Rockville Centre's Joshua Levine was named best goalkeeper in the 1998 age group while competing for Region 1 at the US Youth Soccer ODP Boys Thanksgiving Interregional in Casa Grande, Ariz., from Nov. 24 to 26.
ODP is considered the highest level of competition in all of youth soccer, according to Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations for the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA).
Levine is a member of the ENYYSA's Olympic Development Program (ODP). He also plays for South Side High School where he was one of two freshmen to make the varsity team this fall.
In the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), Levine has played for the Rockville Centre Revolution since the team’s inception at boys under-10.
“Josh is a gifted athlete with good size, strength and surprising agility to match,” Revolution coach Cameron Livingstone said. “He is a committed player who reads the game well, is eager to learn, demands a lot of himself and urges the best from his teammates. I always marvel how Josh would make a spectacular save on a shot that everybody thought was a sure goal – psychologically deflating opponents while inspiring his own team.”
This Revolution team takes its name from the original Rockville Centre Revolution team that was in the news in 2001 when their 41-year-old coach, Steve Tighe, was killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Livingstone took over coaching the Revolution after the tragedy.
“The original Revolution was a great group of boys and, for me, an opportunity to try to continue the level of development and love of the game that Steve imparted,” Livingstone said. “As that team finished high school and my own son began travel soccer, we named the new under-10 team the Revolution. It is an honor and legacy that I always remind the boys of, especially when we have a game at Tighe Field in Rockville Centre.”
The above story was submitted by Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association.
