Eastern New York ODP Heading to Arizona to Play For the National Championship
Last summer, theOlympic Development Program (ODP) North team of girls born in 1998 from the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) won Regionals. Through the two ODP tournaments they played, Eastern New York won all five games against opponents from five different Northeast states, outscoring them 11 to 3.
ODP is considered the highest level of competition in the state and these teenagers from Staten Island to Saratoga Springs will be representing Eastern New York as they play for the national championship in just over a week:
The Final Four will be held at the Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, Arizona. Eastern New York would have to be considered the underdog in the national semifinal next Friday, February 27 against Southern California’s Cal South ODP as their opponents can play outdoor soccer right now in similar weather to Arizona while Eastern New York cannot with a foot of snow on the ground and a deep freeze all over the Empire State.
Nevertheless, our players are making the best of the situation by training on turf at the Newburgh Armory, one of the top indoor facilities in New York.
“We have always tried to minimize the effect of our climate for teams in the Northeast when playing outside of Region One. We’ll have to be ready to go as we should be able to get two training sessions in Arizona to adjust as much as possible prior to our first match,” commented head coach Jason Weisberg, who is assisted by Jim Shapiro in coaching the team.
The other national semifinal features Iowa against Georgia with the championship and consolation games scheduled for Sunday, March 1.
“We’ve been working on some larger concepts like how we want to defend in certain areas as well as working through some attacking options,” added Coach Weisberg. “A natural byproduct of the team spending time together is the hope that we can continue to keep the chemistry we had going through Regionals.”
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 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.
