In 2007, VYSA will celebrate its 30^th Anniversary.  The Virginia Youth Soccer Association was incorporated in 1977 with Reed Saunders serving as its first President.  Since then VYSA has had eight individuals serve as President, many of whom have gone on to hold positions at Regional and National levels.  Presidents George Towner and Mavis Derflinger both went on to serve as Regional Directors.  Mavis Derflinger then served as US Youth Soccer Chairman. Adele Dolansky, after holding the position of VYSA President for 10 years (the longest serving President) went on to serve as Region 1 Sub Regional Director and later as Administrator for Region 1, a position she still holds.  Adele is also the Region 1 Championships Chair and serves on the National Championship Series Committee.  Former Vice President and Secretary Larry Monaco is now President of US Youth Soccer.  Larry Monaco has also held positions as US Youth Soccer Vice President and Vice President of the US Soccer Federation.  Current President Denise Edwards has served since 2000.

In 1987, Pam Wilks was hired as VYSA’s first Administrator.  The State Office was a room in the Wilks home in McLean, VA until 1992, when then President Adele Dolansky and Secretary Larry Monaco leased office space, in Tackett’s Mill in Woodbridge where it is still located.  Julie Caramanica was hired as Administrator when Pam retired in October of 1992.  VYSA later expanded its staff to include a part-time Bookkeeper and in 1998 hired Janet Cate full time to manage the Association’s accounting.  Jackie Burket joined the staff a few months later.  VYSA has since filled several additional positions to keep up with the ever-growing work in soccer in Virginia and DC.  In 2000, VYSA hired Gordon Miller to serve as its Technical Director and now also employs an Assistant Technical Director.

In three decades, VYSA has hosted many National events.  In 1997 VYSA hosted the US Soccer AGM.  The Region I Fall Meeting was held in Virginia in the late 80’s and again in 1995.  VYSA will host that meeting again this October in Crystal City .  The 1990 US Youth Soccer National Championships were held in Virginia at Woodbridge High School and in 1992 at the University of Richmond .  VYSA hosted the Region I Championships in 2005 and 2006 at the Hampton Roads Soccer Complex in Virginia Beach .

VYSA records don’t go back as far as 1977, but the 1992 records show 63,360 registered players.  Today, VYSA boasts more than 134,000 players and more than 100 recreational clubs and seven travel leagues.  

Virginia Youth Soccer, along with the Metro DC Virginia Soccer Association (amateur soccer Association in Virginia and DC), established a Soccer Hall of Fame in 2000 to honor those who have worked so hard to build soccer in our area.  Since then 38 individuals have been inducted, many of whom served and continue to serve in VYSA.  Another six have been chosen to be inducted this year at the VYSA Workshop.
We hope everyone past and present in youth soccer will join us this February at the Annual VYSA Workshop to celebrate our 30^th Anniversary of serving youth soccer in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia.