By:Nyssa Francis
The Shooting Stars, an under 13 girls team with the East Meadow Soccer Club, undoubtedly lived up to their name this past spring season, boasting a performance that outshone many.
In June the Shooting Stars defeated the defending state champion East Meadow Dynamite 2-1, to win the Snickers Open Cup in a rare East Meadow vs. East Meadow confrontation. The tournament, a competition of eastern New York soccer teams, took place at the North Rockland Soccer Complex in Haverstraw.
"It feels good [to win]," said Sade Ayinde, Shooting Stars' tri-captain.
Although the girls are clearly proud of their recent accomplishments, humility is not lacking. "We haven't done well with arrogance," said head coach Tom Alio, whose daughter Sarah plays for the team. "We've done it by being prepared and focused."
In their last season, the Shooting Stars became the first team in half a decade to win the triple crown. That means the girls not only won the state championship but also their division, beating out a group of teams from the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), and the Waldbaum Cup, an open tournament of Long Island squads.
And when they won, they did it with grace and class. The Shooting Stars took home a sportsmanship award this past season, given to the team that displays the best performance in a series of categories including propriety and uniform neatness on the field.
"It's not like we're angels on the sidelines," Alio said. "We do have our 'discussions' with the refs but we have them respectfully."
Alio actively encourages the development of leadership skills among his players. The team has two permanent captains, Ayinde and Erin Breen. A third captain slot is rotated among the players and is currently held by Kate Arthurs.
Alio created the rotating position so every member of the team could have the opportunity to develop leadership skills. When asked what the hardest thing about being captain was, Ayinde and Arthurs answered almost simultaneously: "Getting everybody to listen."
The team is ethnically diverse. Most of the girls are first generation Americans, with parents emigrating from countries such as El Salvador and Puerto Rico.
The coaches also recruited players from across Long Island to the Shooting Stars, so the girls hail from several different towns. "It's like a melting pot," said Fernando Mejia, whose daughter Kimberly plays on the team.
The coaches and parents seem to unanimously agree that diversity is an integral and beneficial aspect of the growth and development of the team.
Mejia maintains the team's diversity is particularly crucial since it provides an experience some of the girls may not get at the more homogeneous Long Island schools.
The Shooting Stars' success this past year is the result of no small sacrifice on the part of the girls' parents. The parents absorb the bulk of the team's traveling expenses and front money for other costs.
It adds up to a lot, considering it costs just under $10,000 a year to run the Shooting Stars.
Having done phenomenally in the spring, the team has no intention of resting on its laurels.
The American Ref-fuel tournament is fast approaching and the girls will be participating. The annual tournament features 350 to 400 teams, some from as far as Canada and Bermuda.
Alio has also decided to up the ante for his girls in the upcoming season by allowing them to skip the under 14 group and play in the LIJSL under 15 group.
"We won't be going with any expectations," Alio said. "It'll be a challenge for the girls."
