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

I have written repeatedly about how great coaches put people first. They care more about individual and human growth than they do about technical development. They believe that if they get the team spirit and cooperation piece right and that all players are committed to being the best, they can be to serve their team, that excellence will quickly follow.

I believe that the above statement is absolutely true and factual. I do my best to create player centered environments where the players create the core values and associated team code of conduct which will be the fabric of all the team do. These meetings and core values created are the foundation of the team culture created. The strength of this culture and how strongly each player feels it is part of their identity is a key piece in how successful a team will become.

I often feel that organizing and managing the team meetings where core values and team goals are created are more difficult to manage than any training possible training session. Sometimes, I feel that managing these meetings operate in direct conflict to many everyday things I see within everyday life. I work very hard to help my players become:

Resilient-they can deal with defeat and disappointment and push on

Humble-win or lose, play or sit, they do so with a knowledge of their place within it all

Disciplined-they will work independently to help their team

Honest-when problems arise and accountability is around the corner, they tell the truth

Caring-they are willing to offer a hand to help at all times

Polite-they display good manners, treat people well and as they expect to be treated

Brave-they are willing to voice an opinion, try a new skill in a game, offer feedback to a teammate

Capable of self-sacrifice-the area where that as part of a team, there will be moments when the needs of the team may be placed before their own needs and celebrate the fact that they are willing to always put the team first.

A key part of the team culture I try to create is the ability and awareness to say thank you. I remind the players after each practice, tournament and game that they should thank their parents for the sacrifices they make so they get to play. I urge all not just to say "thank you" but also to display their thanks with their actions.

It seems appropriate during this holiday season to remind all within the youth soccer community that we should be grateful and thankful for all the people who work and support us in any way in the roles they fill.

By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
 
June 9, 2019-Lake Grove/Newfield Dynamite got the better of SUSA B03 by the score of 1-0 to win the Livio D’Arpino Cup as Boys-Under-16 State Open Cup champions in a battle between two teams from Long Island. David Cadet scored the game’s only goal while Lake Grove/Newfield keeper Colin Raupp recorded the shutout in net on June 2 at Stringham Park in LaGrange.

Lake Grove/Newfield coach Tim Graham said, “SUSA is a very talented team but I thought we had the edge.”

The cup’s namesake, Livio D’Arpino, was an Eastern New York Hall of Famer who was seemingly involved in every level of local soccer before his untimely passing in 2002. He was the third vice president of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and the first vice president of the Eastern New York Adult Soccer Association. Livio also was President of the Italian-American Soccer League, of which he was voted a Life Member.

Lake Grove/Newfield also received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. The namesake of the award, who died in 2016, was inducted into the Halls of Fame of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) and Eastern New York plus was honored as a Life Member by U.S. Soccer. 

Lake Grove/Newfield will represent Eastern New York at the Regionals from June 28 to July 4 in Charleston, West Virginia as part of the National Championship Series.

With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log onto http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.

The ODP South team of boys born in 2002 before the PDP friendly on April 9

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

April 13, 2018-In the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and the other state associations across the United States, the Olympic Development Program (ODP) is considered the highest level of competition. Eastern New York ODP graduates are currently playing in pro soccer around the world plus Crystal Dunn and Allie Long are competing on the Women’s World Cup champion US Women’s National Team. 

Eastern New York ODP has a long history of playing games in the soccer hotbed of Long Island, from the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) Select Tournament at LIU Post in the 1980s, to Liberty Cup USA and before Long Island Rough Rider games at Mitchel Athletic Complex in the 1990s. Over a decade ago, Eastern New York ODP South played friendly games against the LIJSL Select Program at the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview.

The successor to the LIJSL Select Program is the LIJSL Player Development Program (PDP) and the friendly games have been revived this spring under the leadership of ODP Chairperson Jim Volpe with ODP playing PDP at the Collins Soccer Park in our version of Monday Night Fútbol.

On Monday night, April 9, the teams played one another, both boys and girls on adjacent fields, of players born in 2002. On Monday night, April 16, boys and girls born in 2003 will be playing. ODP and PDP players born in 2004 will be competing on April 23, those born in 2001 and 2005 are playing on April 30 and those with a 2006 birthdate conclude the friendlies on May 7.

