Nick’s story was recently featured on ESPN and written about in Sports Illustrated. Exactly a decade ago, Alex Fyfe was written about in The New York Times and interviewed twice on Fox News when he organized a soccer equipment collection for kids in Mosul, Iraq. The US Army Captain raised an amazing $25,000 in soccer equipment––everything from uniforms, balls, cleats, shin guards to even referee jerseys and a captain’s band! Leading the soccer equipment drive were the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) and his varsity coach at Rocky Point High School, Al Ellis.

Alex never actually had a chance to play in a pick-up game with the Iraqi kids because of security concerns a decade ago but did have some kick-abouts with them.

“My fondest memory was when we went on a long patrol up into northern Iraq, near the Kurdish area, to open a school that we funded. We brought along school supplies and soccer equipment to give to the kids during the ‘ribbon cutting ceremony,’” Alex said. “It was such a success! The headmaster of the school had the 30 of us over to his very small house for lunch. We actually took our equipment off––bulletproof vests, helmets, etc.–– for the first and only time all year. I really didn’t feel like we were in a country in a brutal war. Everyone from that particular village were extremely grateful for what we were doing for them. I think this was an eye-opener for a lot of our own soldiers. That one day really proved to them that we were there to help Iraqis and that improving their quality of life was actually an attainable goal.”

After leaving the Army in 2005, the West Point graduate attained his MBA at Georgetown University in 2007, then went to work at JP Morgan. Now 36 years old, he is the Executive Director of JP Morgan’s San Francisco office.

Alex also sits on the Board of Directors of the Soccer For Peace Foundation, a non-profit that utilizes soccer as a vehicle for social change. It was there that he met his wife Shelli and their son, Ethan, was born last June. Alex is already reading coaching manuals should Ethan decide to play soccer in the future.

In the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), Alex played for the Sound Beach Panthers and Sachem Redskins of the LIJSL and received a 1996 LIJSL Scholarship.

We had to ask Alex about Iraq a decade after his 15 minutes of fame and he is optimistic about its future. “I certainly believe that we left Iraq in a much better position than when we first arrived. In my view, we really set that government up for success. For awhile it seemed that they were moving in the right direction, though over the last year or so, they’ve strayed a bit. That’s my take from what I read at least. All is not lost though. I think they just need a fresh person at the top.”

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

May 24, 2018-The Levittown Gunners have enjoyed a great deal of success in nearly a decade as a youth soccer team. This spring, they added the Boys-Under-17 Eastern New York Premier League (ENYPL) championship to their overflowing trophy case. They scored four times as many goals as surrendered, 28 to 7, in their four wins and one loss during the recently-completed ENYPL season.

Levittown has previously won division championships in the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) and Eastern Development Program (EDP) plus State Cups and a range of premier level tournaments. Last month, six Gunners represented the USA in Barcelona at the World 5-A-Side championships as the winners of the Gatorade US National 5-A-Side championship.

“From their start as a youth team at 10 years old playing in the LIJSL, the Gunners have committed themselves to a brand of soccer that is focused on continual player development and preparation for playing in college,” commented Levittown coach Gary Book. “Their dedication on the field and in the classroom has been exemplary as the boys have achieved a level of understanding and application that portrays itself vividly on the field and has been admired by the college coaching community.”   

The ENYPL is the oldest continuous Premier League in the United States and is playing in its 18th year in 2018. Under the direction of ENYPL Chairperson Andreas Touros, teams from eight member leagues from all over the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) formed the ENYPL for the 2018 Spring Season.

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

August 11, 2016-Longtime referee Klaus Mueller has been named State Referee Administrator (SRA) in Eastern New York. In this role, Klaus––along with State Youth Referee Administrator (SYRA) Ray Wolfe––is in charge of the thousands of referees who officiate in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), from Long Island to the Canadian border.

Klaus grew up playing soccer in Schwabach, Germany, a Bavarian town near Nuremberg. He emigrated to the United States in 1960 and returned to Nuremberg as a member of the United States military from 1963 to ’67. It was there that he met his wife Eleonore.

After coming back to the United States, Klaus became Commissioner of the Midget Division of the Island Trees Soccer Club in 1980, the same year that he became a referee. In 1982, the Levittown resident was elected Vice President of Island Trees, a position he held for the next 25 years. He also served as Island Trees’ referee supervisor and coach of the women’s team.

Moving up the referee ladder, Klaus became a college ref with the New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA) in 1999. He was honored as the NYMISOA New Official of the Year in 2000 and received the chapter’s Dennis Botsaris Service Award in 2011.

