By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
September 28, 2021- At the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) Annual General Meeting, longtime player, coach and volunteer Michael Longo was elected as our 4th Vice President.
Mike was introduced to the world’s most popular game when his older brother Vinny started playing so he and his twin brother Danny took up the game, wearing the red, white and blue of the Hicksville American Soccer Club.
“Also, our mother grew up across the street from former LIJSL President Peter Collins on Benjamin Avenue in Hicksville so we always knew about soccer,” Mike stated.
Mike, now President and CEO of Krystal Produce in Westbury, returned to the Hicksville club in 2005 to coach when his oldest son Tanner started playing.
“I then started coaching the Hicksville Hawks, made up of boys born in 2002, when Tanner started playing travel team soccer. But then he wanted to play with his friends on the Hicksville Warriors of boys born in 2001 so I started coaching them,” Mike explained.
Mike then coached the Hicksville Storm (boys born in 2002) that his son Cole played on and also the Hicksville Kickers (girls born in 2005) that daughter Riley is on. Last season, he also started coaching the Hicksville Lightning of girls born in 2006.
The Lloyd Harbor resident’s coaching resume is completed by having been a staff member for the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) Coaching Academy, assistant coach of the LIU Post men from 1999 to 2003 and the Molloy men from 2003 to 2007 plus head coach of Long Island Lutheran High School boys varsity from 2017 to 2020.
Additionally, Mike started the 3-year-old program with the Hicksville Americans in 2006 and went on the club’s Board of Directors soon after as intramural director. Mike had two tours of duty on the LIJSL Board of Directors sandwiched around being the Hicksville American’s President from 2014 to 2017. For all this volunteering, Hicksville honored him as their Volunteer of the Year at the 2017 LIJSL Convention.