By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
April 6, 2017-With 1,600 travel teams, the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) is the largest league in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA). On three Sundays this spring––April 23, May 21 and June 4––the LIJSL is hosting small-sided intramural games, for players who are too young for travel soccer, at the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview.
The Under-7 teams, both boys and girls, will play 4 vs. 4 with no goalkeeper. The Under-8 games, with both boys and girls squads, will be 5 vs. 5 with a keeper. Up to 16 micro fields will be used, 35 yards x 25 yards, with pop-up goals and not a referee in sight.
“Our goal is to give the intramural players from the participating clubs a different game experience than simply playing within their own clubs,” commented LIJSL Technical Director Ronan Wiseman. “At Under-8, we want to look at a 5v5 game with a goalkeeper to see if it can fit into the developmental pathway laid out by US Soccer.“
The Peter Collins Soccer Park has hosted the LIJSL since the league’s TOPSoccer Program for children with special needs started playing there in the 1980’s. The TOPSoccer children still play there as do the LIJSL’s other teams. The 22-acre park is named after Peter Collins, the US Soccer Hall of Famer who served as LIJSL President from 1977 to 2004.
Wiseman concluded, “We want the intramural players to have a good experience and leave wanting to come back and play in this format again.“
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 tohttp://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.