NYS Meet the Coach

After a very long, very cold, very snowy winter, I woke up a little giddy in anticipation of “Meet the Coach” for Norwood Youth Soccer this morning. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the sky was blue.

As I turned the corner into the Coakley Middle School  at 8:45am, I was greeted by a familiar scene of a full parking lot and families milling around. The place was buzzing already, and it was 15 minutes early.

It was so nice to see so many people out and about after being cooped up inside so much this winter. People were smiling and seemed psyched to be trading in their winter gear for soccer jerseys.

Erik Bodenhofer, NYS’s Intramural Program VP, was close at hand greeting coaches, parents and players.  He describes the scene as “organized chaos.” Erik had been on site since 7:30 a.m. setting up equipment bags and arranging team supplies. Every coach is given an equipment bag with balls, cones, and pinnies. They’re also given their team shirts and a folder with their roster, some suggested drills, and a team schedule.

There was a short line at the registration table manned by John Goonan, NYS’s Travel Referee Coordinator and Executive Secretary. John directed families to their corresponding team's coach. After meeting their coaches, kids excitedly bounded around playing pick-up soccer on Field 1 while their parents played catch-up with friends.  

There were many NYS Board members, including NYS President Dick Penta, lending a helping hand at Meet the Coach. Dick mentioned how grateful he is that he has such wonderful people volunteering for the program. All board members and coaches are volunteering their time to the program.

 Many of the coaches in the program even coach multiple teams. Tracey Jones, U9 Coordinator and Challenger Program Coordinator, also fills her time by running the NYS Shoe Swap program. Players can trade their soccer cleats in for a different size, or they can pick up a pair for a $5 donation if they don’t have any to trade.  The shoe swap is available during the first week of play (Monday and Wednesday evenings during practice and Saturday morning of opening day, April 9, at the Coakley near the Shack, or the “Sugar Shack” as it is fondly referred to by a number of parents.

Norwood Youth Soccer has recently begun having sponsors for Intramural Teams. Laurie Shea has headed this effort up for the NYS Board. This is a way for NYS to offset some of the additional costs incurred in Field Fees paid to the Recreation Department as well as maintenance costs.  I spoke with Laurie today whose family has sponsored a team even though they aren’t a business owner. Laurie and her siblings pitched in to sponsor a team “In Loving Memory of Papa Bill” (Laurie's father) Her son, Jared Shea, 8,  plays on this team coached by Jonathan Zaldivar. He’s proud to wear this shirt and play for a team honoring his Papa’s memory.  

Dante Zaldivar also plays for the U9 Cobras and he is “excited to see his friends and just play.” Jaden Ryan, 9, plays for the Barracudas and he says, “we’re going to win."

One family was at Meet the Coach for the duration: the Curran family. They have three children – one at each age group. Caroline plays for the Cavaliers at the U6 level, Jack plays for the Harriers at the U7 level, and Maggie plays for the Typhoons at the U9 level. A Harrier is a type of bird, by the way.  No matter what team you’re playing for, NYS wishes everyone a wonderful spring season.