Remember the name Ernie Constantine as he could be one of the next top soccer officials in the United States in the near future. Constantine, 22, of Bethpage, took up the whistle as a teenager. He recently graduated from Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA with a BA in Business and Economics and now works for a Manhattan hedge fund administrator.
“Ernie is a very nice young man who does a great job on the field,” said Eastern New York State Referee Administrator Howard Rubinstein.
Constantine has been a United States Soccer Federation referee since 2003. He’s been invited to several Region 1 Olympic Development Program tournaments and was one of 18 referees invited to the Region 1 ODP Championships in Kirkwood, DE last June. He also officiated the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship Series Regionals in Lancaster, PA this past summer.
“I am honored and privileged to have the opportunity to represent Eastern New York and Region 1 at the ODP National Championships,” Constantine said. “Ever since I became a Grade 8 back in 2003, it has been a goal of mine to climb to the top. And now as a Grade 5 State Referee, I am slowly but surely getting there.”
It was the strength of his performance in Delaware that he will represent the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) by officiating the ODP Finals in Dallas next March.
“Ernie has been officiating ODP tournaments for the past three years,” said State Youth Referee Administrator Ray Wolfe. “He started out refereeing in the Long Island Junior Soccer League. People like him, he did an excellent job at the Regionals and he has been invited to referee the prestigious ODP Finals in Dallas next year.”