“These friendlies give the players on both teams the opportunity to play a local game at a high level while also giving us a chance to look at all the players, including the PDP players who could progress to ODP,” Volpe stated.

Eastern New York ODP, both North and South, is looking to take on similar programs of our member leagues so if interested, please contact Volpe at 516-805-3765.

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.

Top row, from left to right: Karlie Stolls, Sydney Moore, Brianna Passaro, Emily Rose, Caitlin Gumann, Kayla Winnicki, Alex West, Grace Bernardi, Sara Tappeto, Sara Micheli.
Bottom row, from left to right: Sophia Fikke, Maya Scholnick, Jackie Morris, Madelyn Pascarella, Kayleigh Goodrich, Krista Agostenello, Skylar Prendergast.
Camera shy: Olivia Johnson.

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

February 8, 2016-The two feet of snow that fell on Long Island on January 23 and the one foot that fell on February 5 complicates things for one of the best soccer teams in the United States.

Last June at the Regionals in New Jersey and Delaware, the 2000 Girls South Olympic Development Program (ODP) Team from the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) won Regionals by going 5-0-0. In doing so, they qualified for Nationals, being played in Phoenix from February 26 to 28. On February 26, Eastern New York faces Cal South in the semifinals and that’s where the snowy conditions in New York could become a factor as Cal South can train by playing soccer outdoors and Eastern New York cannot. The winner of that game faces the winner of the North Carolina-Illinois semifinal for the national championship on February 28.

“It would foolish of me to think that we can emulate the environment that will be presented to us at Nationals as the weather in New York right now won't allow that to happen. All we can do is train to the best of our ability through properly-prepared training and fitness sessions that will help us compete at the national level,” commented Eastern New York head coach Jaime Gonzalez. “I am very confident in the ability of this great group of players and know that no matter what happens, they will give everything they have to compete.”

Brooke DeRosa assists Gonzalez in coaching this wonderful team of 18 girls, from Long Island and New York City, who were born in the year 2000. The squad is currently training in a few indoor facilities on Long Island and, after the snow melts again, on the turf field at Allen Park in Farmingdale.

“I would like to personally thank the Eastern New York staff for their full support and faith in us in guiding this group to the Nationals,” added Coach Gonzalez. “A special thanks to all the players and parents for their complete commitment in trying to achieve this goal of winning a national championship. Many players and coaches never reach this great milestone and I feel privileged to be a part of it.”

ODP is considered the highest level of competition in the state. Crystal Dunn is a former Eastern New York ODP player who is playing on the US Women’s National Team yet even those players who do not make the regional ODP or the national teams often use ODP as a springboard to college scholarships and even on to professional soccer. The vast majority of players in the National Women’s Soccer League, including those from Eastern New York, played ODP.

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

One of the main reasons that parents initially place their children in youth soccer programs is to make friends. The other top reasons all fit the social skills bracket: Parents want their kids in sports to learn to get along with others, learn to cooperate or play nice and if, as an aside, they have great fun, all is good.

I have yet to meet a parent who starts their child’s soccer journey by saying, “No, they can’t play on that team they have no friends there." Indeed most parents realize that the very reason they have them in sports is to make new friends and meet new kids. The truth is very clear and very simple, the majority of kids make new friends quickly in all environments they are placed within, school, summer camps, dance class, karate and, of course, soccer programs. Indeed, they are likely to make new friends quickly in all situations and as such their social and cooperation skills grow.

Hold onto this thought as we will come back to it later.

Mixed ability teaching is a difficult task at best. I know very few professional coaches who can plan and execute a developmentally appropriate training session, full of mixed ability progressions that ensures all players are challenged at their own ability. Even those aware of the theories of Mossant (slanty line) and expansion (providing as many learning experiences within a practice as possible) still struggle to offer sessions which ensure all are challenged. The statistics are commonly known and unfortunate – in a mixed ability session with an experienced and qualified coach – the bottom 30% get sacrificed the top 30% get sacrificed and the middle 40% get a decent deal.

