Number of Participants: 132
Hours Donated: 25
Value of Time Served: $114,807
Event Amount Raised: $2,800
Organization / Team: Commack High School Soccer
Event Type: Civic & Community
Activity: Soccer
School: Commack High School
Date: December 1, 2025
Location:
Commack
NY, USA
About:
A special part of the Commack Soccer program has always been its strong commitment to community service. Each season, every team — boys and girls, Varsity and JV — comes together to raise money and awareness for meaningful causes that touch the hearts of their players, coaches, and community.
The boys’ teams dedicated their fundraising to SUDEP awareness in memory of former player #24, Danny Mihnovich, who passed away from epilepsy. The girls’ teams focused their efforts on Kicks for Cancer, supporting community members past and present who are battling cancer.
This year, the program expanded its impact by adding the Daniela Conte Foundation to its list of supported charities. Daniela, a Commack student and soccer player who passed in 2020 at the age of 8 from a rare form of childhood cancer, would have been a freshman this year and was the best friend of one of the players on the JV Girls team. Honoring her memory added a special and personal meaning to this season’s efforts.
In total, more than 132 athletes and managers and eight coaches participated in the initiative, raising funds through events such as profit-share nights at Pizzaiolo Gourmet Eatery and Ralph’s Ices Commack, as well as merchandise sales at the Commack Soccer League fields.
One of the program’s most anticipated traditions, the Cougar for a Day Clinic, was again hosted in partnership with the Commack Soccer League. During the clinic, local players in grades 2 through 6 spent an afternoon playing soccer with Commack High School varsity and JV athletes. The event was filled with fun, mentorship, and community pride — with all proceeds donated to the supported charities and split evenly between the two causes.
The event took place just after the regular season ended but before playoffs — a perfect transition from competition to community. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams went on to advance to the State Championships and ultimately both teams won 2025 NYS Championship Titles, making history in their district and becoming the 1st Program in Suffolk County History to have both their boys and Girls Varsity soccer teams win state titles in the same postseason, carrying forward the same teamwork and spirit that defined their volunteer efforts.
The Commack Soccer program takes immense pride in this tradition, demonstrating that the true goal of the game goes far beyond wins and losses — it’s about coming together to make a difference.
