By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
March 11, 2020-A very small portion of the youth soccer games that I officiate unfortunately have teams deliberately fouling one another from the opening whistle. It used to be that these were either rivalry games or there had been a problem when the teams previously played one another.
Add another issue in the mix as people are trash-talking and trying to intimidate opposing teams on social media. And it’s not just confined to kids as their parents are getting involved too, often much more than their children. Could you imagine what that game will look like when the teams meet after jawing at one another on social media?
Recently, parents of an Eastern New York team in a
younger age group started writing derogatory things about an opposing team in Facebook posts. It’s very sad to read this stuff as adults are embarrassing themselves while their children are watching.
So as the Spring Season is about to kick off in Eastern New York, we encourage everybody––whether at the field or on social media––to be calm, be positive and let the players play, the coaches coach and the referees officiate for the good of everybody in youth soccer.
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.