From left to right: Jim San Filippo, Pete Bussa, Ilana Strauch (daughter of Efi Domb) and Steve Padaetz
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
March 31, 2026-The Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), the largest league in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), inducted four longtime members into the LIJSL Hall of Fame last Sunday, March 29 at the Stonebridge Country Club in Smithtown.
The Levittown Soccer Club is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2026 and Jim San Filippo has been volunteering for the club for 42 of those 50 years. He has been a longtime coach, referee and has volunteered as Levittown Soccer Club President for the past decade. Most importantly, Jim has been a mentor for the many young athletes who have come through the club, teaching them not only about the game, but instilling valuable life lessons.
Pete Bussa coached three LIJSL teams and won a total of 15 LIJSL division titles and 7 Long Island Cups, then became a well-respected mentor for young coaches. Pete volunteered as Oceanside United’s President from 1994 to 2002. He started Oceanside’s Special Needs TOPSoccer Program 35 years ago when one of the boys he coached had a sister with Down syndrome who wanted to play soccer. Pete is currently volunteering as TOPSoccer Chairperson for Eastern New York.
Efi Domb passed away in 2017 from pancreatic cancer but his impact on Long Island soccer has not been forgotten. Efi coached his two daughters in the New Hyde Park Wildcats Soccer Club, where he was a beloved coach and trainer, and after they graduated from high school, he became a top referee, even being honored as the Long Island Soccer Referees Association (LISRA) Referee of the Year in 2016. His “real job” was running a successful locksmith company and after 9/11, he spent days at Ground Zero helping store owners lock their shops to protect against looters.
Steve Padaetz served with Oceanside United for over 30 years, and he was President, Vice President, Secretary and then Director at Large. He developed and published club newsletter Net News, and then when the technology changed, he managed the redesign of the club website. He coached six travel teams, diverse intramural squads and created the Nassau Development Program, which comprised of 15 clubs playing non-results oriented Under-8 and Under-9 games. Steve then volunteered on the LIJSL and Eastern New York Board of Directors, he chaired many committees too numerous to list here and is now the Chief Club Administrator of the Massapequa Soccer Club.
