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Shrub Oak Increases Soccer Participation By Focusing on Fun and Fundamentals

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

January 7, 2015-In sports, only one team can win but both teams should be having fun. Sadly, this basic concept is sometimes forgotten by overly enthusiastic parents and way too competitive coaches in youth sports.

In 2002, the Shrub Oak Athletic Club (SOAC) of the East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL) had 235 intramural players and less than 100 travel team players. They have increased their numbers dramatically during the past decade by focusing on participation, development and coaching education instead of winning.

“Shrub Oak was losing players to other sports and other clubs. To their credit, those responsible in the club opted for drastic change,” said Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching Instruction for the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA). “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.”

“In 2004, we moved to a New York State School year age group structure, instead of the August 1 cut-off date used in youth soccer,” commented SOAC Intramural Co-Commissioner Dan Kelly. “This allowed kids to play with their many of their classmates. In 2013, with the advent of inter-town recreation with two other local clubs, Mahopac and Yorktown, we have increased numbers so much that we now have a high school intramural division.”

No scores or standings are kept for intramural teams of players from four to nine years old.

“They have a tournament in some of the age groups once a year––that’s the only time score matters,” Dan continued. “The end of the Spring Season also ends with a parent-child game, which really emphasizes the fun of the game. Once a year, we send an e-mail to the parents reminding them of the all-volunteer nature of the program, and emphasize the encouragement of all players when good things happen on the field, regardless of which team they are on.”

Shrub Oak hosts a 4-hour Recreation Course approximately every three years and requires all intramural coaches to attend. There are not any games scheduled that day so there is no excuse not to come.

For travel teams, Shrub Oak began requiring coaches to receive their F coaching license, generally within their first year of coaching.

“Picking up an idea from a neighboring club, Mahopac, we send out 10 practice sessions per season to coaches, essentially one for every week of the season,” Dan said.

By focusing on fun, fundamentals and friendships, Shrub Oak has nearly tripled in size during the past 13 years and now boasts 654 intramural players, 242 travel team players and more than 100 volunteer coaches.

“Congratulations, Shrub Oak, for being an example to all,” Coach Bradbury exclaimed.

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.

The Big Apple Youth Soccer League’s Luis Montoya Honored as Personality of the Month in Eastern New York

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

June 2, 2016-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to honor Big Apple Youth Soccer League (BAYSL) President Luis Montoya as our Personality of the Month for June. He founded this New York City league in 1997 to serve the growing Latino community and is the only President that the BAYSL has ever known in the 20 years of its existence. 62 boys teams and seven girls squads from Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx currently play in the league.

Montoya has spent much of his life making certain that all children in the United States have the opportunity to play the world’s most popular sport. He has served as a member of the Diversity Committee for US Soccer under three Presidents––Alan Rothenberg, Dr. Bob Contiguglia and currently under Sunil Gulati.

The Astoria, Queens resident has had two tours of duty as Trustee of ENYYSA––previously, when Barry Salter was President of Eastern New York and the last two years as Trustee serving the Presidency of Richard Christiano.

“Congratulations to Luis on being honored as Mr. June,” commented President Christiano. “Luis provides our Board with innovative ideas and continues to make certain that all children in Eastern New York are well-represented by our organization.”

With Eastern New York, Montoya chairs the Soccer Start/Inner City Committee and also volunteers as a member on the Appeals, Tournament Control and Publicity Committees. He is a native of Lima, Peru who emigrated to the United States in 1970. During the Copa America Centenario, which starts tomorrow and will be played across the US, he will be rooting for the United States since “I have lived most of my life here.“

Montoya has also volunteered as Games Chairperson for the Hellenic-American Soccer League and was on the Board of Directors for that league for seven years as well as serving as Trustee for a few years in the Eastern New York State Adult Soccer Association. Additionally, for nearly two decades, he promoted and coordinated C, D, E and F coaching courses in New York City with Alfonso Mondelo, Arnold Ramirez, John Ramirez, Howard Rubenstein and Nick Zlatar.

