Residents Attend the 2010 Soccerfest

Glen Cove residents attended Soccerfest at on Saturday for a day of sports, awards and fun with the family.

Soccerfest, which is hosted by the Glen Cove Junior Soccer League (GCJSL), is a competitive series of tournaments that is held on the last day of the intramural soccer season. It is the only day of the season when the game is played as a competition. "They play for instruction and fun," said Dan Cox, a board member of the GCJSL.

Children from grades K-9 in the GCJSL intramural program are invited to participate each year to win special awards.

"When Marco Malusa founded this league over forty years ago, he founded it on participation, learning, fun, and the highest is sportsmanship," said Ken Pilla, president of the GCJSL. Even though all players receive a participation trophy, there is one coveted prize teams vie for each year: the sportsmanship award.

"It's based on points given out by the referees, and the board," said Pilla. "It's based on not how they play the game, but how they listen to their coaches."

The sunny and brisk weather, although a bit windy, provided for an overall beautiful day for the players and their families. Parents set up foldable chairs on the field, chatted with fellow residents, took pictures and shared in their children's excitement of winning trophies. Face-painting, balloons and barbeque was also provided for added enjoyment.

This is the fourteenth year for Soccerfest, which has become an event for local families to look forward to each year. "It's a great day for soccer and it's a great day for the kids to have fun and end the season on a high note," said Pilla.

"It's a lot of fun," said David Cruz of Soccerfest. His daughter, Veronica, 10, has taken part for five years.

"I've come to this event for probably the past 10 to 12 years," said resident Cheryl Carmody, who helped with the food stands with her husband and board member Martin Carmody. "All four of my kids have been in the program for as long as they could be, and it's a great program." She said she would have still attended even if her kids were not refereeing the games.

"This has been a great experience," said Eileen Masio, whose daughter is a first-time participant of the event. Masio is the Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships for Sports Illustrated Kids and Time for Kids Magazines. She compared the behavior of parents involved in Glen Cove's intramural sports with those whom she has met across the country.

"Glen Cove soccer is probably the most supportive, and they try and stress fair play and having fun over winning. So the kids walk away with a really high self esteem," she said. "Today is a really good example of all the kids coming together and playing fairly and nicely and supporting each other."

Held in conjunction with Soccerfest, the SAFE Inc. PRIDE Project Coalition presented their sixth-annual Health and Fitness Fair. It featured local vendors from health-based organizations, as well as giveaways and raffles.

The fair is organized in order to reach out to parents and children in Glen Cove, and to let them know about local services for living a healthy lifestyle, according to PRIDE Project Coalition Coordinator Paula Castiglia.

"We want to help the kids celebrate a healthy lifestyle in Glen Cove because we'd like to reinforce that positive behavior that we see, especially with the kids playing soccer," said Castiglia.

Volunteers from the Long Island Crisis Center were happy to be invited by the coalition to promote their cause: the Long Island Street Outreach Project. "What we provide is outreach and transportation services for runaway homeless youth," said project coordinator Hugh Delgado. "They are taken to a safe house where we provide counseling."

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