Friday, by invitation of Peter Mullany, a Pelham resident and soccer aficionado, Street Soccer NYC traveled to the New York Athletic Club for their first ever 11 a side match. After coming up with the idea of the match and reaching out to SSNYC, Peter reached out to his group of pick-up soccer buddies, many of whom are members of the NYAC. Nearly 22 of them showed up to face off against the HELP USA squad of 14. SSNYC, without Dexter and Chris, both out because of work, relied upon our more recent members and the help of intern Kyle Curasi. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. Zack, Angel, and Osman stood out for their efforts and special mention should go to Mark Fritz who played his position very well.
The best part of the evening was the bonding and deeper understanding we built amongst ourselves, struggling to stay organized on such a big field. That was only matched by the warm welcome and feeling of acceptance that the men and their families from Pelham gave us after the match, hosting a barbecue there at the Club. As we mentioned at the meal, we would like to invite our new friends to learn more about our program and efforts off the field as well as for them to come back to Ward's Island for a "Home and Away."--We are feeling good with two away goals to our credit : )
In addition to our grateful thanks to Peter and his crew for the game, the equipment and the balls, our thoughts and prayers go out to Melissa, who fell and broke her wrist at the end of our match. We understand Melissa is a much loved and respected trainer to the youth in the Pelham community and we wish her a speedy recovery.
2 comments:
The Vuvuzela is an annoying plastic trumpet also known as a stadium horn that is constantly blown at all soccer/football matches in South Africa. It sounds like a deafening mix of angry elephants trumpeting, a swarm of buzzing bees and a fog horn. What can we do? Go to http://www.banvuvuzela.com/ Register with your name, country and email and then vote. Tell your friends and family to do so too. It is our intention to submit these votes to the relevant authorities who can do something about it. Together we can make our 2010 World Cup the best experience for all.
http://www.banvuvuzela.com/
The World Cup is about what happens on the pitch, not in the stands....
Post a Comment