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John Ciano (left) and Gary Book before the game

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

October 25, 2018-It’s rare that two Olympic Development Program (ODP) coaches in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) coach against one another but that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday night, October 17 in Albany.

John Ciano, now in his eighth year as an ODP coach, lead the College of St. Rose against Adelphi University, coached by Gary Book, the Boys South ODP Director of Coaching. There were seven Eastern New York ODP players on the two squads, with St. Rose’s Gianni Carillo, Kyle Clemens, Ryan Henning, Aaron Muia and Samuel Statham plus Adelphi’s Taylor Kaczynski and Justin Thristino, in the 2-0 Adelphi win in Northeast 10 play. Adelphi is ranked 13th nationally in Division 2.

“It was a very hard fought game, and we ended up with only 9 players on the field!” explained Adelphi coach Gary Book, “As you would expect, the Saint Rose team was extremely well prepared tactically by John and exceedingly tough to break down. The game could most certainly have gone either way and we were lucky enough to secure two goals close to the end of the game.“

ODP is considered the highest level of competition in each state association. Every year, players must be re-evaluated by the ODP professional staff of coaches for a position on each age-specific team. The identification process ends each summer with the most elite players within the East Region competing for a position on the regional team. Players are then identified by United States Soccer Federation (USSF) staff coaches for possible entry to the national team program. Crystal Dunn is an Eastern New York ODP player starting on the US Women’s National Team yet even those players who do not make the regional or the national teams often use ODP as a springboard to college scholarships and even on to professional soccer.

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

November 7, 2017-The Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL), the southernmost league in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), hosted a series of games under the lights at the Owl Hollow Soccer Complex on Friday night, October 27. The goal was to raise money for the Mighty Mike Foundation, a non-profit organization providing tools to child life specialists that help comfort, educate and provide hope to kids battling long-term and chronic illnesses.

Eight SIYSL teams from the Girls-Under-11 age group played. Four teams wore black uniforms with gold lettering while their opponents wore gold uniforms with black lettering, symbolizing the colors of pediatric cancer awareness.

The inspiration for the evening was nine-year-old Maggie Russo from Our Lady of Good Council Soccer Club, who has been undergoing treatment for cancer and is thankfully currently in remission. Maggie was diagnosed with cancer when she was about to turn two years old and it started in her eye and has spread to her bone marrow and later her bladder wall. Maggie's mom, Mary Beth Russo, is the Assistant Director for the club.

$5,385 was raised for the Mighty Mike Foundation.

“It was a very successful night and we look forward to doing it again next year,” commented SIYSL President Bill Smith. “Thank you to our club directors for supporting us and a special thank-you to Nick Senise of Notre Dame Academy, as well as all of the Girls Catholic High School Athletic Association coaches and players who also volunteered.”

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

No matter who you talk to, which team they are on, what the developmental strengths of the team are or the statistics in the win-loss record, it seems that the country has gone tryout crazy. Parents and kids are searching for what?

I go out of my way to explain to all the soccer parents who I talk to that the following are the things they should and must place as a priority in their search for …..

• Quality, experience, level of education of the coaching staff.
• Philosophy of team and quality of training curriculum followed.
• Level of commitment and quality of players in squad.
• Access to training facilities- throughout both seasons and the winter months.
• A LTAD – long term athletic development plan.
• A truly holistic coach who has the wisdom to see the players as people first and care about their development as people
• One which is challenging and fun. Practice should be a challenge that the players love to go to.

Any parent who can find all the above should do their utmost to remain within the program as long as their child can.

Much to my constant disbelief and amazement, it seems that rather than use the checklist above to help find and secure a suitable team and training program for their child, I find that they are more likely to use the following set of false promises

"We are a winning machine – lost 1 game in the last 32 and with you we will never lose again."

"You are destined to be the next Messi and if you come to us, a scholarship is guaranteed."

"The only friends you will ever have are on this team."

"We are a tournament machine – have more Got Soccer points than there are fish in the sea and have guaranteed access to any tournament, anywhere at any time".

