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AND, UH, MY NAME IS CARLOS POMAR, AND I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF SERVING AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF ESSEX COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
AND, UH, IT'S EVEN A GREATER PLEASURE THAT TONIGHT WE GET TO WELCOME YOU FOR THIS SPECIAL PRESENTATION, RECOGNIZING SOME AMAZING ATHLETES HERE IN NEWARK.
SO WE APPRECIATE YOU JOINING US HERE IN PERSON, AND THOSE WHO ARE GONNA BE WATCHING LATER ON.
BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER, I, UH, WITH THE HONOREE, A I RECOGNIZE A COUPLE OF MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE HERE, AND THEN I'M GONNA ASK THEM TO JOIN ME.
WE HAVE COMMISSIONER BOBBY MECADO HERE, AND WE HAVE COMMISSIONER PAT SIBO.
SO AS THEY MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE PODIUM, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO COMMISSIONER SIBO FOR A LITTLE INTRODUCTION, AND THEN, UH, COMMISSIONER MERCADO.
AND THEN, UH, WE'LL DO SOME PRESENTATIONS, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE PLENTY OF PICTURES.
DON'T WORRY, THE GUY WITH THE BIG CAMERA TAKES GREAT PICTURES SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM.
WE'LL TAKE THE PODIUM AWAY AND WE'LL TAKE PICTURES UP HERE SO THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO, SO, OKAY.
I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE TODAY BECAUSE THE EAST WARD IS REALLY SPECIAL.
SO WE'RE GATHERED TO CELEBRATE AND COMMEND THE GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS AND DEDICATIONS OF TWO TEAMS FROM THE IRON BOUND SOCCER CLUB, THE CRUSADERS, AND THE RAIDERS.
I HOPE YOU'RE ALL HERE, WHO BOTH RECENTLY TOOK HOME CHAMPIONSHIP WINS AT THE 2024 USLU NATIONAL BOYS CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONSHIP.
IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR SUCCESS, WE WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT EACH OF YOU WITH A COMMENDATION FROM THE BOARD RECORDING YOUR WINS IN THE COUNTY RECORD.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT BOTH TEAMS GET THEIR FLOWERS, SO WE'RE GOING TO ASK EACH TEAM TO COME UP ONE AT A TIME.
SO WE'LL GET A BIG GROUP PHOTO AT THE END.
NOW, THOUGH, I'D LIKE TO INVITE UP COACH ANTHONY AVARIS TO TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT EACH TEAM.
FIRST I WANT TO THANK THE ESSEX COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR HAVING US UP HERE TODAY.
UH, IT'S A GREAT HONOR TO BE HERE.
UH, IT WAS A GREAT, GREAT TRIP DOWN TO FLORIDA IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER.
THE U CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, U 16, U 16 IRONBOUND CRUSADERS.
THEY WON THE 15TH, THE CLUB'S 15TH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
UH, I, I WAS ON THE SIDELINES FOR THE FIRST GAME.
THEY ENDED UP, I THINK, TYING THE FIRST GAME, AND THEN AFTER THAT, THEY WON THE, THE REMAINING GAMES AND WON THE, THE CLUB'S 15TH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
SO IT WAS A BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT.
THE RAIDERS, UH, THAT MORNING WE WON THE 14TH, UH, NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
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IT'S A GREAT HONOR THAT WE WERE HERE LAST YEAR.WE WON THE CLUB'S 13TH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, AND THIS YEAR WE'RE CELEBRATING THE 14TH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
UH, ON BEHALF OF ALL THE PLAYERS, THE PARENTS, THE CLUB AND EVERYTHING, WE JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO, TO, UM, ALL THE COMMISSIONERS FOR HAVING US UP HERE.
IT'S, UH, A GREAT HONOR TO BE HERE.
AND IT'S GREAT FOR THE YOUNG KIDS.
UH, MY TEAM, THEIR SENIORS IN HIGH SCHOOL, THEY'RE GOING ON TO COLLEGE.
IT'S GREAT FOR THEM TO SEE, UH, THAT THEY CAN BE RECOGNIZED FROM DOING POSITIVE THINGS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WE ARE, THEY ARE ROLE MODELS, NOT ONLY FOR NEWARK, BUT FOR IRONBOUND COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S GREAT TO HONOR THEM AND TO KNOW THAT THEY WORK HARD EVERY DAY.
