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Updated: October 16, 2022 @ 3:35 am
Members of the Benjamin family pose for a photo Saturday at the 45th anniversary celebration of the Oswego Youth Soccer Association, which was founded by the late Richard J. Benjamin.
Members of the Benjamin family pose for a photo Saturday at the 45th anniversary celebration of the Oswego Youth Soccer Association, which was founded by the late Richard J. Benjamin.
OSWEGO — It was a typical Saturday morning at the Richard J. Benjamin Memorial Soccer Complex. Hundreds of kids were having fun playing soccer, enjoying the sunshine. Families were on hand to cheer on the children, and several parents also helped as coaches.
It was exactly what Benjamin envisioned when he started the Oswego Youth Soccer Association (OYSA) 45 years ago.
“I wish he was here to see it because it has grown so well. It grew and grew all through the years,” said Dick’s wife, Pat. “It’s wonderful to see all the kids in this fresh air and sunshine. I remember when we started this back at Swetman Hall, Dick’s gym, Dick said, ‘Would you help me start a program where every kid can play?’ He said all the other sports are selective sports. He said no kid should be left out of any sport, and that he would like to see any kid that wants to play out there on those fields kicking a soccer ball, and it’s happened.”
Saturday was also a special day for the OYSA. The program celebrated its 45th anniversary, and the fact that the Benjamin Soccer Complex — located on a 17-acre site adjacent to Oswego Middle School — is now completely paid off.
It had long been Dick Benjamin’s dream to secure a permanent home for the OYSA. He was the driving force behind the OYSA’s acquisition and construction of the soccer complex, but died on May 19, 2000, before he could see the opening of the new facility. The complex officially opened in September of 2003.
Prior to the opening of the complex, the OYSA had utilized the fields at Oswego Middle School. While OYSA officials appreciated being accommodated by the school district, they wanted a place to call their own to erase concerns such as parking and scheduling conflicts.
The Benjamin Soccer Complex has been the foundation for the OYSA’s continued growth. Teresa Gilbert, OYSA president for the past 17 years, said the association now has between 550 and 600 youths participating.
“When I started 17 years ago there were fewer than 200,” she said. “The good thing is we were able to pay off the complex this year so the community now owns it. We’re just going to give this back to the community, and see how we can help the community. We will be spending money and putting it back into our program.”
There are many factors that have led to the success of the OYSA. It welcomes all the kids that want to play and emphasizes participation, skill development, teamwork, sportsmanship, and most of all, fun.
“It’s inexpensive. There’s not a lot of expensive equipment or fees,” Pat Benjamin said. “That was another point of Dick’s that he really focused on, to keep everything at low expense, and we have a scholarship program too so every child that wants to play has a chance.”
Gilbert said the Oswego community gets a lot of the credit. “We have great coaches that help, lots of volunteers,” she said, adding that the OYSA accommodates the busy schedules of families and the desire of youths to take part in other activities.
When the OYSA was founded in 1977, it began with several volunteers, novice coaches, and the loan of soccer fields behind the Campus School at SUNY Oswego. By 1980, there were more than 400 boys and girls in grades 1-6 involved in the program.
Pat Benjamin said that with Dick leading the way, a lot of people jumped on board early on to help the program flourish.
The OYSA has been the first organized sports experience for thousands of children for more than 30 years. Many of those children went on to play soccer at the club, varsity, and college levels.
Gilbert said Dick Benjamin was her adviser in college, and he asked her to guide the program into the future.
“I kept my promise,” she said, adding that the complex was paid off on May 19, the anniversary of Benjamin’s death.
Gilbert noted that the members of the Benjamin family continue to be active with the OYSA, and their involvement is valuable.
Dick’s son Mike Benjamin expressed the family’s thanks to Gilbert. “Teresa, we really appreciate everything you’ve done and you’ve kept the program going. Thank you so much,” he said.
Gilbert said that looking at the hundreds of people at the complex on Saturday, it was just what Dick Benjamin envisioned when he and Pat Benjamin started the OYSA in 1977.
“If Dick were here today he’d be so honored,” she said. “This is something that Dick really had a passion about.”
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