The Exceptional Senior Games Have Become a November Tradition in Guilderland
New York Youth Soccer News: The Exceptional Senior Games were started on Long Island in 1981 and continue there but another top all-start competition is near the state capital of Albany
The Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) started the Exceptional Senior Games in 1981 so that top high school senior soccer players could be scouted by college coaches all in one venue. This all-star competition spread throughout the United States and continues on Long Island 36 years later, although it’s now organized exclusively by Nassau County Boys Soccer and the Suffolk County Boys Soccer Coaches Association.
One of the most successful Exceptional Senior Games, in addition to the one on Long Island, takes place a long corner kick from the state capital in Albany every year. The Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL) will be organizing its Exceptional Senior Games on Friday, November 10, continuing its tradition of playing these games on or near Veterans Day, which is a day later. CDYSL volunteers have been organizing this competition of both public and private schools annually during its two decades of existence with the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) providing financial support.
”We organize everything, including providing jerseys and booklets with profiles on each player,” explained Exceptional Senior Games Director Italo Carcich of the CDYSL. “The only thing we don’t do is select the players during the tryouts as that is done by the Section 2 high school coaches.”
Approximately 120 college coaches will once again be scouting and meeting players on four fields at DiCaprio Park in Guilderland. The CDYSL invites all college coaches on the East Coast. Five boys all-star games and four girls all-star games will be played with the fun starting at 10 am. The beauty of this showcase is it allows college coaches to view at least a full half of any given game, before moving on to another game. If a head coach comes with an assistant coach, then each one can view the entire game.
“College coaches love this setup and their ability to view many prospects for their schools,” Carcich said.
Please join us for an exceptional day of soccer! For more info, contact the CDYSL’s Tammy Kishbaugh at cdysloffice@cdysl.org or 518-435-2325.
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: 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) reaches 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.
