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

November 1, 2018-The Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) started the Exceptional Senior Games in 1981 so that top high school senior soccer players could be scouted by college coaches all in one venue. This all-star competition spread throughout the United States and continues on Long Island 37 years later, although it’s now organized exclusively by Nassau County Boys Soccer and the Suffolk County Boys Soccer Coaches Association.

One of the most successful Exceptional Senior Games takes place a long corner kick from the state capital in Albany every year. The Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL) will be hosting its Exceptional Senior Games on Monday, November 12, continuing its tradition of playing these games on or near Veterans Day, which is being observed on that day. CDYSL volunteers have been organizing this competition of both public and private schools annually during its two decades of existence in cooperation with the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, the NYSPHSAA Section II and the school coaches plus with the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) providing financial support.

With the retirement of Italo Carcich from the CDYSL, Karolyn Thompson has taken over the organization of this big event. The CDYSL provides jerseys and booklets with profiles on the players and the only thing that the league does not do is select the players as that’s done by the Section 2 high school coaches during tryouts.

Over 50 college coaches are expected to once again be scouting and meeting players on four fields at DiCaprio Park in Guilderland. Five boys all-star games and four girls all-star games will be played with the fun starting at 10 am. The beauty of this showcase is it allows college coaches to view at least a full half of any given game, before moving on to another game. If a head coach comes with an assistant coach, then each one can view the entire game. Last year, 273 players participated.

The day’s schedule is here.

Please join us for an exceptional day of soccer! For more info, contact Karolyn at karolyn.thompson@cdysl.org or 518-435-2325.

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.