Klaus has served as the Eastern New York referees’ State Director of Assessment (SDA) for the past 11 years before his promotion to SRA this summer. Currently, four National referees from Eastern New York––Brian Dunn, Jorge Gonzalez, JC Rivera and Robert Sibiga––officiate in Major League Soccer (MLS).

“I hope to improve our Referee Program by having more National Referees plus having a couple of FIFA Referees officiating international games,“ Klaus explained.

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

March 4, 2014-The Capital District Referee Association (CD-REF) proudly provides officials for every game in the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL), a longtime member of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA). CD-REF is pleased to host two certification courses in the Capital District:

Grade 8 United States Soccer Federation (USSF) Referee Course
An 18-hour course for those who would like to referee (in the middle). Some of these hours are done online by the students. They are required to attend all hours to qualify and complete the online course work by the first class.

Candidates must be 15 years old by April 1 to take the course.

The class dates are:
Saturday, March 15 from 9 am to 3 pm         
Tuesday, March 18 from 6 to 9 pm
Thursday, March 20 from 6 to 9 pm

The classes will be held at the Sand Creek Middle School, 329 Sand Creek Road, Colonie, NY 12205.

E-mail Michael Rennick at mrennic1@nycap.rr.com for application and more course information such as cost.

All applications must be in the mail by March 8. Please state which course you are interested in.

Grade 9 USSF Referee Course
A 9-hour course entry level course for those who would like to become an assistant referee (on the lines). Some of the hours are done online by the students. They are required to attend all hours to qualify and complete the online course work by the class.

Candidates must be 12 years old by April 1 to take the course.

The class date is:
Saturday, March 29 from 9 am to 3 pm          

The class will be held at Scotia-Glennville High School, 900 Preddice Parkway, Scotia, NY 12302.

All applications must be in the mail by March 21. Please state which course you are interested in.

E-mail Michael Rennick at mrennic1@nycap.rr.com for application and more course information such as cost.

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

I have written on many occasions on the need for all youth coaches to try and do their best to both engage with and educate the parents of the players they work with with. Indeed I am fully convinced that any team and group ,of players only fulfill their potential when all the parents are in synch with the coaches mission. 

Even after having coached for thirty years on Long Island and seen all sorts of insane behavior I have been surprised on recent coaching courses when I implore those attending to reach out to the parent group and embrace them as a powerful resource by the attitude of disbelief coaches have at the suggestion.  

Intense emotions are displayed as coaches around the room share stories of the the behavior of a crazed parent. It seems that disruptive and harmful parent behavior is not just a part of the youth game as already this year I have seen the aftermath of bad parent behavior in high school soccer and college soccer. Rather than see this as a reason why you can never entertain the idea of engaging the parent group I urge all coaches to make it a priority. 

Hold a minimum of three parent meetings a season and where possible also hold at least 1 individual player parent meeting. Whenever you have the time after a game hold end of game chats explaining to the parents how the team did in terms of their overall development and why the game went the way it did. In all meetings above arm yourself with the core values below

Honesty, Respect, Empathy

Empathy is essential because what is obvious and easy to understand is that you and they have connected but conflicting missions. 

You have the development and care of the team as your number one priority. They have the care and protection of their child as their only concern. 

Not many parents are able or willing to put the needs of the team before what they consider to be best for their son or daughter. Many have a slightly heightened perception of their child’s skill set and athletic potential. The best way to handle this disconnect is by confronting it. No parent will tell you in an open meeting they expect you to sacrifice the team so “Tim can have his moment in the sun." The more you address the issues, the better the relationship will become. Share your rules on playing time. Share your expectations on how you want their child and them to handle disappointment and buckle down to work again.  The more honest and open you can be the better. Overtime you will convert many and also become acutely aware of those you need to lose. 

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

There are an ever increasing army of soccer coaches that operate in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) portraying themselves as professional coaches that are far too easily employed by clubs that don’t do their research on the qualifications that a coach has and seem content just to accept the “I played at college” explanation.

I get it, there is money to be made. I understand that college players, high school kids and lots of other people with nothing to do want to earn dollars. I also understand that many within this group have identified the youth soccer market as a place to make dollars quickly. These people take a quick look at the game and those that teach it and arrive at the, “I can do that” moment quicker than most people can shout goal. I do not blame this group for wanting to make money or wanting to do it is easily as possible. After all we all need to get by.

I do hold the group accountable for not making any attempt to learn about the game and how it should be taught. I further question the moral integrity of the impostors who go about pretending to be professional coaches with no understanding of child development, effective teaching strategies, LTAD ( long term athletic development), or the game itself. Simply being a college player in no way means you are equipped to teach the game. Worse than these individual impostors are the companies that employ them.