UH, SOME OF THESE KIDS, THEY PRACTICE THREE, FOUR DAYS A WEEK ON WEEKENDS.
THEY GIVE A LOT UP TO, UH, HAVE NOT ONLY, UH, THEIR OWN SUCCESS, BUT FOR THE CLUB SUCCESS.
SO WE WANT TO THANK THE COMMISSIONERS FOR, UH, HONORING BOTH TEAMS. THANK YOU.
MY NAME IS ROBERT MERCADO, AND I'M THE COMMISSIONER REPRESENTING DISTRICT ONE, WHICH REPRESENTS THE EAST WARD.
UM, LET ME BEGIN BY, UH, THANKING EACH OF YOU, EACH OF THE PLAYERS, COACH ANDRE PARENTS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE, UM, AND, AND ALLOWING, UH, THESE ATHLETES TO, TO EXCEL IN THE SPORT.
WE KNOW THAT THE WARD AND IRONBOUND IS THE HEART OF NEWARK WHEN IT COMES TO SOCCER.
AND I WANNA WISH ALL OF YOU, ESPECIALLY THE PLAYERS, THE ONES THAT ARE GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL, WANNA WISH YOU SUCCESS AND TO CONTINUE THE HARD WORK THAT IT TAKES, YOU KNOW, TO BE AT THE LEVEL THAT YOU'RE AT.
SO NOW JUST LET ME, UH, SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE IRONBOUND SOCCER CLUB.
UH, IT'S A PROGRAM AND I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR, BUT IT'S A PROGRAM, UH, WITH THE SALVATION ARMY, UH, IRONBOUND BOYS CLUB, AND WAS FOUNDED IN 2006 AS A MERGER OF TWO EXISTING CLUBS.
THE IRONBOUND CRUSADERS AND THE BOUND STRIKERS.
IRON BOUND SOCCER CLUB HAS PRODUCED MANY PROFESSIONAL AND COLLEGIATE PLAYERS.
CURRENTLY, THERE ARE THREE FORMER IRON BOUND SOCCER PLAYERS WITH THE ACTIVE US MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM, UM, TYLER ADAMS, JOHN TOKEN, AND ISAIAH JACKSON.
THE CLUB'S MISSION IS TO PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE TO PLAY THE GAME OF SOCCER AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, AT THE LOWEST COST.
UH, COACH, WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT THE CRUSADERS AND, UM, THE CHAMPIONSHIP, UH, LET'S BRING 'EM ALL UP AND, UH, TAKE A PICTURE.
CAN WE GET THE CRUSADERS AND COACH RE SO CAN COACH AND THE PLAYERS.
CAN YOU PLEASE COME UP? COME ON, OFFICER ERS COME RIGHT BACK.
UM, SO HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING TODAY? FIRST, I WANNA REALLY THANK THE, UH, CITY OF NEWARK, UH, THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE LEADERSHIP AT IRONBOUND SOCCER CLUB FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO BE ABLE TO REPRESENT IRONBOUND AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
UM, SO THAT'S REALLY POINT NUMBER ONE.
POINT NUMBER TWO IS CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE GUYS.
UH, 'CAUSE THEY WERE ON THE FIELD RUNNING ALL OVER THE FIELD, WORKING HARD, UH, WINNING EVERY SINGLE DUAL, UH, IN ORDER TO BRING SOMETHING BIG BACK TO NEWARK.
THEY BROUGHT SOMETHING BIG BACK TO NEWARK.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE GONNA REMEMBER FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
I, I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF THEM.
CONGRATULATIONS TO IRONBOUND SOCCER CLUB AND ACHIEVING SOMETHING EXTREMELY BIG AND SOMETHING THAT, LIKE I SAID, THEY'RE GONNA REMEMBER FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS.
UH, SOMETHING WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT IS WHENEVER WE'RE COMPETING, IS MAKING SURE WE'RE REPRESENTING, UH, IRONBOUND AND WHAT ARE THOSE WORDS? OR PERSEVERANCE, HARD WORK, UH, AND NEVER GIVING UP.
AND I THINK THEY DID THAT, UH, IN FLORIDA.
UH, SO CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO THEM.
AND CONGRATULATIONS TO IRONBOUND SOCCER CLUB.
