The Long Island Junior Soccer League held its Club Development Day of the fall at the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview, N.Y. last Saturday.
This is the third consecutive year that the LIJSL is holding these festival-type events with two more dates scheduled for Oct. 28 and Nov. 17, also at the Collins Soccer Park.
Under-7 and U-8 boys and girls teams from 17 LIJSL clubs from Hewlett/Lawrence to Manorville and Southampton played on 18 fields. As per U.S. Soccer’s Players Development Initiatives, the teams played 4 v 4 with no goalkeeper, no referee, no scores, no standings and with a number three ball. Teams played three high 20-minute games and Red Bulls coaches gave clinics to festival players on an adjacent field.
“A festival such as this reaffirms the fact that the players need to play, they need to think and they need to create their own solutions,” ENYYSA director of coaching instruction Tim Bradbury said. “Coaches therefore should really only ask questions rather than giving orders.“
Many of the intramural players never played any teams outside their own club so it was a new experience for them to play against different color shirts and different towns.
Manorville coach and former St. John’s University goalkeeper Jon Urbom said, “We’re coming back for the next Club Development Day on Oct. 28.”
For more information and to register for the Oct. 28 and/or Nov. 17,contact Club Development Day director Steve Padaetz at [email protected] or 631-648-9020.
