Hicksville’s Noelle Batista Awarded Eastern New York’s Jack Bauman Scholarship
New York Soccer News: The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) congratulates Noelle Batista of Hicksville, who has received a Jack Bauman Scholarship.
Noelle wrote in her essay that “the first soccer trophy that I ever received dates back to 2001, when I was just four years old. At that age, soccer was simply a game of fun where I got to run around with my friends and chase after the ball, but what I did not realize was how much of an impact the game would have on my life. After taking on the leadership role of my team, I learned the significance of responsibility and what it meant to lead by example. It not only required individual skill, but more importantly the communication and willingness to work with my teammates to win a game.”
At Hicksville High School, Noelle captained the girls varsity team to its first ever county championship game and was honored as All-State and All-County in addition to being All-County in lacrosse plus receiving Scholar/Athlete Awards in soccer, lacrosse and track. She was a member of the National Honor Society, English Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Social Studies Honor Society and on the Principal’s List all four years of high school.
In the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), she played for the Hicksville Americans Soccer Club and has been an assistant referee for the past four years for the Long Island Soccer Referee Association (LISRA). She somehow found the time to volunteer with the Jones Beach Breast Cancer Walk, Autism Walk, the Wellness Fair and the Turkey Bowl fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy victims.
Noelle will be majoring in biology and pre-med plus playing soccer at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The scholarship’s namesake, Jack Bauman, is considered the father of women’s soccer on Long Island. He was devoted to the Massapequa Soccer Club, Eastern New York and making sure that girls had as many opportunities to play soccer as boys did in an era when girls playing sports was not as accepted as it is today.
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: 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 11 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 Special Children. 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.
