Carle Place's Ryan Leary will be playoff-eligible in boys soccer
Carle Place's Ryan Leary during a state Class B semifinal in Middletown, N.Y., last November. Credit: Adrian Kraus
Carle Place senior Ryan Leary will be eligible to play in his first soccer match this fall in his team's regular-season finale on Oct. 15. He also will be eligible for the playoffs as the Frogs defend their state Class B championship.
Leary won an appeal with the State Education Department on Oct. 3 that allowed him to play both soccer and football this season after the school district ruled he could not play both sports, citing safety concerns.
Leary must participate in six soccer practices before he can play in a game. He has three and will reach the requirement in time for the season finale against West Hempstead.
“I wasn’t sure I would get this opportunity,” Leary told Newsday on Tuesday night. “Just getting back to work and playing soccer with the guys has been great. The time away makes me realize how much I missed it. I’m very motivated to compete and do my best to help the team.”
Leary played soccer last season and also was the kicker for the football team. He was planning to play both sports again but wanted to play wide receiver in football. The school said he could only play both if he just kicked in football.
Leary chose to play football while he and his parents worked to reverse the decision. They filed a petition with the state on Sept. 25, which they won. Neither Nassau County nor the state has a rule that prohibits playing two sports in the same season.
Patrick Leary, Ryan’s father, said getting the ruling overturned validated what he and his family have been feeling since the district decided Ryan could not play both sports.
“This is how it always should have been,” Patrick Leary said. “He’s happy and excited and, as his dad, I’m thrilled for him. I’m glad he’s going to get the opportunity to compete.”
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association requires a player to be active for six regular-season games to be playoff eligible, but exceptions can be made.
The NYSPHSAA handbook states: “In extenuating circumstances where the student does not have a medical reason for a waiver of the representation rule, the NYSPHSAA executive director, in consultation with the section executive director and NYSPHSAA president, shall have the ability to grant a waiver of the representation rule.”
“The State Association has granted a waiver . . . so he will be eligible for the postseason," said Pat Pizzarelli, the executive director of Section VIII, Nassau County's governing body of scholastic sports.
Leary scored 17 goals and helped lead Carle Place to a state championship last season. The Frogs are 3-7-2 without him but have qualified for the playoffs.
Leary has excelled on the football field this season. He has 16 catches for 386 receiving yards and four touchdowns and 14 carries for 227 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He's also accounted for 25 points as the team's kicker. Carle Place is 3-2 in Nassau Conference IV.