Having a soccer company and making money is not a crime. Many provide a good service with adequately trained coaches and charge a fair $ for the service. These companies are an entirely different group than those who have no internal training program, no set criteria by which they employ staff and no set curriculum, rather they take on all-comers, put them in a uniform, call them coaches and there the training ends. These people are the imposters, they have no interest in growing the game and simply take the $ and smile.

In most business markets, impostor companies such as these are quickly exposed and ultimately fail and disappear fairly quickly. Unfortunately, youth soccer clubs are not professionally run. Often they have no set criteria or minimum standards to which trainers who work in their Club must qualify. All too often I am finding that a board member knows a kid who knows a kid who played in college. This seems enough for Clubs to throw thousands of $ away on inappropriate training. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

I would encourage all Clubs employing a training organization or trainer insist they meet the minimum standards below

• All staff have a background check and have been cleared by the state.

• All trainers employed and used have a minimum of NSCAA National, US Youth National coaching certificate or USSF C license.

• All staff can produce at least an eight week age appropriate curriculum.

• Each company can provide examples and schedule of their own internal training program.

• The Director or Curriculum advisor of said company have a minimum of a USSF A license or NSCAA Premier Diploma.

All the above are easy to request, not complicated to produce and easy to check upon. When it comes to paying a “professional” to train your kids the above are the minimum that parents have the right to DEMAND. Those clubs who continue to employ the impostors and cowboys because of a friendship on the board need to be held accountable for their actions – after all why should the kids suffer?

I would add that all parents who are paying good money to have their child professionally trained has the right to know that the individual doing the training is suitably qualified – they do not however have the right to micro mange the actions and decisions of the qualified trainer they have employed. This is when the parents become the impostors and under the disguise of “knowing what is best in terms of player development they make demands based upon how many minutes their child is getting, or position they are playing. These parent imposters driven by their own agenda and mission are as dangerous to the growth of a team as are the clubs who pay no regard at all to the qualifications of professional trainers they employ. We need to get back to a time 20 years ago when parents were more likely to support a professional trainer or teacher rather than seek ways to undermine and remove them every time something happened that did not meet their personal agenda.

“Our mission is to promote the health, safety and protection of the players as they learn this great game. We put safety first and supplying our membership with the AT PEAK APP helps us accomplish that.” … ENYYSA’s Director of Risk Management, Jim Eleftherion

Philiadelphia, PA – NSCAA Convention – January 15, 2015 –Each year the soccer community of America treks to Philadelphia for the largest soccer convention in North America.  Almost every level of soccer is represented from youth soccer leagues to Major League Soccer and US Soccer.
The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is one of the largest youth soccer organizations in America, which is made up 11 leagues that include one of the largest youth soccer leagues in America, the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) and one of the oldest, the Cosmopolitan Youth Soccer League (CYSL).

ENYYSA has announced unprecedented partnerships that will help prevent player injuries up to 50% through an educational app that will be provided to over 100,000 players, as well as their parents and coaches.

“I am very proud of the actions we have taken to enhance the playing experience for all of our member organizations and the youth soccer players of eastern New York,” says ENYYSA President Rich Christiano “In recent years we face new challenges of our children playing too many games and the increased injuries associated with over playing.  This is why our actions of educating parents, coaches and players and providing them the AT PEAK app will help them learn the exercises that can help prevent injuries.” concluded Christiano.

U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer have partnered together to conduct a trailblazing Medical Symposium during the NSCAA Conference, which will be Jan. 15-16 in Philadelphia, PA.  Medical professionals from U.S. Soccer and MLS will conduct the two-day symposium that will focus on player health and safety issues related to youth, amateur and professional soccer. The event will provide an opportunity for the soccer community to review the latest research, identify best practices, develop additional strategies for enhancing safety and reducing injuries, and chart a course to further understand soccer-related medical issues.

ENYYSA anticipates that it will be the first soccer organization in America to take action on the recommendations of US Soccer and Major League Soccer.  Jim Eleftherion is the Treasurer and Director of Risk Management for ENYYSA and he says, “we are constantly looking to take care of the children that play in ENYYSA and provide our member leagues, coaches and parents with tools that protect our kids.  Working with companies like SportsSignup, which have enabled us to implement other programs in the past and now AT PEAK, we are being aggressive in addressing the epidemic of sports injuries and want our kids playing in ENYYSA to spend more time playing and less time injured.”

The NSCAA Medical Symposium will include presentations by leading experts on the current state of research and areas for future research, education sessions on best practices for the management of soccer-related medical issues, and roundtable discussions with medical experts.

