Champions Crowned at the Big Apple Youth Soccer Finals in Queens
New York Youth Soccer News: Big Apple has players registered from four of the five boroughs of New York City
900 kids, mainly Latino, are registered in the Big Apple Youth Soccer League (BAYSL), and these kids come from the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, which is considered the most international borough as the people who live there were born in nearly every country in the world.
Additionally, the immigrant population in Queens is nearly 50% with those who are Latino making up more than one in four residents. So it’s very appropriate that the BAYSL held its finals on November 18 in Queens, at Flushing-Meadows Park.
“The kids came, they were happy and they were very well-behaved during our six final games,” commented BAYSL Founder and President Luis Montoya, also the Third Vice President of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA). “All of them received trophies and medals and the older age groups received a soccer ball too.”
The championship games pitted the teams that finished 1-2 in each division. In the small-sided finals, Vera’s SC defeated Latin Star Aguilas Boys, 6-1, in the Boys-Under-9 final, Las Islas Malvinas shut out Latin Star Halcones, 3-0, in Boys-Under-10, NorthStar Soccer had the right direction with their 3-1 win over New York Manchester in the Boys-Under-11 title match and Vera’s SC topped NorthStar Soccer, 4-3, in Boys-Under-12.
In the Boys-Under-13 championship game between two teams named “Kids,” Academia Super Kids defeated New York Kids, 2-0. In Boys-Under-14, NorthStar Soccer shut out Academia Super Kids, 1-0, in a very tight game.
Additionally, Latin Star won the Boys-Under-16 championship outright and did not have to play in a final.
Things are looking up for the BAYSL as 300 to 400 new players are expected to register in the league in 2018, according to President Montoya.
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) reaches 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.
