NYCFC Youth Affiliate
NYCFC Youth Affiliate, downtown United Soccer Club, participating in New York City FC’s 2nd Annual City in the Community Schools Cup, such as Pietro Ellie, 13 years-old, who loves soccer very much.
From the crest of the hill near the soccer fields at Randall’s Island last Saturday the view was of a sea of light blue shirts under the RFK Bridge. NYCFC was hosting the City in the Community Schools Cup, which brings together nearly 200 4th and 5th-grade soccer players from across New York City. The event emphasized core values and sportsmanship above winning. Students from Chinatown to East Harlem to the South Bronx participated in the tournament, which Harlem’s P.S. 83 coach Junior Villegas called “a celebration of community soccer in New York City.”
Sixteen schools participated in the tournament. Throughout the year each one hosts a City in the Community youth soccer program after school or in the evenings. Coach Junior explained that each school chooses 10 or 11 players for the Cup based on “the four A’s: athletics, attendance, attitude and academics.” Each team plays three matches, and then eight teams advance to the quarterfinals. The four victors play semifinals, and the semifinal winners play a final match.
After a grueling morning in the sun on Field 70, the team from PS 70 of Astoria, Queens, emerged victorious over PS 49 from the South Bronx thanks to four goals from one player, their striker– but not without a challenge, as a PS49 centre back roused the crowd of parents with a cracking effort from midfield.
The City announced that the Community Soccer program is now a fixture in the lives of the families who were there on the sidelines. Carmela, a mother of four from East Harlem, has watched her two daughters learn soccer through the program. Emily Campos, who learned soccer through Saturday Night Lights – a weekend program organized by NYCFC and funded by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office – now has such a command of the game that she works with the club to introduce soccer to the next generation of players.
When asked what he liked most about the Cup, 9-year-old PS 83 student Aaron Ruiz replied, “I just love being here, because it is fun to play soccer!”
Even though some of the PS 49 players appeared disheartened by the 4-1 outcome, their faces took on a different sheen when they were presented medals by NYCFC midfielder Mikey Lopez as the parents stood by and applauded!
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