Morningside Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, August 29, 2001

SUMMER OF SOCCER IS CONCLUDED

Four star players from the New York/New Jersey Metrostars visited two parks last week to mark the close of Parks’ Summer of Soccer program. Summer of Soccer 2001, presented by Parks and Major League Soccer, ran from July 9 to August 24. Over the course of the six-week program over 1,000 boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 19 participated in six-on-six drop-in soccer games and clinics.

Metrostars Tim Howard, Daniel Hernandez, and Martin Klinger visited the youth division, for players ages 8 to 14, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens on Tuesday, August 21. The Metro Mobile and mascot were on site, while players answered questions from the kids and signed autographs. Daniel Hernandez had just scored his first major league soccer goal, helping the Metrostars defeat Miami 3-2, and Tim Howard had also broken records by becoming the MLS goalkeeper with most saves.

Martin Klinger appeared again with teammate Steve Jolley at Manhattan’s Riverside Park on Wednesday, August 22. They held a question-and-answer session for the older division after which Steve Jolley jumped onto the field to show off his skills while Martin Klinger spoke about his experience as a Project 40 player, the group of players selected to play in the MLS straight out of high school. By Darah (Chance) Ross

HANDBALL HOPEFULLS TO ENJOY RENOVATED COURT

Council Member Stanley (Falcon) Michels; Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern; Adrian (A-Train) Benepe, Manhattan Borough Commissioner; and Robert Lucena, Deputy Inspector of the 26th Precinct were among those who welcomed community residents to a ribbon cutting ceremony at Sheltering Arms Pool in Manhattan on Tuesday, August 28. $178,000 in requirements contracts funded a set of improvements there that addressed both play spaces and green areas. In a previously unused corner of the 1.3-acre park, climbing equipment was installed and the ground was carpeted with safety surface. Along the pool deck, an array of evergreen and flowering plants were added. Sheltering Arms’ handball court also received renovation. Now that the wall has been scraped, patched, and repainted and its cracked cement reconstructed, it will make an appropriate training ground for participants in next summer’s citywide handball tournament.

Friends of Morningside Park, the West Harlem Art Fund, the Friends of St. Nicholas Park, Johnny Hartman Plaza, and Montefiore Park Neighborhood Association were all represented at the ribbon cutting. Each of these community groups works with Parks to help keep the neighborhood in good condition. The renovated Sheltering Arms site is one of their joint successes.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Wednesday, August 24, 1988)

PARKS TO SPONSOR SOCCER
TOURNAMENT FOR WOMEN

Parks, in conjunction with the New York Metropolitan Women’s Soccer League, will present the First Annual Founder’s Invitational Soccer Tournament for women 18 and over on Saturday and Sunday, September 10 and 11 starting at 9 a.m. on Randall’s Island. New York Soda will supply refreshments to all players.

The New York Metropolitan Women’s Soccer League, one of the first all-women leagues to be affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation, was founded in March 1978 to promote and maintain quality amateur competition for women. The League is conducting the tournament with Parks to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Fourteen to 20 teams are expected to compete in the two-day tournament.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a hyacinth.”

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