James Vogt helped save the Met Oval. (Photo courtesy of Gabby Vogt)
BRONX, N.J. — Former Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League president James Vogt, a major force saving in the Metropolitan Oval, was inducted into the Eastern New York Hall of Fame at the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association holiday party at Marina del Rey Saturday.
Vogt grew up in Ridgewood, Queens and played youth soccer for the GH Metros from 1974 to 1980. At 22-years-old in 1984, he started coaching their teams and did that on both the youth and senior level until 1997.
He served on the GH Metros’ board of directors from 1986-97. Vogt joined the CJSL board of directors in 1986 and had two tours of duty as CJSL president, from 1994-98 and 2000-02.
Vogt worked operations for the Brooklyn Knights Premier Development League and youth teams from 1999-12, served as ambassador to Soccer in the Streets from 1999-04, the USA Cup from 1995-05 and the Iber Cup from 2017 to the present.
Arguably, Vogt’s greatest impact on local youth soccer has been with the Metropolitan Oval. He founded the Met Oval Foundation in 1996. The foundation saved America’s most historic soccer field in 2001, rebuilding it from a dirt field with crumbling bleachers and feeble lights to a centerpiece for New York City youth soccer. Vogt then created a partnership between the Met Oval Academy and Juventus.
The Lynbrook, N.Y. resident has organized several events. That included 1994 McSoccerfest, 2001 Joga Bonito Nike, 2003 Nike 3v3, Nike Shoe Trails throughout New York from 2001-11, 2004 Manchester United, 2007 U.S. women’s national team, 2007 Russian women’s national team, 2009 Bulgaria men’s national team and 2012 Chile men’s national team.
Vogt was inducted into the CJSL Hall of Fame in 2013.
“I’ve travelled the world and things open up through soccer,” he said.