IS THAT GOOD THERE? COACH YOU GUYS TO HOLD THE HARDWARE, THE BIG HARDWARE, THE FRAME ONE, MAKE
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THREE MORE.HOLD UP FOR THE PARENTS BEHIND YOU, ONE WHILE HE STEPS ASIDE.
YOU GUYS CAN COME ON UP AND TAKE TURNS.
WELL, WE'RE GONNA POST A GOOD PICTURE, BUT DON'T WORRY.
UH, LET'S GIVE THE IRONBOUND CHRISTINE AS ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
SO NOW WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING, OUR SEMINAR.
WE'RE GONNA CALL UP, UH, THE RAIDERS TO JOIN US, AND, UH, WE'LL HAVE COACH VAR JOIN US AS WELL.
SO, SAME THANK YOU ON RAIDERS.
YOU SO COACH ANDRE SAID IT, UH, SAID IT.
RIGHT? YOU KNOW, WE WANT, I ALSO WANT, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO THANK, UM, THE, THE CLUB DIRECTORS, UH, AL TINO, UH, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, JOHN SUAREZ, STEVE EMINE, NICK LABRADOR, UH, WITHOUT THEM PAVING THE WAY AND KIND OF, UH, GIVING THESE, THESE, THESE TEAMS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL AND PLAY IN THESE HIGH LEVEL TOURNAMENTS.
UH, A FUN FACT WITH THE, UH, KIDS THAT I HAVE HERE BEHIND ME, WE WERE THE, UH, NEW JERSEY, UM, STATE CHAMPIONS.
THEN WE SPENT A WHOLE WEEK IN WEST VIRGINIA.
THEY WON THE REGION ONE CHAMPIONSHIP IN JUNE.
UH, WE THEN WENT ON TO ORLANDO WHERE WE COMPETED AND WE ALMOST MADE IT OUTTA THE GROUP TO GO.
BUT THESE GUYS KNOW THAT WE'RE WORKING REAL HARD.
WE WERE OUT IN THE COLD A COUPLE DAYS AGO.
WE'RE GONNA WORK ON, THAT'S THE GOAL, TO WIN THE CLUB'S FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DOWN IN ORLANDO.
SO WE'RE GONNA WORK REAL HARD THIS WINTER TO COME BACK, UM, AND HOPEFULLY BE A-U-S-Y-S CHAMPION IN THE CLUB.
YEAH, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA CLOSE IT OFF AND WE'LL DO ANOTHER WE'LL, YES.
BEFORE WE CLOSE, I JUST WANT TO RECOGNIZE, FIRST LET ME THANK, UM, JOHN SORE AND THE ENTIRE IRON BOUND SOCCER CLUB, UH, UH, LEADERSHIP THAT IS, UH, SUCH AN ADVOCATE FOR THESE YOUNG PEOPLE.
I SEE MY GOOD FRIEND ALCAINO, UH, IN THE BACK.
AND AGAIN, WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY AND THE CITY OF NEWARK, AND CONTINUE TO GOOD WORK.
SO LISTEN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UH, MR. SUAREZ, A SPECIAL THANK YOU, UH, TO YOU FOR BRINGING THIS TO OUR ATTENTION, AS ALWAYS.
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WELL, IT'S LIKE, LIKE 30 CHAMPIONSHIPS ALMOST BETWEEN YOU GUYS.AND, YOU KNOW, WE NUMBER 30, 31, AND 32 AND 33 AND WHATEVER NEXT YEAR, RIGHT? SO WE EXPECT NOTHING BUT THE BEST, BUT WE'RE JUST GONNA RESERVE THIS DATE NEXT YEAR, A YEAR FROM NOW.
MARK MY WORDS, A YEAR FROM NOW, WE'RE GONNA BE WHAT? CELEBRATING THE NATIONAL TITLE.
IS THAT WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO? IS THAT WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO? THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT.
ALL RIGHT, EVERYONE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE'RE GONNA CONCLUDE THE PROGRAM HERE, BUT WHAT I AM GONNA DO IS, NOW THAT WE'RE DONE WITH THE PROGRAM, I WANT TO BRING BOTH TEAMS UP HERE AND WE'LL GET EVERYBODY IN ONE CHAT.
ALL RIGHT? SO, THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TODAY.