4 AUGUST 5, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Soccer Kids NYC hosts afternoon of
fun and ice cream in Middle Village
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Soccer Kids NYC invited their soccer
players and families to “Ice
Cream with Coach,” a fun summer
event fi lled with games and plenty of
ice cream to go around for the kids and
their parents on Saturday, July 31, at
Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village.
Soccer Kids NYC turned the green
space next to 75th Place and Juniper
Boulevard South into a play area with
diff erent game stations like potato
sack race, tug of war, bean bag toss
games, obstacle courses and motor
skill games.
Coach Noe Canales explained that
Saturday’s event was the only time
they stayed away from soccer as much
as possible and that it was a chance for
the families, who come from all walks
of life, to socialize.
“These kids are always playing
soccer. So the summer event is a time
when they can wind down,” Canales
said. “They come and have some fun,
ice cream, and they have games at the
diff erent stations.”
Ramona Ciobanu, director at Soccer
Kids NYC, said that more than 200
families signed up for the event, and
they expected a total of 500 people.
Ciobanu was excited to be back aft er
they had to cancel the event last year
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The former special ed teacher explained
safety was their top priority.
“We were a little bit nervous at fi rst
because of COVID, but 99 percent
of our staff is vaccinated and our
volunteer parents are all vaccinated,”
Ciobanu said. “We also send out a
pre-screening to make sure that anybody
with a runny nose or fever, they
shouldn’t be here.”
Kids had their temperatures
checked upon arrival and received
a wristband aft er the temperature
check, with hand sanitizing stations
Soccer Kids NYC players and their families enjoyed an afternoon of fun at the Ice Cream with Coach event.
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
rounded up the safety measures.
Vincent Lozano of RealFi Home
Funding Corp., which sponsors the
shirts for Soccer Kids NYC, had high
praises for the soccer program. His
8-year-old son has been part of the
program since he was 3 years old.
“I enjoyed seeing him grow from
where he was, where he was now as
an individual,” Lozano said.
Assemblyman Brian Barnwell and
Congresswoman Grace Meng handed
out medals to the players of the two
traveling teams, which placed fi rst
and second place in their respective
age groups in the Cosmopolitan Junior
Soccer League this year.
Barnwell said he loved attending
the event, saying the soccer program
is “great.”
“The things that they teach here —
besides obviously soccer — are discipline
and hard work, and teamwork,”
Barnwell said. “You really can’t beat
that, especially in today’s day and age.”
Meng said she was proud of the
Queens families for overcoming the
obstacles the COVID-19 crisis caused,
adding that it was programs like Soccer
Kids NYC that allowed kids to grow,
especially aft er all the things they had
to miss out on during the pandemic.
“With kids on a team, whether you’re
a goalie, whether you score, it’s always
important to remember that every
single player on the team is needed
and is a necessary part of this game
and your success,” Meng said. “So, in
the game of life, I just wanted to say
thank you to everyone who made this
possible for our kids here in Queens.”
The year-round soccer program for
kids between the ages of 2-12 is available
throughout Queens and is inclusive
of children with special needs.
Coach Canales was particularly
proud that joining the soccer school’s
travel team was merit-based. Unlike
other programs where parents sometimes
have to pay thousands of dollars,
Soccer Kids NYC doesn’t care about
socioeconomic status.
“Anyone who loves the sport and is at
the right age is able to join our travel
team,” Coach Canales said. “There are
only two ways ever to leave the travel
team. That is attendance, if our children
don’t show up to training sessions
without any legal excuse, then that’s a
reason to leave the team, and the other
one is if they miss two actual games in
the regular season.”
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