Rockville Centre Soccer Hosts Its Annual Alumni Games

Many people play and watch football on Thanksgiving but in Rockville Centre, the holiday is also associated with fútbol as the Rockville Centre Soccer Club played its Alumni Games that weekend.

The Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) club kicked off play in 1971 but its Alumni Games pre-date the club as they started in the mid-1960s when the graduates from South Side High School boys varsity team got together. The games, now named the Bob Livingstone Alumni Games, then evolved into a club-run event with women playing too.

Nowadays, a short mass e-mail is sent to graduates of the club letting them know about the upcoming games and reunion. It worked as 55 men and 12 women played on Saturday, November 26 at Peter Bralower Field in the Rockville Centre Sports Complex. Each player received a red or white T-shirt. The women played at 12:30 pm, the “old guys” kicked off at 1:30 pm and the “young guys” played at 2:30, then there was an alumni party at Kasey’s American Grill in Rockville Centre.

Thanksgiving is utilized as people are home for the holiday and the weather is still conducive for outdoor soccer on Long Island. It’s a time to renew friendships and relive memories while kicking around a ball. With many players going to goal and paying little attention to defending, scores are sometimes in the double digits as the goalkeepers get a real workout.

The games were played in honor of Bob Livingstone, a longtime, living member of the community who was Club President, Board member, coach and Eastern New York Olympic Development Program (ODP) girls coach. Donations were given for the 22K Organization that supports mental health, particularly suicide prevention among veterans especially since Rockville Centre lost a club member in 2016 to suicide. The goal of the organization is a challenge to people nationwide to do 22 million push-ups.

With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.