LIJSL Honors 30 Years of Exceptional Soccer
11.27.10
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For years, the Exceptional High School Seniors Game has served as a culmination of the high school soccer season and a showcase for some of the best soccer players on Long Island. The Long Island Junior Soccer League celebrated 30 years of their affiliation with this great Long Island soccer tradition with games over the Thanksgiving weekend that attracted numerous college coaches.
The Exceptional High School Seniors Game was the original college showcase for Long Island’s public high school boys players. Games for the girls and the Catholic high schools were added in the 1980’s, making it a must see event that would draw as many as 250 college coaches. In addition to the actual games, players had a chance to meet face to face with college coaches in a college fair-type setting, which proved invaluable in the recruiting process.
The games have featured some of the best soccer players to ever play on Long Island including St. Anthony’s Chris Armas, who went on to play on the national team and professionally, and Chris Wingert, who went from St. John the Baptist , to St. John’s University All-American, to MLS champion. On the girls side, West Islip’s Danielle Egan (North Carolina), and Northport’s Andrea Zeman (North Carolina) and Kim Prutting (UConn) are among the players who took part in this game. But some of the greatest moments over the years have come from players that most people haven’t heard of.
There are so many kids who got the chance to play in the Exceptional Seniors Game, and had an opportunity to meet a college coach and make that connection,” said former chairperson and present committee member Pat Grecco. “No one knows exactly how many of those connections actually came from these games, but there are plenty of stories of players who thought soccer was over for them, but continued into college because of this showcase.”
“There was one year where a player who was participating as a shooter in the goalkeeper showcase caught the attention of a college coach,” added Beth Scafuri, who took over as chair of the program from Grecco several years ago. “He wasn’t even invited to play in the game, but he made the most of his opportunity to be here. When I think of the greatest moments that we’ve seen here, those are the kinds of things that come to my mind.”
The players who take part in the games and the goalkeepers showcase are selected by high school coaches throughout Long Island. The LIJSL provides their soccer complex at Peter C. Collins Soccer Park in Plainview as the venue, and also pays for uniforms, program printing, and other operational costs. The referees donate their time, and Citibank provides financial backing for the event as well.
For more information on the Exceptional High School Seniors Game, go to http://www.lijsoccer.com/Exceptionalseniors.html.