Montoya has five adult children. His sons Oschta and Paschco were given Peruvian Indian names and live in Florida. Paschco plays soccer in the Sunshine State. Luis’ daughter Monica also lives there, while his other daughters Carrine and Katie live on Long Island. Carrine’s children, Michael and Madison, play for Oceanside United of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL).

When he is not found volunteering on the soccer field, Montoya works as a tele-communications technician with Verizon and is very happy the strike at his “real job” is over.

Congratulations to Luis Montoya, the Personality of the Month in Eastern New York.

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.

Former ODP Player David Clemens Named Captain at Virginia Tech

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

April 9, 2013-Congratulations to David Clemens, who along with Kyle Renfro, has been named by Virginia Tech head coach Mike Brizendine to captain the Hokies in his 2013 senior season.

"The role of a captain is to be our voice to the team in situations when they’re out in public, when they’re in the locker room or in any situation when coaches aren’t around," Coach Brizendine stated. "David and Kyle as our captains were an obvious choice. Both of them are leaders on the field in their training habits and their professional approach to the game. They are also good leaders off of the field."

"I’m very pleased with how they have developed, and I know they’ll take this responsibility seriously. They share the goals that the staff has, and they’ll help continue to push our team to get better as we move forward."

Playing center midfielder, David has led the Hokies in scoring during the past two seasons. His 10 goals in 2012 were the most by a Virginia Tech player since current Chicago Fire forward Patrick Nyarko’s 16 goals in 2006.

David was born in Saratoga Springs and grew up in Ballston Lake. In the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), he started at the Clifton Park Soccer Club, where he was coached by his father, then played for the Alleycats and Black Watch Premier, all of the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL). He played for Eastern New York’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) for six years and toured England with the team plus was on Region 1 ODP for one year and went to South Africa.

David collected several honors his senior season at Shenendehowa High School, including Class AA All-Capital Region, First Team All-State, First Team NSCAA All-Region plus was the Section II leading scorer and Most Valuable Player.

He also played one year with Black Watch’s Premier Development League (PDL) team and will be competing again this summer in the PDL with FC Tucson in Arizona.

The 20-year-old credits his parents, father Khris and mother Nancy, for his development as a soccer player. He inherited his athletic genes from Khris, a top baseball player who was inducted into the Siena College Hall of Fame while Nancy works at Afrim’s Sports.

"My Dad actually picked up soccer after college and really got into it. He was my coach in youth soccer for almost eight years, and he was a big part in my development," David said.

With 123,843 youth soccer players––68,587 boys and 55,256 girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 12 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. Eastern New York 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. Eastern New York 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.

New York Rush Rowdies Win the Girls-Under-16 State Championship

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

June 9, 2016-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) Girls-Under-16 State Open Cup final on June 5 at Stringham Park in LaGrange featured two British-born coaches who have known one another for two decades in New York, the New York Rush Rowdies’ Steve Davis and HBC Buzz’s Tim Bradbury. Not surprisingly, New York Rush, from the Westchester Youth Soccer District (WYSD) and HBC, from the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), produced an even game.

The only difference was the New York Rush goal from Melenia Ralioman to give them a 1-0 victory so they bring the Girls-Under-16 Peter Masotto Cup home to Westchester. The namesake of the award is a Region 1 Hall of Famer and U.S. Soccer Life Member who volunteered as President of Eastern New York from 1984 to 2006. Masotto also coached the Massapequa Falcons girls team to the 1988 national championship.

“It was a very even game,” commented New York Rush coach Davis. “Neither team executed very well in the final third.”

New York Rush also added the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award, as determined by the game officials, to their growing trophy case.

Eastern New York will help pay for New York Rush’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.

