By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
July 9, 2024-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Bethpage resident Michael Iemma is receiving a Livio D’Arpino Scholarship.
The scholarship’s namesake was a beloved Eastern New York Vice President who was seemingly involved in every level of local soccer before his untimely passing in 2002. The Livio D’Arpino award is based on success in high school as well as community service.
At Plainedge High School, Michael was a member of the National Honor Society the past two years and had a weighted GPA of 3.7 out of 4.0. He received All-County soccer honors in 2021, ’22 and ’23 plus was the Red Devils’ MVP in 2021.
He has been playing with Eastern New York’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) from 2018 to today and made the National ODP Team three times, including currently. He started playing with the Plainedge Soccer Club when he was four years old and also competed for East Meadow, Massapequa and the Long Island Rough Riders.
Additionally, Michael is a certified referee who received the Long Island Soccer Referee Association (LISRA) Ace of Initiative Award last winter and a LISRA Scholarship last month.
In his essay, he write that “Soccer has been a major part of my life growing up and has taught me valuable lessons that will follow me for the rest of my life. Soccer taught me about competitive spirit, hard work, teamwork, sportsmanship, positive attitude, failure and how to bounce back from it, just to name a few.”
We wish Michael the best studying and playing soccer at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina 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 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 US Youth Soccer. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/