In May of 2014, MLS Commissioner Don Garber and U.S. Soccer CEO and Secretary General Dan Flynn joined President Barack Obama and 200 sports officials, medical experts, parent activists and young athletes at the White House to participate in the Healthy Kids & Safe Sports Concussion Summit. The meeting was targeted at finding new ways to identify, treat and prevent serious head injuries, particularly in youth sports, and was vital in the creation of the soccer-specific Medical Symposium.

One of the ways that ENYYSA has been able to be a leader in services provided to its member organizations, players, parents and coaches is through its technology partner, SportsSignup. 

“Several years ago, ENYYSA was the driving force behind SportsSignup’s development of KidSafePlus®, the first fully-integrated coach background check management system on the market,” said Anthony Bruno, CEO of SportsSignup.  “Today, ENYYSA has set the bar once again, requiring concussion awareness testing during the online registration process, which has already educated thousands of soccer coaches about traumatic head injuries. The SportsSignup team is proud to be part of ENYYSA’s effort and will continue its innovation in the area of player safety,” continued Bruno.

As the growth and visibility of soccer has exploded in recent years, organizations like ENYYSA have been in place for over 50 years meeting the needs of one of the oldest soccer communities in America. And while the New York metro area may now be home to three professional soccer organizations, the Red Bulls, Cosmos and newly formed NYC FC, ENYYSA provides the backbone of education, training, referees, fields and organization that enable thousands of children to play “the world’s game.”

“One of our ENYYSA Hall of Fame members, Rocco Amaroso, coined the phrase, 'Building Character though Soccer,' many years ago," says ENYYSA President Rich Christiano, “And we take that seriously, but we also embrace the responsibility of educating our parents, coaches and players so that they can enjoy the game we love to its fullest.”

One of the participants of this unprecedented Medical Symposium at the NSCAA Convention is the President of JAG Physical Therapy and Medical Coordinator for Major League Soccer.  John Gallucci Jr., MS, ATC, PT, DPT, is also the author of a new book, Soccer Injury Prevention and Treatment. Gallucci states, “In my practice as a Physical Therapist and President of a company with 10 physical therapy centers, I see a lot of youth sports injuries and I know that many of these injuries can be avoided. In fact, medical studies show that with proper pre- and in-season exercise, and education, up to 50% of these injuries can be avoided according to the CDC. I applaud ENYYSA for taking a leadership position in taking these preventative measures to help keep “the beautiful game” of soccer safe for our kids.”

Information from the US CDC site states that more than 7,100 children ages 0-19 were treated in hospital emergency departments for sports and recreation-related injuries each day in 2009. That works out to 2.6 million children a year. And many more injuries are treated in doctor’s offices and primary, acute care, and sports medicine clinics.  In 2003, sports and recreation-related injuries treated in emergency departments resulted in more than $11 billion in direct medical costs for children less than 18 years of age. Many of these sports and recreation-related injuries are predictable and preventable and, in fact, overuse injuries are responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle and high school students.. ENYYSA’s Director of Risk Management, Jim Eleftherion says, “Our mission is to promote the health, safety and protection of the players as they learn this great game. We put safety first and supplying our membership with the AT PEAK APP helps us accomplish that.”

AT PEAK is a mobile app dedicated to powering player performance by reducing injuries, and is available at www.AT PEAKsports.com.   Through AT PEAK, players will experience video-guided strength and conditioning workouts that can help cut the incidence of injuries up to 50% and prevent ACL injuries in female players by up to 70%.

Will Metzger, CEO and Founder of AT PEAK and former collegiate athlete says, “All of us involved in youth sports know how great sports are for kids. They are more likely to be physically fit and healthier adults. And the valuable lessons they learn from sports, like teamwork, discipline and resilience, benefit them for a lifetime.  When my son was injured playing sports and I became aware of the youth sports injury epidemic, I discussed solutions with sports medicine professionals and we developed age, gender and sport specific athletic training exercises that have proven to be very beneficial in preventing injuries.”  Metzger continued, “We knew that we had to make the program fun and engaging for the kids, because kids are so involved in social media, we include social features and virtual rewards as a great way for them to connect with each other and get rewards, while doing the exercises that will help keep them healthy and playing.”

ENYYSA will provide the AT PEAK app to all of their players, coaches and parents starting with registration for 2015.
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ABOUT:
ENYYSA ~ Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
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.

