Referee

Gurhan Dolgun is Reaching the Top as a Soccer Referee

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

August 12, 2025-Congratulations to Gurhan Dolgun who has quickly become one of the best referees in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA).

Gurhan took up the whistle eight years ago at the age of 25 as he loves soccer and all its passion. His assessments were very good so he became a Regional Referee in 2022 and is a National Referee Candidate for 2026. He refereed the Eastern Regionals three times and US Youth Soccer’s Nationals three times as well. He was named the Most Outstanding Referee at this summer’s Nationals and refereed the Boys-Under-19 final that was streamed live on ESPN.

Additionally, Gurhan was honored as the 2002 New York Soccer Referees Association (NYSRA) Referee of the Year and 2024 Eastern New York Soccer Referee Association (ENYSRA) Referee of the Year. Plus he’s preparing for the upcoming college soccer season as well after refereeing the Ryder-Vass Cup final (Under-23) in the Long Island Soccer Football League (LISFL) last month.

The Flushing resident does all this refereeing in addition to having an e-commerce business by selling on Amazon and eBay.

Would you like to join Gurhan on the soccer field? Eastern New York is seeking new referees to be in the middle and/or on the line as assistant referees in youth soccer games throughout the state. The minimum age is 14 years old to become certified. You manage your availability so officiating works with all the rest that you do!

For more information, log on to https://enysreferee.org/how-to-become-a-referee/. If you have any questions, e-mail questions@enysreferee.org

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 onto http://www.enysoccer.com/

Sophia Aurrecoechea Receives Eastern New York’s Jack Bauman Scholarship

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

July 7, 2025-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Sophia Aurrecoechea of Islip Terrace is receiving a Jack Bauman Scholarship.

The scholarship’s namesake is considered the father of women’s soccer on Long Island. He was devoted to the Massapequa Soccer Club and Eastern New York. The Jack Bauman Scholarship is based on success in high school as well as community service.

Sophia wrote in her essay that “soccer has shaped who I am. As a varsity goalkeeper and travel player for the Long Island Slammers, I’ve learned leadership, resilience and dedication. This year, I committed to play for Nazareth University, where I will major in Physical Therapy. My dream is to help others the way soccer has helped me. Diagnosed with dyslexia at age eight, I’ve worked hard to overcome challenges in school while thriving on the field. I refused to let a learning difference define me. Instead, I embraced it––transforming it into a source of strength. Soccer became my outlet, where effort and heart mattered most.”

Sophia was an Honor Roll student at East Islip High School and played soccer, golf, was on the track team and was captain of the flag football team.

Additionally, she received the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards in the Girl Scouts. She volunteered with Just For Kicks, the East Islip Soccer Club’s TOPSoccer Program, and was an intramural referee for the club, both for the past six years.

Besides competing for the Long Island Slammers, she played for East Islip, the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) Academy plus the Eastern New York and the Regional Olympic Development Program (ODP) teams during her youth soccer career.

Becoming a Ref Could Be One of the Best Decisions You Ever Make

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

June 24, 2025-The Soccer Mom rolled down her car window as she and her daughter were leaving the soccer complex.

“Thank you, ref!” she said. “I know it’s a thankless job.”

“Not really,” I countered. “99% of the people are great!”

Maybe 99% is an exaggeration but at least 95% understand that youth soccer features kids playing a game and they, their coaches and the refs make mistakes, although never on purpose. Very few treat the game like the World Cup final.

I should know as I’ve refereed in six different decades, starting as a teen when Jimmy Carter was President. And the vast majority of people have treated me great and I heartily expect that will continue.

There are many great things that happen when you referee as you meet new people, learn leadership skills, learn to manage people, learn to remain calm at all times, you are your own boss and go directly to the customer, you expand yourself by leaving your comfort zone plus you get (or stay) fit, all while earning money on the side.

Becoming a soccer referee was one of the best decisions I ever made and that could be the same for you! The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is seeking new referees to be in the middle and/or on the line as assistant referees in youth soccer games throughout the state. The minimum age is 14 years old to become certified. You manage your availability so officiating works with all the rest that you do!

For more information, log on to https://enysreferee.org/how-to-become-a-referee/. If you have any questions, e-mail questions@enysreferee.org

Michael Blackton photo of Randy Vogt refereeing the South Shore Bulldogs

Three Outstanding Teenagers Receive LISRA Scholarships

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

June 17, 2025-The soccer referees of the Long Island Soccer Referee Association (LISRA) have been putting out fires on Long Island soccer fields since its founding in 1971 to serve the growing Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), which had played its first game five years earlier. So it’s appropriate that LISRA often holds its monthly meetings at the Copiague Fire Department.