Central Islip Bulls Their Way to the Boys-Under-13 Challenge Cup Title

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

June 29, 2023-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) Boys-Under-13 Challenge Cup final on June 3 at Stringham Park in LaGrange was between the Central Islip Red Bulls of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) and the Rye Brook Wave of the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL). Central Islip had the better of play and won, 6-0.

Central Islip coach Michael Saint Laurent stated, “My players are very aggressive and five or six of them can shoot and put the ball in the net.”

Angel Arcenigas scored two goals while Caesar Arias, Leo Arias, Ryan Gutierrez and Emanuel Ulysses had one apiece. Mark Gonzalez had the shutout in goal.

The Challenge Cup was presented by LifeVac, the choking rescue device that has saved over 900 lives and counting.

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 Association. For more information, please log onto http://www.enysoccer.com/

Jimmy Svendsen Inducted in to the Eastern New York Hall of Fame

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From left to right: ENYYSA Hall of Fame Chairperson Ken Gulmi, Jimmy Svendsen, ENYYSA President Richard Christiano, former CJSL President Burt Wilkes

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

December 20, 2017-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is pleased to announce that Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) President Jimmy Svendsen was inducted into the Eastern New York Hall of Fame during our Holiday Party on December 17 at Marina del Rey in the Bronx.

Jimmy started coaching the Boys-Under-10 Scandinavian Sports Club Vikings in 1980. It was a rapid rise up the volunteer ladder for Jimmy as he became a CJSL Trustee two years later. In 1984, Jimmy started coaching in the CJSL Select Program.

In 1985, Jimmy started his longtime association with Sporting Club Gjøa, coaching the Boys-Under-14 team and taking their players on tours to Norway and The Netherlands. In 1986, he became Youth Director at Gjøa.

In 1998, Jimmy became CJSL President as well as SC Gjøa President, then went back to being Gjøa’s Youth Director. 2005 was Jimmy’s year as he received Lifetime Membership, soccer’s version of the Lifetime Achievement Award, for both the CJSL and Gjøa. In 2013, he was inducted into the CJSL Hall of Fame and received the same honor from Gjøa last year.

The Franklin Square resident served as CJSL President from 1998 to 2000, and is currently on his second tour of duty as President, being elected in 2015. Jimmy has held every position on the CJSL Executive Board (except Secretary) since Emil Cohill asked him to become involved with it in 1982.

“I am most proud of the coaching that I have done for both the CJSL Select Program and for SC Gjøa, especially my Gjøa Norsemen, who I coached for 10 years,” he commented. “We won a number of championships, tournaments, travelled to Norway for the Norway Cup and Minnesota for the USA Cup. But most importantly, developed lifelong friendships with the players and their parents.”

It’s been a life well-lived as all this volunteering is in addition to his “real job” being the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology at the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District for the past two years. Prior to that, he was the Principal of the Garden City Park School for 15 years.

In his induction speech, Jimmy stated, “I know that I can be a pain in the neck at meetings so I would especially like to thank Eastern New York for honoring me in spite of that. I’d also like to add that Eastern New York has been very responsive to the needs of the CJSL as well as its other member leagues.”

Congratulations to 2017 Hall of Famer, Jimmy Svendsen!

Franklin Square’s Hilda Wolfe Inducted Into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame

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

December 7, 2012-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Hilda Wolfe of Franklin Square has been inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place at the 2012 Holiday Party on December 1 at Lido Restaurant on City Island.

Hilda has been an extraordinary presence in youth soccer for nearly four decades. During this time, she has served as Eastern New York’s Office Manager and has overseen the growth from a relatively small state association to a thriving organization.

"She began her career in soccer as a Soccer Mom and team manager 36 years ago when her boys began their playing careers, handling the usual assortment of registrations, hotel arrangements, etc. common to all busy travel teams," commented ENYYSA Treasurer Jim Eleftherion in the induction speech.