Even with the most skilled coach, highly qualified and fully aware of the mixed ability nature of his/her players, planning progressions which ensures all are challenged at the appropriate level is a very difficult task. THIS MEANS that if we can avoid grouping kids in a random fashion, which ensures mixed ability teams in training, we should do so. Surely, all parents and coaches want players in sessions where they feel challenged and are engaged. Where the learning environment includes rather than excludes them and their ability to grow.

Let’s make 2 2=4. If you have been following along then these truths are undeniable.

1. Kids make friends quickly.
2. Parents want their children to have enhanced social skills.
3. Parents want their kids to be able to relate to and cooperate with kids from different cultures and situations than their own.
4. Mixed ability teaching is difficult.
5. In mixed ability sessions, the weakest and the strongest typically get sacrificed and remain unchallenged (they get bored).
6. If clubs can place kids in appropriate “banded groups by ability at this time,” all in the group would both make new friends and have a soccer experience that challenged them, helped their development and is FUN.

I know you are reading this and thinking – yes it all makes sense, let’s do the right thing and ensure our kids are in suitable educational environments where new friends abound.

So for all the parents reading this consider how you both would and should react the next time a club say to you, “We have placed Tim in Group B as this is the best environment at this time for him to learn the game. We know his best friends are in another group but we are confident he will make new friends, learn the game, be challenged and HAVE FUN.”

I think you all know the very common response to the scenario above, I think it may be time we reevaluate the reason why we have our kids play sports.

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

June 5, 2019-The Boys-Under-12 State Open Cup final in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) on June 1 at Stringham Park in LaGrange was a nail-biting affair that went to 10 rounds of the shootout to determine a champion.

After New York Stars Premier Galaxy and Kings Park Xtreme tied 1-1 after both regulation and overtime, a shootout was needed. New York Stars won that, 9-8, and the New York City-based team will represent Eastern New York at the Regionals from June 28 to July 4 in Charleston, West Virginia as part of the National Championship Series.

“There was a very marginal difference between two excellent teams who play a similar style. Kings Park is really, really good,” commented New York Stars coach Errol McFarlane. “In the end with the shootout, it came down to us holding our concentration.”

Sebastian Valdez scored New York Stars’ only goal of the game during regulation, also on a penalty kick.

New York Stars also received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. The namesake of the award, who died in 2016, was inducted into the Halls of Fame of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) and Eastern New York plus was honored as a Life Member by U.S. Soccer. Amoroso started the LIJSL Sportsmanship Program in 1980, it has since been copied around the world and he spoke about the benefits of Fair Play across the United States.

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.

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

May 25, 2021-There are many wonderful people who make up the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and today we highlight another one as we write about Marty DiCola, who will soon be retiring from soccer. 

“I first became involved in soccer when my son Joe tried out for a rec team in the town of Cortlandt. His coach, Roger Arnold, was a friend and teacher in the district. He asked me to be his assistant coach in 1988 if memory serves me,” explained Marty.

The Cortlandt Soccer Club was founded in 1993 and Marty volunteered as its President from 1995 to the present. As this non-profit organization has decided to field its final travel team, the Cortlandt Soccer Club is making donations to the scholarship programs of its league, the East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL), and to start a scholarship for the ref org that serves it, the Hudson Valley Soccer Referee Association (HVSRA).

Marty served as a referee from 1994 to 2007, retiring as a State Referee. But the Cortlandt Manor resident is probably best known as a coach, serving as both a youth coach for the Cortlandt Soccer Club and two tours of duty with Eastern New York’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) from 2000 to 2010 and from 2016 to 2019.

“Since I was introduced to the greatest game on earth, I was taken and knew this was my path to be involved in youth development. I found myself constantly learning as much as I could about the game. I began playing every Thursday night and Sunday morning as well as becoming a successful referee,” Marty stated. “I have attended US Soccer’s B, C, D, E and F license programs over the many years I have been involved. This journey in soccer has given me a very satisfied feeling that I have given back to the youth soccer community over the years. I still have contact with many of the players who played for me, now many are adults with children of their own.” 

Added EHYSL Treasurer John Hayes, “Everybody loves Marty!”