By Cesar Diaz – NEW YORK, NY (May 26th, 2011) US Soccer Players -- In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, US Soccer Players is dedicating this feature to New York City’s Chinatown adult soccer league, City Soccer. Founded in 2002 by the NYC Chinatown Athletic Council (CAC), City Soccer is a year-round league that is open to anyone of race, creed, color, and gender.
As explained to me by League Director & founding member Raymond Cheung, the competition is 6v6 with twenty minute halves. In addition, a team has the option of all-male, all-female, or coed. Each league cycle runs for 8 weeks with games held on Sundays. Depending on the time of year, a league cycles maybe an eight, ten, or twelve team league. Once the league cycle has concluded, there’s also a tournament that every team is invited to participate in.
As a founding father of City Soccer, Raymond explained the purpose behind the league was to offer an affordable league for individuals who couldn’t afford the more expensive leagues throughout NYC. Another important reason he was driven to begin a soccer league was because he wanted to give back to his community.
“Playing soccer here most of my life, I would play against people of other cultures. If you live in NYC, you’ll know that Chinatown is nearby the Lower East Side and Little Italy. Back when I started playing, we didn’t understand each other because we each spoke a different language,” laughed Raymond.
“The only way we were able to effectively communicate to each other was through soccer. What we lacked in verbal communication was made up through hand gestures and sounds.”
Originally from Hong Kong, Raymond immigrated to the United States 14 years ago. Despite already being a passionate soccer enthusiast, it took him a year of adjusting to the customs of the United States before he started playing soccer with others.
“Coming from Hong Kong, I wasn’t accustomed to the diversity of the United States. As soon I felt comfortable of my new surroundings, I looked forward to playing against others,” he said.
While expressing his commitment to Chinatown, he made it clear that the fees they charge go to cover the cost of team jerseys, and operations of both the league & youth programs. Raymond believes the free soccer clinics as well as the after school programs offered by the CAC helps provide a healthy alternative for the younger generation.
“We are involved in Chinatown. We volunteer our time for both our Chinese and American holidays and celebrations. We help out with the Chinese New Year event… Christmas and Thanksgiving turkey drives for our low-income residents. We also hold fundraisers on a regular basis for causes out of Chinatown such as Japan.”
Following our conversation, Raymond invited me to return the following week so I could play a league game with his team. Accepting his offer, I spent the entire week working on my dribbling skills.
Sunday morning, I took the B train to arrive at Grand Street Station at around 10am. Between the corners of Chrystie St & Grand St, league games are held routinely at the Sara Delano Roosevelt Park. It’s about a 20-30 second walk from the station.
Playing soccer in a busy Chinatown Sunday is an experience soccer enthusiasts should try at least once. The location where City Soccer plays their league is definitely not your standard park where there’s plenty of trees and nature. It’s definitely not a spot where one is going to fly a kite and play a game of catch.
Even before you enter the pitch which happens to be surrounded by a chain link fence, you’re already dealing with the street and sidewalk din and traffic. It’s a busy part of the biggest city in the country. Cars clustered together, maneuvering in the slow dance that avoids the actual traffic pattern. Their horns, and the almost guarantee that you’re going to hear the sirens of either a police car or ambulance.
On the sidewalk, there’s the push of pedestrians. Though it’s obvious that a good majority of them are residents who are doing their Sunday shopping and chores, this is a popular tourist area. That includes the amateur photographers with no hesitation in simply stopping in a sea of people to take a picture. I’m willing to bet that most pre-game warm-ups don’t include almost getting elbowed in the face by someone trying to document the scene on Grand Street.
As ridiculous as this may sound, all of this occurred as I’m taking that 20-30 second walk to the park.
Despite the chaos that’s outside of the chain-linked pitch, drowning out the din wasn’t difficult at all. A huge part of it has to do with the simple fact that I was concentrating on the game and making sure that the soccer ball wasn’t coming my way as I waited for my chance to play.
I entered the game in the second half. Once in the game, it was easy to concentrate. A lot had to do with the fact that it’s a small pitch. As a result, the game is faster and more physical. Despite the language barrier I had with some of my new teammates, it didn’t affect the game. With a game as fast paced as the one I was in, our movement did the talking.
After the game, I went out to get lunch with the team which is something that’s customary within their circle. All in all I had fantastic time and it’s a great way to spend a Sunday morning in the city.
While it isn’t as flashy as some of the other leagues, City Soccer truly epitomizes NYC’s aggressive daily grind. The only difference between playing a match and dealing with the city is that the people you’re competing with are far more polite.
It’s really amazing one can be in the middle of a high traffic NYC area and it’s not noticeable if you’re playing an intensive game of soccer. For those of us used to the city grind, it’s highly recommended.
Cesar Diaz is a Columnist for USSoccerPlayers.com. In addition, he covers soccer for LatinoSports.com and 5 Points Press. Easily accessible, you may contact Cesar at cesar@latinosports.com and at Twitter @CoveringSoccer.
For more information about City Soccer, please go to: www.ny-soccer.com For more pictures, visit my facebook page.
