Ray Wolfe Honored as a Life Member by the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
New York Youth Soccer News: Eastern New York has honored Ray posthumously in addition to the many honors he received while alive
Up until the recent Annual General Meeting of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), we had five people who had been honored as Life Members—Jack Bauman, Chuck Blazer, Peter Collins, Peter Masotto and Howard Rubenstein. At the meeting in Nanuet on August 5, the Eastern New York Board of Directors unanimously passed honoring Ray Wolfe as a Life Member and adding this name to this very esteemed list.
“We are very happy to honor Ray Wolfe,“ commented Eastern New York President Richard Christiano. “He gave tirelessly of himself for decades as a player, coach, referee and administrator. With Ray, it was always about the kids!“
The native of Ridgewood, Queens started playing for the Kolping Soccer Club and B/W Gottschee in the German-American Soccer League, now called the Cosmopolitan Soccer League (CSL). As a young father, Ray coached his son, Ray Jr., playing for B/W Gottschee in the CSL’s junior circuit, the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL). Michael is his other son.
Ray began a stellar career as a referee in 1985 after he and his family moved to Franklin Square, Long Island. He quickly moved up the ranks from pee-wees to Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) youth games to amateur, professional and international matches. Ray officiated the World University Games in Niagara Falls in 1993 and did so well that he was assigned both a semifinal and the final. Two years later, he served as an assistant referee for the United Soccer League’s nationally-televised championship game.
He also excelled as a high school and college ref and was honored as the 2000 Official of the Year in the New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA).
Ray volunteered for many years as a Trustee for the New York Soccer Referee Association. In 2009, he received a promotion to State Youth Referee Administrator (SYRA), and tirelessly canvassed the Empire State to develop Eastern New York’s youth referees until his retirement earlier this year.
It has been said that beside every good man there is a good woman and the Wolfe family is no exception. Ray’s wife Hilda was a longtime Eastern New York staff member who was honored as the 2002 Region 1 Administrator of the Year. Both Ray and Hilda have been inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame and this is a rarity as just one other husband-and-wife team, Phil and Bessie Lamonica, are Eastern New York Hall of Famers.
Ray was also honored as Eastern New York Personality of the Month this February, upon his retirement from soccer. May our dear friend, who passed away on July 11, rest in peace!
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.