AT PEAK is a mobile sports and fitness e-Commerce platform whose mission is to bring the best of sports medicine and athletic training to every field and every home.   AT PEAK’s first product is a mobile app for injury prevention in youth sports which cause 10 million injuries/year and $30B in healthcare costs.   AT PEAK works with the premiere sports medicine doctors in the country to deliver age, gender and sport specific athletic training through our app. A CDC report says that sports injuries can be reduced by 50% using the type of workouts, information and tools that AT PEAK will provide to kids, coaches and parents. Our platform tracks athlete engagement and results over time. It reports that information, as appropriate and with permission, to coaches and parents: 360o encouragement to learn, improve and perform at your best.  AT PEAK was founded in 2012 by Will Metzger, who brings a background of running digital programs for healthcare and technology companies. The founding team also includes Dr. Jordan Metzl, the head of the Youth Sports Institute at the Hospital for Special Surgery; Pete Banks, a technologist with a background in online gaming & fitness; and Jennifer Haggerty, a capital markets and online technology operations executive. AT PEAK’s Board of Advisors includes sports medicine doctors, pro athletes and other prominent members of the youth and pro sports industries. www.AtPeakSports.com
SportsSignup, owned and operated by League Sports Services LLC, provides sports organizations and event organizers with easy-to-learn and easy-to-use integrated Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to facilitate online sports registration, web content management (CMS), coach/volunteer background checks and eCommerce. Since 2003, the company has been dedicated to operating a secure, affordable, and hassle-free online service suite that enables administrators from thousands of soccer, football, baseball, lacrosse, basketball, track and field, and many other sports organizations to easily automate many aspects of their duties. For more information about SportsSignup, please visit http://www.sportssignup.com. Follow SportsSignup on Twitter; like SportsSignup on Facebook; or watch the SportsSignup video to learn how to simplify sports management tasks.

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By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
 
December 20, 2022-The New York Soccer Referees Association (NYSRA) is the oldest referee group in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) as NYSRA was founded 84 years ago back in 1938. 

NYSRA honored top referees at its Holiday Party on Thursday night, December 15 at the Gjøa Clubhouse in Brooklyn. 

Gurhan Dolgun was honored as the 2022 Referee of the Year. He is center in the above photo with NYSRA President Kambiz Riazi (left) and State Referee Administrator Joe Brosi (right).

“Gurhan not only accepts the assignment but shows up to referee any game,” explained President Riazi. “Always comes on time with a great attitude, putting in the hard work and exceeding expectations when he is on the field.” 

He refereed Regionals plus was in the middle for the Flamhaft Cup and Sal Rapaglia Cup finals and served as assistant referee for the Livio D’Arpino Cup finals. Gurhan recently received a promotion as he is NYSRA’s newest Regional Referee.

Lee Suckle, on right in the above photo with President Riazi, received Lifetime Membership, NYSRA’s version of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Lee, the Regional Referee Administrator in the East Region, was honored for his decades of volunteering with NYSRA and mentoring refs to advance to the next level.

Also honored by NYSRA on that cold and rainy night were Tommaso Martello and John McGouran, named Santa’s Helpers for all their resourcefulness and reliability in covering games.

Interested in joining in on all the fun of being a soccer referee? For info on how to become a ref in the New York City metro area or if you have questions, please contact NYSRA Corresponding Secretary Harris Rasheed at secretary@nysoccerrefs.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/

Fellow Hall of Famer Peter Strumpf on left with new inductee John Steigerwald

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

December 11, 2014-John Steigerwald is having a December to remember as he was inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame at the 2014 Holiday Party on December 7 at Marina del Rey in the Bronx. John grew up playing in a league that became a part of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and he has served the Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association (ENYSASA) for many years.

John was born in 1942, a half-block from the old Eintracht Oval in Astoria. As a rambunctious six-year-old boy, he started playing for Eintracht in what eventually became the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL). He played for Eintracht until 1960, when he enlisted in the Navy. While serving our country for four years on the USS Enterprise, he played for the ship in friendlies around the world.

Returning to New York, John played in the German-American Soccer League, now called the Cosmopolitan Soccer League (CSL). He played for Malta for two years, Brooklyn Celtic for two years, then Blue Star in the First Division until he retired in 1970.

John’s retirement did not last long as Eintracht called him in 1972 to become goalkeeper of their Men’s Over 30 team. Injuries forced him to permanently retire as a player in 1988 but he then coached that team from 1992 to 2009.

John became Vice President for Eintracht in 1975, running all social affairs until this year. He has volunteered as the CSL’s Arbiter and the CSL State Delegate in both positions since 1999 and still handles those responsibilities today. Additionally, he has served as an ENYSASA Trustee since 2001.

“John has spent his time in the service of soccer and his greatest contribution has been his reliability and steadfastness,” commented fellow Hall of Famer Peter Strumpf. “If you ever need to depend on somebody, John is the man!”

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.