|
|
February 03, 2010 | 11:07 AM
After winning four consecutive Long Island Junior Soccer League Divisional Championships, the Three Village Soccer Club's Stony Brook Academy team has been invited to compete in the Umbro International Cup in England next year.
| | 
|  |
| |  | | 
| | | Coach Mark Nash, left, and assistant coach Joe Milazzo, with members of Stony Brook Academy, the under-13 girls team invited to compete in Great Britain in 2011.
Courtesy Mark Nash (click for larger version) | |
Academy head coach Mark Nash of Miller Place said the all-girls team, which consists of 17 members who are under the age of 13, is actively seeking financial support through sponsorship and donations to travel to England in the summer of 2011. Nash, who began coaching the team nearly four years ago, said the girls will represent not only Stony Brook but also the United States at the Umbro Cup, an annual competition that draws hundreds of teams from all over the world.
In addition, the team was recently accepted into the prestigious Northeast Regional Premier Division, which consists of athletes from several eastern states including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, according to Nash. Six players from Stony Brook Academy have also been selected to participate in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association's Olympic Development Program, designed to provide high-level training to enhance development.
While traveling to England to compete in the Umbro Cup will be doubly exciting for the coach, who moved to the United States from England in 2003, the team's accomplishments are what matter most to Nash, a soccer coach for over 20 years. "This is great for us as a club and a community," he said, noting that the girls have "wildly exceeded my expectation of where they'd be" at such a young age.
For his leadership and exemplary sportsmanship record, Nash was named the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association's Coach of the Year for 2009. The award, which was presented during a ceremony in December at the Sand Castle catering hall in Franklin Square, was a "lovely surprise," Nash said. "It spoke volumes of how hard the girls have worked and what they've achieved in the past few years."
Mark DeRevere, president of the Three Village Soccer Club, said Nash "brings a real spark of excitement" when he coaches the team. "He's great with children," DeRevere said. "He's got that special something. He respects the kids and knows how to get them excited about whatever they're doing. It's very obvious that he cares deeply about the girls having success and really getting the most out of their abilities."
DeRevere, a South Setauket resident who became club president five years ago, described Nash as a "great guy" and said he is "very happy" that Stony Brook Academy will represent the club and the nation at the Umbro Cup next year.
For information about sponsorships and donations for the team's trip to England, email Nash at mlnash73@aol.com.
| |
|
|
|
| |
Copyright 2010
(631) 751-7744 | news@tbrnewspapers.com | www.northshoreoflongisland.com | About |
|
| |
|
