Staten Island Youth Soccer League Makes a Great Save
New York Soccer News: This save did not occur on a soccer field. The Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact America’s youth soccer players, soccer coaches, and youth soccer clubs … and it also awards all of us the opportunity to give back when we can.
Sometimes great saves do not involve goalkeepers.
When the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) sought nominations for our Of the Year Awards, including the Save of the Year, different videos were submitted including for the winning entrant, goalkeeper Duran Lee of SC Gjøa Nordtveit in the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL).
A Save of the Year nomination that did not win but was very creative and heartwarming came from Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL) volunteer Liz Morano. She wrote:
As New York State spiraled down into the depths of the COVID-19 crises and New York City became Ground Zero once again, all soccer activities were “paused“ along with just about every other aspect of our daily lives.
We were bombarded hourly with stories of suffering and death. Stories abounded of overloaded ICU’s, health care professionals overworked and on edge plus essential workers battling this terrible disease. Further exacerbating the situation was an extreme shortage of PPE for all front line workers.
Very early on in the crisis, the SIYSL Charity Committee became aware of an opportunity to purchase PPE. They immediately conferred with the Executive Board who gave the thumbs-up. Our charity budget was used to purchase thousands of masks which were then distributed across Staten Island to organizations in need.
Who knows how many lives were saved by the quick and decisive action of both the Executive Board and the Charity Committee?
It is for this reason, I hope that you will allow me to nominate Tom Baroz, Charity Committee Chair, along with Executive Board members Bill Smith, Rob Libertelli, Rich Nellis, Mike Segreto, Anthony Piciscottano, Fred Cipriani and Maureen Motley for the Save of the Year.
Photo montage of SIYSL volunteers distributing masks throughout the borough
In early April, the SIYSL secured 12,000 disposable masks and distributed them to local hospitals, nursing homes, NYPD, and FDNY first responders.
“This was a donation valued around $9,000 from the league to New York City.
Fred Cipriano, the league’s Treasurer
“We believe it is important for the league to support our community and our constituents, many of whom are nurses, doctors, medical technicians plus members of the NYPD and FDNY,” said Fred Cipriano, the league’s Treasurer.
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: With 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) reaches 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.
