This year might be a turkey but that did not prevent three Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) clubs with a long history in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) from hosting their Alumni Games over Thanksgiving weekend, including the Rockville Centre Soccer Club.
It’s a time to renew old friendships while the weather is still conducive for kicking around a soccer ball on an open field. These Alumni Games have endured for decades as the friendships made on youth soccer fields often last a lifetime. In addition to RVC, the Oceanside and Garden City clubs also hosted games.
Founded in 1971, the RVC Soccer Club has the oldest Alumni Games, as it started over 50 years ago in the mid-1960s when the graduates from South Side High School boys’ varsity team got together. It evolved into a club-run event approximately 25 years ago, said Peter Bralower, a 1971 SSHS graduate and one of the club’s original members.
Bralower played for legendary coach Art Raynor and is instrumental in running the alumni games each year. It is now named the Bob Livingston Alumni Game in memory of the original RVC Soccer Club Board Member. This year’s event took place on Saturday, Nov. 28 at the newly-turfed Tighe Field, named after board member, coach and former player Steve Tighe who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Past sites include what’s now named Hempstead Lake State Park, Covert Elementary School and RVC Park.
“This year's game was dedicated to long-serving board member, coach, club treasurer, field scheduler plus Eastern New York ODP coach Richard Schroeder, who passed away this past October,” Bralower said. “We didn’t have as big of a turnout as usual because of the pandemic, but last year we had over 50 men and 20 women play.