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Mostly Cloudy Nassau Herald Hometown Hero: Sabino Vardaro of Hewlett
Hewlett-Lawrence Soccer Club President/Coach
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Sabino Vardaro of Hewlett.
The Covid pandemic has been a game-changer in the world of youth sports. As the president of the Hewlett-Lawrence Soccer Club, I have seen firsthand the strain it has put on youth programs across Long Island and our country. Although the larger programs have had their share of challenges, it is the small community-based programs like HLSC that have really struggled to remain open.
At first, the hardest part of the pandemic was the uncertainty. There were legitimate concerns from parents and players alike about the challenges facing our sport. Over the summer, we started to receive guidance from the various local governing bodies about how to “return to play.”
There would be a fall 2020 season. There was a scramble by clubs to find facilities. Countless hours were spent making phone calls, emails and attending Zoom meetings with school districts and various other venues.
The response from our community was very encouraging. The desire for our kids to get out and do something, anything was overwhelming. Travel teams had to be pieced together, sometimes merging with neighboring clubs to field a team in a certain age group.
Before the season began, there were Zoom meetings for club presidents, travel coaches and referees to make sure everyone understood — all eyes were on us. We had a responsibility to our team, club, community and to all of youth sports to adhere to the to the guidelines. The fall season was a success, and we’re looking forward to the spring 2021 season.
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