SILVER LAKE SOCCER ACADEMY
December 20, 2019 Newsletter
FALL 2019
LEAGUE RESULTS

Congratulations to all players and coaches on a very successful Fall 2019 season. Each team should feel proud of their accomplishments this season as all players continue to develop under our dedicated staff of coaches and trainers. Special recognition goes out to the following teams for winning their respective divisions in the Fall 2019:

  • SLSA U10 Electric--Girls U10 Northern Counties League Winners
  • SLSA U12 Falcons--Boys U12 Northern Counties League Winners
  • SLSA U14 Cobras--Boys U14 EDP North Atlantic Premier III - South Champions
COLUMBUS DAY
TOURNAMENT WINNERS
Over twenty SLSA teams participated in tournaments in several different states. The club had a great showing in many of the tournaments including a clean sweep of four divisions at the Mount Olive Columbus Cup! Check out our Columbus Day Tournament recap:

  • SLSA Empire--Boys U9 Mount Olive Columbus Cup Champions
  • SLSA Thunder--Boys U10 Mount Olive Columbus Cup Champions
  • SLSA Titans--Boys U11 Mount Olive Columbus Cup Champions
  • SLSA Cobras--Boys U14 Mount Olive Columbus Cup Champions
  • SLSA Force--Girls U10 Parsippany Pride Columbus Cup Champions
NY STATE CUP GROUP WINNERS
Congratulations to the following teams on finishing in the top two of their respective groups and advancing to the knockout rounds of the NY State Cup for this Spring!

GIRLS U10 SLSA FORCE
BOYS U13 SLSA TIGERS
BOYS U14 SLSA COBRAS
STATEN ISLAND SPORTSPLEX
Silver Lake Soccer Academy was mentioned as a featured partner in a press release released by the Staten Island SportsPlex. The facility was recently upgraded with a brand new turf field just in time for the winter season. Our club was able to secure the facility on weekdays from 6-9PM. It has been a great addition to our winter indoor training venues and continues to allow us to provide year round training for all of our players.
SLSA U14 COBRAS WIN
SI HIGH SCHOOL SHOWCASE
Club President Chris Vega, organized Staten Island's first ever High School Showcase held on November 22nd at St. Joseph by the Sea High School.

The tournament featured four of the top soccer programs on Staten Island. SAFA, Staten Island Soccer Club, Cedar Stars Academy and Silver Lake Soccer Academy all sent their 8th grade teams (2006) to participate. SAFA defeated SISC in the opener by a score of 6-1. Our SLSA Cobras won the marquee match by a score of 7-1 against Cedar Stars Academy.

The match was played in front of 10 coaches from Staten Island Catholic and public schools. The feedback was very positive from the coaches who were able to connect with all of the 8th grade boys to help with the recruitment process.
NEWLY APPOINTED
DIRECTOR OF TRAINING
COACH SELMON BLAKAJ
Silver Lake Soccer Academy is proud to announce that Coach Selmon Blakaj was promoted to Director of Training for this season. Coach Selmon has been one of the most successful coaches in the history of Silver Lake Soccer Academy. His teams have won local, state, regional and national competitions and finished the 2018-19 season as the #1 ranked U12 team in the United States. Coach Selmon brings a wealth and knowledge and experience to all of the teams at Silver Lake. He will continue to be present at training sessions and organize player pool sessions. He has also conducted several fitness and agility sessions that are available to all players at the club. We are excited to expand Coach Selmon's role with the club so that he can have an impact on players at every age level.
NEWLY APPOINTED
DIRECTOR OF SOCCER OPERATIONS
KEN GRANOWSKI
SIlver Lake Soccer Academy appointed Ken Granowski as new Director of Soccer Operations. Ken's responsibilities include running the day to day operations of the club and acting as a liasion between the Board of Directors and the players, teams, coaches and parents. Additional responsibilities include scheduling, registration of players, communicating with referee assignors, attending league meetings, facility maintenance and securing rental facilities.

"Ken is the engine that keeps this club running. He always goes above and beyond his duties to ensure that our kids have the best soccer experience that our club can provide. He works tirelessly to support this club on weeknights and on weekends and is a major reason that we continue to be one of the best values on Staten Island" --President Chris Vega
SLSA CLUB SPIRIT NIGHT/MODELL'S APPRECIATION MONTH
Our Board of Directors organized our club's first ever SPIRIT NIGHT at Dave and Busters. On November 11th, orange jerseys from Silver Lake packed Dave and Buster's to capacity! Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis happened to be at the venue and took notice of the great spirit on display by the players, parents and coaches. She met with Club President Chris Vega and some players for a quick conversation and photo opportunity. She commented on what a great turnout we had and was impressed with our players getting together to support local business' in the community. We also had a successful partnership with Modell's Sporting Goods during their club appreciation month in October. Our players enjoyed discounts on soccer equipment and apparel and the club received a check from them as well!
SLSA OVER 30 MEN'S TEAM
Our club continues to move toward becoming a full service soccer club and are happy to announce the creation of a men's team that is currently competing in the Over 30 division at DTS. This small sided league is composed of many coaches and former players from Silver Lake. The team is led by Club President Chris Vega and Club Trustee Nicola Cirrincione.
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
Our teams continued the tradition of supporting women around the world during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. Coaches spoke with players about the importance of the women in their lives getting routine check-ups for continued health and to continue to raise money to fund research to find a cure!
Former President and founder of SLSA Frank Cannizzaro (top left) is pictured with original Silver Lake Soccer Club founder Dr. Nigrin (bottom left) along with their wives Dolly and Roseann.
A SPECIAL THANKS

SLSA would like to thank Frank Cannizzaro for his vision, dedication and work ethic that served as the foundation of our club's philosophy over the years. Our club will continue to evolve to keep up with the changing landscape of youth soccer, however we will always adhere to the philosophy set forth by Dr. Nigrin and Frank to ensure that we continue to dedicate our time and energies to develop the soccer players on Staten Island. Both men influenced a generation of soccer players.

Frank's tenure as President enabled tremendous growth for the club as he took the club from 2 teams to over 20 when he retired. His commitment to recruiting players and coaches were an integral part of this growth. His work behind the scenes was only seen by those closest to him, but it allowed our club to remain a prominent figure on Staten Island. We wish him all the best as he enjoys his retirement and look forward to seeing him at some games in the future!
FREE PRE-TRAVEL PROGRAM
Boys and Girls born in 2013 are invited to sign up for our FREE Pre-Travel program. Players will be invited to an ID session and selected players will begin training this spring. Players will take part in Soccer Festival style tournaments and weekly training sessions to prepare to be a full travel team by the Fall 2020. Stay tuned for ID Session dates to be released after the new year.

"Our pre-travel program was very successful last year and led to the creation of our two current U8 teams. We look forward to continuing to build our club from the bottom up with the addition of new U8 teams for next Fall." --Club VP David Brusco
A Message from Club President Chris Vega
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our players, parents and coaches for a great start to the 2019-20 soccer season.

As many of you may have heard, my wife Jamie was diagnosed with breast cancer on May 30, 2019. We were overwhelmed with support from our Silver Lake family and feel so blessed that so many people reached out in so many ways. My family has much to be thankful for this Holiday season as she continues her recovery.

Jamie, Ryan, Aidan and I would like to thank everyone from the club for your thoughts, prayers and support over the past few months. We hope that you and your family have a very Happy Holiday season filled with health, happiness and lots of good soccer!

Chris Vega
Club President
Silver Lake Soccer Academy
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