By Larissa Lytwyn

 Newtown High School junior Max Margulies, a manager of the Boys’ Soccer team, recently poured his passion for the game into an exciting new opportunity for the team. 

“We are shooting to participate in our first national soccer tournament this summer,” said Max. “It’s a really great opportunity for us.”

The tournament, hosted by the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) takes place July 10 through July 15 at the Hampton Roads Soccer Complex in Virginia Beach, VA.

Founded in 1989, NHSCA, based in Easton, PA, operates as a 501 c3 nonprofit organization.

Its mission is to “provide leadership and support” to coaches and their programs in a variety of high school sports, including baseball, tennis, wrestling and, of course, soccer.

Max said the idea to participate in the tournament stemmed from the team’s goal to consistently maximize the quality of their game.

“I basically just did a web search for national soccer tournaments, and the NHSCA website came up,” he said.

Max estimates that the cost of attending, including tournament registration fees, transportation, room and board will total approximately $8,000 to $10,000.

“Right now, the cost per player is really expensive, and too high for some players to participate,” explained Max.

He said he has written inquiries to a number of area businesses to donate funds for the team’s effort. The team has to register by March 31.

“If we don’t have enough money, we won’t be able to participate,” he said.

While he hopes the money will come through, Max said that the entire process of finding and planning the trip has built up his confidence.

“I feel really good about my effort to do this, whatever happens,” Max said. “But it would be really great if we could raise the money we need to go!”

For more information on the NHSCA website, visit www.nhsca.com or call Max Margulies at 270-9255.

To donate money toward the Boys’ Soccer team’s participation in the NHSCA tournament, send check to Newtown High School/Boys Soccer, 12 Berkshire Road in Sandy Hook, Ct., 06482.