Mr. Eleftherion continued, "In 1985, she accepted a position in the state office supporting the member leagues and, within 18 months, became the Office Manager overseeing all areas of support to, what is today, 125,000 players and 25,000 volunteers. Since then, a hallmark of her service has been her unwavering dedication to our youngsters and making their experience in our great sport as rewarding as possible."

"Over the years, she has organized, traveled with and served as liaison to the teams competing in Nationals, administered the State Cup competition up to and including the weekend-long finals for all tiers, overseen all registration administration, organized and managed the logistics for our own meetings as well as for Executive Board members traveling to seminars, conferences and meetings plus served as primary contact for our member leagues. In recognition of her many contributions, Region 1 named her the Regional Administrator of the Year in 2002."

"Without her kind, calm demeanor and guidance, our State Association would simply not be what it is today. She is universally admired and respected by everyone who has the pleasure of working with her."

Congratulations to Hilda Wolfe!

With 123,843 youth soccer players––68,587 boys and 55,256 girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 12 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.

Yorktown Youth Soccer Club’s Cheryl Reynolds Honored as the Eastern New York Boys Recreation Coach of the Year

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

December 2, 2013-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Cheryl Reynolds, who coaches the Yorktown Youth Hurricanes in the 5th, 6th and 7th grade division, has been selected as our Boys Recreation Coach of the Year. This recreation team plays under the umbrella of the East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL) and Eastern New York.

Cheryl started helping out on Wednesday Night Soccer and fundraising plus soon moved into coaching so she could spend more time with her sons.

"Her team runs like clockwork and she is very organized and energetic," the club’s George Distelhurst said. "She is everything this organization is looking for!"

Cheryl’s husband, John, stated, "Everyone comments on how well organized our team is because of her. She has a great understanding of the boys and what makes them tick. Her enthusiasm is contagious and she makes all the boys feel special. She gets the most out of her team every week."

In addition to coaching, Cheryl ran the concession stand at the Yorktown Youth Soccer Club’s annual intramural tourney plus is past PTA President at Mildred E. Strang Middle School and is actively involved with ASK (Alliance for Safe Kids).

Her husband concluded, "She is truly amazing!"

With 123,843 youth soccer players––68,587 boys and 55,256 girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 12 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.

Suffolk Community College Men’s Coach Frank Vertullo Honored as Eastern New York’s Personality of the Month

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Frank Vertullo holding the national championship trophy

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

December 3, 2014-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Suffolk Community College men’s coach Frank Vertullo is our Personality of the Month for December. Frank coached the Sharks to the national championship in 2010 and again last month. Although the roster was completely different from one national championship team to the other, the great majority of both squads grew up playing soccer in Eastern New York.

As a youth, Frank played in the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), for the North Babylon Bulldogs (coached by “the late and amazing Gary Galletta,” he said) and Massapequa TNT. Frank also competed for three years for the LIJSL Select Team and two years for Eastern New York ODP.

He played at Dowling College from 1997 to 2000 and was Conference Rookie of the Year, All-Conference three times, captain of the team for three seasons and starting center back. He also played for the New York Freedoms of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) in 2002 and 2003.

Frank served as Dowling’s assistant coach from 2001 to 2006, helping lead the Golden Lions to four NCAA Division 2 Final Fours and the 2006 national championship. With that success on his coaching resume, he took over the Suffolk Community College men’s program in 2007. The Sharks have won five Region XV titles and two national championships during this time and he has been honored as Region XV Coach of the Year four times and NSCAA National Coach of the Year in 2010. Proving that nice guys finish first, Frank has also won the Sportsmanship Award in 2008 given by the New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA).

The 34-year-old Babylon Village resident has coached LIJSL teams since 2008. He’s now the trainer of the Dix Hills Heat after previously coaching Commack Premier and Commack United.

