By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
December 9, 2021-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased to announce that Efrain Nino of Queens United in the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) is being honored as our Boys Competitive Coach of the Year. Efrain is being honored for this award along with Jair Rambal of the North Star Soccer Club.
There is no doubt that Coach Efrain, thanks to his teaching, has gotten the best out of Evan as a soccer player. Queens United is usually under-resourced as compared to other teams they play. They practice at Flushing Meadows Park without goals (we sometimes use garbage cans or whatever else we can find) or a decent field. These conditions, however, create grittiness that has helped Efrain and Queens United thrive on behalf of the kids. As someone born into difficult circumstances in Colombia, Coach Efrain teaches the kids perspective and that you can still be a terrific player without all the resources. For example, he will sometimes have the kids practice without shoes like he did growing up and will tell the kids stories about how they used to play with a beaten-up ball on dirt in Colombia.
This perspective not only helped the team succeed – they played in the Premier League in the LIJSL for a few years and won multiple LIJSL Sportsmanship Awards – the kids really saw Coach as a role model in life and appreciated that he was always there for them. When the kids were not doing their homework, parents would ask Efrain to say something and he always would remind them how fortunate they are and that they would not play if they didn’t get their schoolwork done. Amazingly, his efforts always worked.
Ultimately, many of these kids participating in youth soccer will not become professionals but it is the experience that they learn from, and it is our responsibility as parents to surround our children with good people who they can learn important lessons from and emulate. These kids spend many hours a week with their coaches so it is vital they are with good people which Coach Efrain, without question, is."
With approximately 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 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. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. 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. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/