Adding to the Club-To-Club PDI program, LIJSL hosted a pair of 7-v-7 festivals this spring on May 18 at Peter C. Collins Soccer Park and June 23 at SUNY Old Westbury. This year marked the first time these festivals were introduced to the League calendar.
The goal of the festivals was to acclimate U8 boys and girls to the rules they will encounter when they move to travel soccer in the fall. As with the PDI program, the players having fun and learning rather than focusing on the competition aspect of the game is paramount.
“They went very well – games were broken into quarters to allow the coaches to interact with the players more to teach them about some of the unfamiliar rules,” LIJSL Technical Director Ronan Wiseman said. “The referees were also part of the process by helping the players when they made mistakes and telling them what they did wrong and allowing them to correct mistakes.
During the festivals, 22 teams from 13 clubs across Nassau and Suffolk participated.
‘All the clubs were very happy with the experience,” Wiseman said. ‘We plan to continue with these festivals and expand on them as interest grows.”
More info on the PDI program can be seen here.