Jonathan Kantrowitz Autobiography: Soccer

Aside from family and Queue, the biggest joy of my life has been my participation in soccer.

I was 16 years old, a senior in high school when a friend of mine asked me - "Why don't you try out for the soccer team?" "We have a soccer team?" I responded. The first soccer game I ever saw I was playing in. I started out playing JV but soon was promoted to a starting wing on the varsity. I was the fastest player on the team , but my ony skill was kicking the ball downfield and beating everyone to it.

My greatest soccer moment was stealing the ball from a goalie who bobbled it during the big game against our crosstown rivals, and passing the ball to a teammate who kicked it into the open net for a last minute victory. Of course everyone mobbed him, and only one person, my tennis coach, came up to me and congratulated me "I saw what you did."

I tried out for the Brown soccer team, but didn't make it. Friends of mine no more skilled than I, did play for college teams, but Brown had one of the best teams in the country.

P.S. Brown's football team had scored 24 points the previous season, with no field goals or points after touchdown. I practiced kicking all summer, but they had recruited an experienced kicker and didn't need me.

I contented myself by playing 3 games a day for a while - freshman gym, which anyone could join, then 2 sessions of intramurals - my one team and any other - there was always a team that needed an extra player.

Summers at home there was a pick-up game every night at Fairfield University.

One summer I organized a soccer league of 4 teams. The town Rec department actually paid me to run the league.

I played very little soccer for a while, but did play in a summer soccer league in Fairfield for a couple of years organized by my friend Dave Parker.

I began coaching my son in Rec soccer when he was 6. We organized a few coaches games in the years after that. See Soccer Coaching.

Finally, in the spring of 1987, when I was 42, 2 friends of my brother, Bob Josovitz and Fred Bader, organized an Over-30 Men's Recreational soccer pick-up group.

Gad Selig,

Israel Hersh and I are the only original players who still play.

Gad's son-in law and grandsons have played with us in family games and weekday summer games (open to HS+ players.)

Joe Provey and Peter Lowerson, both of them friends whom I had met through Rec soccer coaching joined our ranks soon after, but have since retired. Each of them has a son who now plays with us.

Other close friends who have played with us since the early days are

Don Doorly and Shlomo Shur. Shlomo's sons and Don's grandson now play with us.

Another player from the early days, who played with us until he recently moved to Colorado, was my good friend Tom Faughnan.

See Soccer - Later years for more info.

Some of my earliest Over-30 soccer friends, from my 50th birthday party. Clockwise from upper left: Gary Klar, Marty Birks, Alan Green, Bob Josovitz (one of the co-founders if the group.).