In this culture where parents make decisions based on empty promises and often place their children in environments that are negative ones, two things happen. Number one, development is either hindered or stops completely. Number two and at the heart of what good sports cultures can do, character development also gets lost. To become a better player, it is best to play against bigger stronger players who make you think and play quicker. Ones that force you to use skill and technique to conquer speed and strength. These are the same environments where you lose more than you win are also the best for character development. How do we react when it is cold and windy and we are losing three-zip? How do we behave after a hard fought game when the parents on the other team have been baiting us all game? How can we survive if the win loss record does not lead to a medal?

I invite all parents and coaches to consider all above and decide both what type of program you want to be and what type of program you best believe development will take place in. Ultimately for all parents reading this consider the quote below – it really sums things up. 

“Your kids success or lack of success in sports does not indicate what kind of parent you are… But having an athlete that is coachable, respectful, a great teammate, mentally tough, resilient, reliable and honest who tries their best is a direct reflection of your parenting and the sports dreams you chased”

By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
 
August 15, 2019-Niskayuna resident George Tsakalakos is receiving a Livio D’Arpino Scholarship from the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA). The award is based on success in high school as well as community service. 

The scholarship’s namesake, Livio D’Arpino, was a beloved Eastern New York Vice President who was seemingly involved in every level of local soccer before his untimely passing in 2002. In a nice irony, Livio founded the Frosinone Soccer Club on Long Island and George was a 10-year-old camper taught by coaches from Italy at the Frosinone Soccer Camp in Rotterdam back in 2011.
 
At Niskayuna High School, George was Class Vice President, carried an unweighted GPA of 3.73 and scored 1430 on the SAT. He was a member of the National Honor Society and received the Departmental Certificate of Merit in Social Studies, Spanish and Chinese.
 
George was varsity captain at Niskayuna High School’s boys soccer team and played club soccer with Blackwatch Premier, playing in the State Open Cup final, the Super Y-League national tournament and winning the Jefferson Cup in Virginia, the Potomac Memorial Tournament in Maryland and the Disney Showcase in Florida with his team.

Additionally, George volunteered in two faith-based youth groups and as an altar boy at his Greek Orthodox Church plus somehow also found the time to work as an orthopedic surgery intern and plastic surgery intern.

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

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

January 16, 2014-In 2012, the Boys-Under-13 Olympic Development Program (ODP) team of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) became the first American team to make the semifinals of the prestigious Trofeo Costa Gaia in Sicily. Facing some of the best youth teams that Italy has to offer, our Boys-Under-13 ODP squad repeated the same feat this year and received their 15 minutes of fame, in Sicily no less, when two Italian newspapers wrote articles about our team.

On their tour in early January, the New Yorkers had a 6-1-1 record, scoring 12 goals and conceding just three. They lost in the semifinals to Trapani, 1-0, on a direct kick with a minute left to play.

“It was a heartbreaking loss as we could not put away any of the four great opportunities we had as we dominated most of the game and they had one good chance to score and did at the end,” said ODP Technical Director Jose Luis Rebay.

Our team turned heads, so much so that Juventus is interested in four of our players. One of the tournament organizers works as a scout for the famous Serie A club and passed along these boys’ names: forwards Benjamin Kogan (Clifton Park) and Triston Sandy (Mount Vernon), midfielder Filip Mirkovic (Manhattan) plus central defender Tyrone Malango (Tuckahoe). The New Yorkers also celebrated the 13th birthday of Evan Farr (Saratoga Springs) on January 3 with a birthday cake decorated as an American flag.

“It was a nice trip and our boys played very well,” commented Coach Rebay. “We stayed in two hotels in small cities in Sicily right by the water so that was very nice as well.”

Italian soccer fans will be happy to know that the Boys-Under-13 team is not our only ODP squad going to Italy in 2014. Our Boys-Under-14 and Girls-Under-14 ODP teams will play in the 33rd Annual City of Agropoli Tournament in April and our Boys-Under-15 ODP team will play in the Lazio Cup in May.

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.