Entering the junior college Final Four as the fourth seed with a 19-4-0 record, Suffolk played number one seed and host Herkimer Community College on November 14. Frank said the snowfall in Herkimer actually helped the Sharks as it “limited the size of the home crowd who came to watch the game.” A 12th minute goal by Romario Hulea was all the Sharks needed to avenge their loss to Herkimer in the 2013 national championship game and advance, 1-0.

The Sharks continued as underdogs in the national title game on November 16 against number two seed Richland Community College from Texas, who defeated them 5-2 back in September. With no snow in sight, Joseph Lopez and Hulea scored for the Sharks and goalkeeper Jon Zapata, named championship game MVP, made six saves as Richland applied pressure in the second half to preserve Suffolk’s 2-1 lead.

Frank, who was named Coach of the Tournament, stated, “There are so many factors that are involved in winning multiple national championships. Consistency, recruiting, experience and creating a family atmosphere within the program are the key components. The success of the program has also helped in the recruiting process of potential student-athletes wanting to leave home to play at Suffolk even without the convenience of campus housing. However, just bringing in talent is not always good enough.”

Coach Vertullo continued, “My student-athletes have always given me 100% effort and have done everything I’ve asked of them. Along with recruiting is the closeness of the student-athletes year in and year out. The family atmosphere we create makes the student-athletes want to play for one another and they hold each other accountable. The student-athletes also draw on my experiences from coaching in eight Final Fours in the past 14 years. Each year, we pull positives and negatives out of each Final Four experience and bring that into the next year’s tournament to further be prepared and to put the student-athletes and the program in the best possible position to succeed.”

Congratulations to Frank Vertullo, national champion coach and Eastern New York’s December Personality of the Month.

With 123,843 youth soccer players––68,587 boys and 55,256 girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 12 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.

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Suffolk Community College in blue and Herkimer Community College in white
as the line-ups are announced before the national semifinals

Otto Horstmann Inducted Into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame

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

November 8, 2022-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Otto Horstmann was inducted into the Eastern New York Hall of Fame at our Hall of Fame Banquet celebrating Eastern New York’s 50th Anniversary last Saturday, November 5 at Marina del Rey in the Bronx.

Our new Hall of Famer never played soccer as a kid growing up in the Westerleigh section of Staten Island as most of the borough was all about baseball, basketball, stick ball and touch football before the youth soccer craze.

As an adult, Otto became involved with youth sports at Our Lady of Good Council (OLGC), where his children went to school. He started coaching basketball, then became involved with the OLGC Sports Association and before he knew it, he became OLGC President in 1985. About that same time, the OLGC Soccer Director resigned so Otto ended up taking over that position and attended Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL) meetings. OLGC had four travel teams with Otto’s children playing on three of them. Because of some parent/coach issues, one of the coaches quit and suddenly Otto went from soccer nothing to soccer club director and soccer coach, and shortly after that, SIYSL Board Member, being elected Secretary starting in 1990.

Otto was elected, then re-elected SIYSL President spanning a decade from 1995 to 2005. As President, education was high on his agenda so in collaboration with the club directors, they came up with “seminar” items (offside, advantage, etc.). Once the topics were selected, Otto worked with Tony Limone, then President of the Staten Island Soccer Referee Association (SISRA), to have refs conduct the seminars. The only way that each coach or assistant coach could receive their team’s schedule for the season was to attend a rules seminar at the Staten Island Academy.

Additionally, Otto worked with Nick Zlatar and they ran numerous coach licensing courses.

Otto was also an emergency travel team coach for Silver Lake in the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) in 2006 as the coach had quit on his son’s team so Otto stepped up so the kids could have a season. Otto served as President of Staten Island United for a dozen years and throughout the 1990’s. He was in the first class of inductees when the SIYSL Hall of Fame was established in 2007.

For decades of volunteering, Otto was honored as Eastern New York’s Personality of the Month in May 2016 plus 2021 Volunteer of the Year and was inducted into the Eastern New York Hall of Fame last weekend. Not bad for a guy who never played soccer as a kid.

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/

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