As soccer club grows, officers look forward

The Valley Stream Soccer Club has blossomed in recent years, going from about 600 members four years ago to about 1,000 this past spring. The growth has been great for the club and its members, but it has produced some needs that the leadership is looking to address, according to Timothy Graham, the club’s president.

Sitting in the organization’s office at Firemen’s Field, Graham said some big changes have greatly improved kids’ experience within the club. “In the last two years, the best thing we did was bring in the Red Bulls,” he said, referring to the professional New York team that provides coaches and training for the club’s own volunteer coaches.

The club also incorporated The Outreach Program for Soccer, or TOPS, a program for kids with disabilities, many of whom would have no other outlet for team play and might rarely get outside. Graham said parents were in tears as they watched their children experience the game’s excitement.

Peguy Maurice, the club’s scheduling and referee coordinator, said the organization is more structured than in the past. Coaches are background checked, and the club is more open in general. “It used to be more cliquey,” he said. “Coaches used to do their own thing.”

Andy Illiano, the club’s first vice president and intramural coordinator, said there is a push to improve the overall experience. They started having viewing parties of professional soccer games, which they got a big-screen T.V. for. He said that it’s about creating an environment for soccer. “We want to make kids fans of the sport.”

Graham said the club focuses on developing local kids and developing all players, rather than trying to build championship teams by “poaching” players from other areas, as some clubs do. Valley Stream’s richly multicultural community is great for that, he said.

With the success have come some growing pains. He noted the deterioration of the grass fields from so much use. He said the club would like to use an Astroturf field, but that could cost as much as $1 million. The grounds aren’t adequately lit for night games and practice, he said, and better permanent lights or portable ones would be helpful.