Soccer Club Bounces Back

Renewed effort in Philipstown to grow sport

The Philipstown Soccer Club, which lost two seasons in 2020 to COVID-19, is regrouping this spring with a newly redesigned website, focused outreach to parents and new connections to coaches at Haldane High School.

Carl Bon Tempo, who became a PSC coach in 2019 when his son joined one of the club’s travel teams, is the president.

“What the club tries to do is recruit at least one parent from every team that we field to be on what we call the executive board,” he said. “First, I said, ‘OK, I’ll be a board member.’ Then I became treasurer. Last summer, the president decided to step aside and I said, ‘I have the time to do it.’ 

“One of the challenges for the club since I’ve joined is making sure that folks in the community know this is an option for their kids,” he said.

The nine board members decided to “re-energize their efforts” to spread the word. They revamped the website at philipstownsoccerclub.org, making it easier to navigate and more visible in internet searches. 

They also contacted the coaches at Haldane. The boys’ varsity soccer coach, Ahmed Dwidar, runs clinics, and the junior varsity coach, Daniel Rotando, oversees the under-16 boys’ team. The U-16 girls’ team is led by the girls’ varsity coach, Mary Callaghan. 

The rebirth of the U-16 teams was a big deal, Bon Tempo said, because they had not been offered since 2019. “This is a great opportunity for older players who had to travel farther away to play, or played in other clubs, or didn’t play at all,” he said. “It’s a chance for them to polish their skills in the offseason.”

The club, which is affiliated with the Hudson Valley Youth Soccer League, welcomes players ages 6 and older from Cold Spring, Garrison, Philipstown and Putnam Valley. It plays in the spring and fall, taking on teams from other regional clubs, including those based in Beacon, Fishkill, Putnam Valley, Red Hook, Kingston, New Paltz, Brewster, Poughkeepsie and Carmel.

Bon Tempo said it has been a challenge to find volunteers who can spend 10 to 15 hours a week answering emails, developing practice plans, holding practices and coaching. The teams practice twice a week at Philipstown Park, and home games are played there on Sundays.

The spring season began in early April and will continue through June 23. “I’m looking forward to seeing more sophisticated soccer” by younger players, Bon Tempo said.