By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
November 25, 2019-Ask any adult who has played organized soccer what they enjoyed about it and one of the answers will almost always be about the lifelong friendships that started on soccer fields. Three Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) clubs with a long history in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) certainly recognize this and will host Alumni Games this week.
Thanksgiving is utilized as people are home for the holiday and the weather is still conducive for outdoor soccer on Long Island. It’s a time to relive memories while kicking around a ball.
The Oceanside United Soccer Club, founded in 1962, start the fun off at 10:00 am on Thanksgiving morning, November 28 when they play their annual Turkey Bowl at Oceanside Park. As Oceanside United has hosted the Turkey Bowl every year since 1990, this is the 30th edition of the game. For more info, please contact Rich Eisenberg at iraricheis@yahoo.com
The Garden City Centennial Soccer Club, now the largest club in Eastern New York, kicked off play in 1969 and its name comes from its first year being the 100th anniversary of the Village of Garden City. So 2019 is the club’s 50th anniversary. Garden City's Alumni Games began over two decades ago with men playing plus a women’s match was added in 2010. This year’s games will be on Saturday, November 30 from 12:30 to 3:00 pm at Garden City High School.
Commemorative shirts are given to the first 100 alumni who show up. There is a suggested donation of $20 that will go to Garden City Centennial player development and the club will provide food at Doc O’Grady’s Irish pub in Garden City South after the games. For more info, please contact Jimmy Connolly at connollyclan6@verizon.net or 516-967-1703.
2018 Garden City Alumni Games
Founded in 1971, the Rockville Centre Soccer Club is the youngest of these three clubs but has the oldest Alumni Games as they started in the mid-1960s when the graduates from South Side High School boys varsity team got together. The games have evolved into a club-run event with women playing too. The women will be playing at 1:00 pm and the men at 2:30 pm on Saturday, November 30 on Peter Bralower Field at the Rockville Centre Sports Complex. For more info, please contact Peter Bralower at pbralowe@optonline.net
With approximately 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.