By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
January 29, 2025-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that longtime volunteer Jim Volpe has been inducted into the Eastern New York Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place at our Hall of Fame Banquet on Saturday, January 25 at Marina del Rey in the Bronx.
Now a Long Beach resident, Jim grew up in neighboring Oceanside and has been involved with soccer his entire life.
Long before the youth soccer boom started in the 1970’s, Jim’s soccer career kicked off when he began playing for the Oceanside Dynamo in the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) and he then played for Oceanside High School and
the Oceanside United men’s team. He was childhood friends with Rudy Lamonica and has volunteered for decades at the Rudy Lamonica Indoor Tournament, the oldest youth soccer indoor tourney in the United States.
Jim started coaching in Oceanside United’s intramural program in 1977 and coached a half-dozen Oceanside United travel teams playing in the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) through the years. Jim grew the club as President for a dozen years from 1989 to 2000. For all his involvement, he was inducted into the LIJSL Hall of Fame a decade ago in 2015.
Jim has served as Eastern New York’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) Administrator since 2014. On his watch, the 1999 Boys South ODP Team won the national championship in 2016.
After Jim’s wife, Marianne, died of blood cancer in 2011, he and his daughters Chelsea (named after the London soccer team) and Shaun started the Marianne Volpe 5K and Pumpkin Fun Run the day before Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The Volpes have raised over $300,000 for blood cancer research during the past 13 years.
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/