Three teenagers making a difference were honored with LISRA Scholarships on June 12:

• Joseph Fallon, a resident of Nesconset graduating from Smithtown East High School and who will be attending Bridgewater State University

• Gracie Sanders, a resident of Coram graduating from St. Anthony’s High School and who will be attending Southern Connecticut State University

• Magdalena Law, a resident of Mount Sinai graduating from Mount Sinai High School and who will be attending Binghamton University

These three outstanding teenagers were selected through their résumé, essay and three recommendations from three different areas of their lives, such as a coach, clergy and teacher. The LISRA Scholarship Program was launched in 1981, a decade after LISRA’s founding, and it has always been open to LISRA referees and children of referees.

Jean-Marie Maio, Chairperson of the LISRA Scholarship Committee and the 2023 Administrator of the Year in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), stated, “I love reading the scholarship applications as it’s so great what our kids do with not just soccer but schoolwork and music.”

From left to right: LISRA President Cathy Caldwell, Joseph Fallon, Gracie Sanders, Magdalena Law, LISRA Scholarship Chairperson Jean-Marie Maio.

Just as soccer on Long Island has grown exponentially, so too has LISRA and it had 1,176 registered referees and assistant referees last spring. The LISRA meeting also had a changing of the guard as longtime LISRA President Cathy Caldwell is retiring from referee administration work to spend more time with her family.

Caldwell stated, “It’s been a great honor to be your President for over 10 years and along with my marriage and birth of my two sons, this has also been one of the highlights of my life!”

Alan Starost becomes the new LISRA President on July 1. In the LISRA elections, Neal Smith was elected Vice President, Tom Murphy becomes Secretary, Gordon Barr is the new Treasurer while Scott Abel, Eugene O’Neill and John Sengelaub will continue to serve as Trustees.

Maio plus Marty Foeppel are retiring from the LISRA Board of Directors and the LISRA membership voted for both of them at the June meeting to receive Lifetime Membership, the LISRA equivalent of the Lifetime Achievement Award, for their many years of service to Long Island soccer.

Coaches Are Role Models

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

Coaches are role models for the players they coach as well as their players’ parents as they receive their cue for acceptable behavior from the coach. In order to be good role models, coaches must have control of themselves and refrain from unacceptable things such as micromanaging players with constant instructions from the touchline, reacting negatively to missed shots and passes plus complaining about the officiating.

In a recent game, the coach barked constant instructions in two languages to his players while the parents on the other side also yelled sometimes contradictory instructions in the same two languages. What’s a kid to do? Try and tune out all the noise if possible and just play soccer.

Every match is an opportunity for a team to display good sportsmanship, regardless of the outcome. Yet some coaches also complain with comments on the officiating. Whether referees enforce the Zero Tolerance Policy to the letter or not, refs cannot allow any coach to constantly yell about the officiating because then the kids (and everybody else) concentrate on what is being whistled and not rather than simply playing the game.

We lose more than half our referees in their first two years of officiating with the number one reason for quitting being verbal abuse from the so-called adults in youth soccer. So please think twice before you yell at a ref.

I recently refereed two games where there were many of the same players who played back-to-back futsal games. The first match was for their school team and the second was for their club team affiliated with the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA). With the school team, the coach gave a couple of instructions to his players, it was not constant and he said nothing critical about the officiating. His players were calm throughout the match.

The second game with many of the same kids playing on a club team was another story. From pretty much the opening minute, the players dissented just about every decision against their squad. As they were not complaining in the previous match, could I have lost all my ability to referee going from one game to another? These same kids were now playing rough and their coach started dissenting the foul calls whistled against his team.

In the first game, we had a coach who controlled himself and his players. In the second game, we had a coach who had no control of himself and anybody who does not have control of himself has no control of his players.

As the Spring Season and State Cup are about to kick off, which type of coach do you want to be?

US Soccer Introduces a Much Stronger Policy to Prevent Referee Abuse

Click here for the information.

Refs Wanted

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

February 11, 2025-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is seeking new referees in the middle and assistant referees on the line due to the growth of its programs.

Society, including soccer, stopped five years ago due to Covid. When soccer resumed in August 2020, all the players enthusiatically came back, the referees not so much. But thousands of referees have become certified in Eastern New York since then.

