“Leo’s name moves people in a lot of different ways,” said AYSO Region 88 Commissioner Aldo Mascheroni, who helped spearhead the event. “We used to refer to a tent in between two of the fields [at the Glendale Sports Complex] as Leo’s Tent, and the referees went there in between games. Sometimes, Leo would take one of their spots and he’d jump right in to officiate a match.
“That was his thing. He did it all right up until the week before he died. Half of the referees here consider him their mentor.”
Twenty-seven boys’ teams, between the ages of 8-18, from Glendale to Diamond Bar to Orange County converged to the Glendale Sports Complex to take part in several matches per day. About 350 athletes from five age groups and 60-80 referees participated, Mascheroni said.
The event used to feature boys’ and girls’ teams taking part on the same weekend, but a rise in popularity forced the groups to have their own separate weekends. The girls’ teams played May 30-31 at the Glendale Sports Complex and Crescenta Valley High.
“It’s gotten so big that we had to do that,” Mascheroni said. “It also required a lot more from the volunteers, and we don’t want to turn anybody down.
“We want to do our best to keep it that way, and we want to bring in more teams. A lot of the teams who come here like the setting and environment.”
Jeff Patterson has been involved with Region 88 for about 10 years. He’s a coach for the Glendale Under-14 All-Star Team, one of six Region 88 squads who participated in the event, and serves as a region board member.
He’s seen a greater interest in the event each year.
“It does grow every year,” Patterson said. “Teams come here because of Leo, and what he did for the program early on was phenomenal.
“He volunteered as a coach, trained as a referee and he was one of the best referees in the area. He was at my first referee clinic that I attended, and a lot of the referees here at this tournament trained under him.”
Andrew Friedman, 14, didn’t know Nedeff well. However, the Glendale resident, who will attend Loyola High in the fall, said he wanted to do something in honor of Nedeff.
“That’s the great thing, honoring him,” said Friedman, a midfielder/defender on the Glendale Section All-Star Team. “It’s an amazing experience to be out there, and you can tell that everybody wants to be here.”
CHARLES RICH covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3228 or charles.rich@latimes.com.
