Soccer Kids NYC downed the Beacon Beasts for the ENYYSA Bouys U-12 Challenge Cup title in extra time. (Photo courtesy of ENYYSA)

Soccer Kids NYC defeated the Beacon Beasts, 5-2, in extra time in the Boys Under-12 Challenge Cup final. This Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association final was played at the Blue Sky Sports Complex in Middletown, N.Y. on June 1.

Soccer Kids compete in the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League, the Beacon Beasts in the Hudson Valley Youth Soccer League.

“They were hungry,” Soccer Kids NYC coach Eric Cevallos. “We lost in the final on penalty kicks last year. After Beacon scored to tie it up at 2-2 and send the game into overtime, we talked about it and then scored three goals in overtime.”

Lucas Miranda, Khaled Mahmoud, Oliver Liu, Miguel Cordero and Gerell Hoyte scored for Soccer Kids NYC.

Soccer Kids NYC will also be bringing back the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award, as determined by the game officials, to New York City. Amoroso, a US Soccer Life Member who died in 2016, started the Long Island Junior Soccer League Sportsmanship Program in 1980 and it spread to Eastern New York, nationally and then to China and Ireland.

STERLING — With school out for the summer, kids across the Sauk Valley have extra time and energy to burn. The Sterling Park District is offering a variety of summer sports camps to keep them active and engaged.

Diving

The SPD’s Dive Camp runs from 6-7:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday beginning June 17 through June 26 at the Duis Recreation Center, 211 E. 23rd St. in Sterling.

The camp instills confidence in young swimmers by covering beginning diving principles, including approach, basic dives and diving rules, utilizing the Duis Center’s pool and gym areas.

Dive Camp is open to children ages 8 and up, costs $40 to attend and no diving experience is required.

Soccer

The SPD’s Youth Soccer Camp begins on Monday, July 7, at the Westwood Fitness & Sports Center, 1900 Westwood Drive in Sterling. Children of all skill levels in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth will learn the basic fundamentals of soccer with an emphasis on technique.

Sessions for children in pre-K through second and third through fifth grade will run from 5:30-7:30 p.m. July 7-10. Kids in sixth through eighth grade can join sessions held at the same time from July 11-13.

The cost is $85 to attend and children who register by Sunday, June 15, will receive a free camp T-shirt.

Basketball

Westwood will also host basketball skills clinics for boys and girls in July. The clinics will teach the fundamentals of the sport while emphasizing proper techniques and are open to children of all skill levels in grades four through nine.

The boys’ clinic will run from Monday, July 14, through Friday, July 18. Clinics for boys in grades four through six will take place from 10 a.m. to noon, and from 1-4 p.m. for grades seven through nine.

The girls’ clinic will run from Monday, July 21, through Friday, July 25. Clinics for girls in grades four through six will take place from 10 a.m. to noon, and from 1-4 p.m. for grades seven through nine.

Registration is $75, and those who sign up by June 15 will receive a basketball clinic T-shirt.

Tennis

Westwood will also host a free week of outside tennis (Barcode 16453) from 10:30-11:30 a.m. July 14-17, for kids ages 7-14. Participants must register by Thursday, July 3, to receive a free gift bag. The event will be moved inside the Westwood Tennis Center in the event of rain. Contact Chris Dudley at 815-622-6063 with any questions.

The Westwood and Duis centers offer a variety of other classes for kids and teens, including gymnastics, aquatics, fitness and more. For more information or to register your child, visit Sterlingparks.org or call the Duis Center at 815-622-6200 or Westwood at 815-622-6201.

Koonsiri/Adobe Stock

June 15, 2025  |  by Ted Craft

A summer TOPSoccer program has been scheduled at Weston’s Morehouse Town Park, following a successful session in the spring.

The program is for young athletes in grades K–8 with physical or learning disabilities. Each player is paired with a volunteer buddy who is with them at all times on the field.

Five one-hour sessions run on July 14 through the 18^th from 4:00 to 5:00, featuring fun games, drills, and small-team soccer games.

TOPSoccer (The Outreach Program for Soccer) was launched in 1991, designed and now administered by US Youth Soccer, the nation’s largest youth sports organization. It is all about fostering physical and emotional growth, learning about being part of a team, and building social skills, fitness, and self-esteem. More important, it is designed to be fun.

The summer program fee is $50. Kids can be registered here.

At that same link, volunteers who would like to be TOPSoccer buddies can sign up to be part of the program. Buddies should be in seventh grade or higher.

Players need to wear sneakers or cleats and bring a soccer ball and water bottle. Parents must stay at the field for the entire session.

For more information about TOPSoccer, email Dr. Kerry Sheffield.

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This Sunday is Father’s Day, a time set aside to recognize and appreciate dads, stepdads, and father figures for the roles they play in families and communities.

Across the U.S., people are celebrating in different ways—from backyard cookouts and family dinners to simple phone calls or messages of thanks.

Father’s Day has been officially recognized in the U.S. since 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed it into law as a national holiday.

But it started much earlier.

The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington, in 1910. It was organized by Sonora Smart Dodd, who wanted to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who raised six children on his own.

Inspired by the already established Mother’s Day, Dodd pushed for a similar day to recognize fathers.

Over time, the idea spread, though it took decades to become a permanent holiday.

Father’s Day is often marked by giving gifts, spending time together, or simply saying thanks.

Popular gifts include tools, tech gadgets, clothes, and hobby-related items.

Some people choose to go out for meals or plan low-key activities like watching sports or going fishing.

For many, Father’s Day is a chance to pause and appreciate the people who helped raise them, whether that’s a dad, stepdad, grandfather, uncle, or mentor.

Happy Father’s Day!