3,500 referees are now registered in Eastern New York, which State Referee Administrator Joe Brosi said is a “healthy number,” and they handled 80,000 assignments in 2024.

Brosi added, “I strongly encourage everybody to join a referee group. But don’t just pay a membership fee, show up at their meetings.”

Kambiz Riazi in black and Victor Borges in red instructing referees at the HB Thompson Middle School in Syosset

Certification and recertification classes are now taking place throughout Eastern New York. Focuses include control the controllable, such as dressing appropriately and arriving at least 30 minutes before kick-off. Recent recertification classes have discussed handball, which is now over 300 words in the rules and the wording has changed six times in the past seven years in an effort to make soccer fairer. But all the verbiage has also made soccer more complicated.

The minimum age is 14 years old to become certified. For information on becoming a referee or assistant referee, click here. If you have any questions, e-mail questions@enysreferee.org or newref@enysreferee.org

Soccer Referees Wanted

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

February 11, 2025-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is seeking new referees in the middle and assistant referees on the line due to the growth of its programs.

3,500 referees are now registered in Eastern New York, which State Referee Administrator Joe Brosi said is a “healthy number,” and they handled 80,000 assignments in 2024.

Brosi added, “I strongly encourage everybody to join a referee group. But don’t just pay a membership fee, show up at their meetings.”

Ella Biolchini Honored as Eastern New York’s Young Female Referee of the Year

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

February 5, 2025-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is pleased to state that Ella Biolchini has been honored as the Eastern New York Young Female Referee of the Year. The festivities took place during the Eastern New York Hall of Fame Banquet on January 25 at Marina Del Rey in the Bronx.

From left to right: ENYYSA President Richard Christiano, Young Female Referee of the Year Ella Biolchini, State Youth Referee Administrator Cheryl Aronson, State Referee Administrator Joe Brosi.

Ella took up the whistle in 2022 at the age of 14, the minimum age for becoming a referee. Since that time, she has blossomed into one of the most improved refs in Hudson Valley Youth Soccer League (HVYSL). The Mahopac resident has officiated multiple youth soccer tournaments in the Hudson Valley and was the referee for the 2023 Challenge Cup Girls-Under-10 final and 4th official for the Boys-Under-10 final.

“Always open to receiving support through our mentoring program, we see a bright future for Ella,” stated Hudson Valley Soccer Referee Association (HVSRA) President Brian Baer.

Off the pitch, Ella participates in soccer, skiing, and track. Ella plays clarinet in symphonic band, and also plays the piano outside of school. Ella has been playing the clarinet since the fourth grade and piano since second. She has performed in the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) since sixth grade, and was in the All-County Concert for Clarinet in the 7th and 8th grades. Additionally, she volunteers for the Mahopac Friends of Music (the parent volunteer organization that supports the music program in the Mahopac Central School District), and for her school soccer team.

Parker Jackson Honored as Eastern New York’s Young Male Referee of the Year

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

February 4, 2025-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is pleased to announce that Parker Jackson has been honored as the Eastern New York Young Male Referee of the Year. The ceremony took place during the Eastern New York Hall of Fame Banquet on January 25 at Marina Del Rey in the Bronx.

From left to right: ENYYSA President Richard Christiano, Young Male Referee of the Year Parker Jackson, State Youth Referee Administrator Cheryl Aronson, State Referee Administrator Joe Brosi.

Parker joined the ranks of referee a few days after turning 14 in 2022, and since that time has developed into one of the Hudson Valley’s most improved referees. The Highland resident seeks the advice of other referees to increase his capacity as an official and has participated in a number of Hudson Valley Youth Soccer League (HVYSL) indoor and outdoor tournaments. Recently, Parker has joined the Hudson Valley Soccer Referee Association (HVSRA) Referee Academy and HVSRA anticipates that the additional support and education will afford him greater opportunities in the future as an official.

Despite training, playing or officiating five to seven days per week, Parker consistently maintains an A average in school. Playing soccer has been his passion and officiating has allowed him to grow as a player and as a person. He volunteers with the Highland United Soccer Club at their weekend training sessions, where he hopes to cultivate a new generation of soccer players and teach a younger generation to love the sport. Parker can also frequently be found in his backyard with his eight-year old sister, running her through soccer drills. Parker is well-liked and well-respected by peers and coaches, having been named as the team captain for two of his club teams. As a current sophomore, was recently named to the Section IX, Class B All-Class team.

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