Albany High School Girls Soccer Program Collaborates with Beestera Foundation to Enhance Albany Youth Soccer Recreation Program
Recent partnership creates opportunities for more than 200 recreational players across the City of Albany to grow and improve their soccer skills.
11/15/2021
ALBANY, NY – For the first time since the fall of 2019, Albany Youth Soccer (AYS) kicked off the start of their seasonal recreation program in September. In an effort to enhance the program, AYS partnered with the Beestera Foundation to implement a new curriculum, provide coach education to volunteers, and ensure the program had quality equipment.
The Beestera Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting local sports clubs in underserved communities by providing scholarships, equipment, coaching education, and operational support.
“This season, we experimented with a new model. We wanted to connect players with high quality coaching and programming in a supportive environment where they could develop and fall in love with the game of soccer,” said Eric Guzman, Albany Youth Soccer Board President.
The Albany High School Girls Soccer Program, led by senior captains Miriam Eligberg and Ingrid Colfati, taught skills and drills to all age groups every Saturday throughout the recreational season.
“Working with the kids to develop their skills is a lot of fun, and it also helps me improve, as well,” said Scarlet Scarera, a senior midfielder on the Albany Girls Varsity Soccer Team.
“I love waking up every Saturday morning knowing I have the opportunity to encourage the Albany community to come together to provide a great opportunity for all players,” explained Josh Binfield, Director of the Beestera Foundation.
“This was truly a partnership. AYS leadership was there to set-up and run the program, the Albany High School girls soccer team led skills and drills and refereed games, and parent coaches facilitated scrimmages. All the while, every player proudly sported a t-shirt sponsored by a local organization. It has opened our eyes to what a community is, and I am glad the Beestera Foundation could help implement an innovative model for player development.”
The Beestera Foundation plans to continue partnering with Albany Youth Soccer in the future. The eight-week program costs a family just fifteen dollars, and teaches young players the skills necessary to reach their fullest potential.
For more information about how the Beestera Foundation can help your youth sport club or organization, please contact Josh Binfield at josh@thebeesterafoundation.com