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Community Corner

Who's Who in Sayville

John Burke, director of Long Island Happy Feet.

Patch caught up with John Burke, director of Long Island Happy Feet, on the fields at Cherry Avenue after teaching a group of fledgling soccer players.

What is your connection to Sayville? 

I grew up in Northern Virginia. I met my wife, Kate Folks, in college at Mount Saint Mary’s in Maryland. She grew up in Sayville. We got married in 2003 and moved to West Sayville in 2007. We now live here with our three kids. 

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When did Happy Feet start in Sayville?

Happy Feet is a 23-year-old program started by Andy Barney from Kansas City. I met him through a mutual friend and we discussed opening up Long Island Happy Feet. We started here in August 2010. I run the Long Island program with my assistant director, Chris Folks. Each coach is picked for their ability to work with young children and create a fun learning environment for the kids. 

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We run a Happy Feet session each of the four seasons. We had 110 kids in our first session last year and have grown quickly to more than 400 kids for our fall session this year. I see 1,000-plus kids playing Happy Feet within the next 18 to 24 months. 

It is unique because we understand how to engage the children in order to teach them skills and get them having fun. We focus on their imagination and create a new theme each week. Two to five year olds love to create stories and use their imagination. We allow them to do this and then mix in skills to improve their balance, agility and coordination. 

We are also unique because we've partnered with many local preschools to offer the program right there. This means parents can sign their child up for Happy Feet and don’t have to take them to another location. They know their child is getting a great program right at school. My goal is to improve child fitness by offering children a fun atmosphere for kids to play and learn.

Are you involved in any other jobs/services in Sayville?

I also volunteer my time to the local youth soccer league (Baymen Soccer). I help coordinate the younger kids age groups and help with registrations. In the summertime, I run programs for older kids, ages five to 12. We run a Legends skills camp and also a week-long soccer camp. In the winter, we will also offer skills training for kids ages five to 12 at an indoor location.

What do you love most about Sayville? 

I love the small community feel. I enjoy meeting new people and it is great to be able to go into a local shop and see some familiar faces. My family also loves the beach, so summer time is our favorite here.

What's your favorite place to shop/dine? 

I think Sayville Sandwich has the best sandwich in town. It’s a great place for lunch and the owners and workers are super friendly.  

What do you see for Sayville in 10 years?  

I hope to see thousands of Happy Feet graduates out on the soccer fields! I want to pass on a love for soccer to the children. Kids will continue to play a sport if they are having fun. If we continue to offer the right programs for our youth, they will continue to play.

We are fortunate to have a great local soccer facility here in Sayville. The fields on Cherry Avenue are among the best venues for youth soccer. I see many great programs for the youth helping to foster a stronger community in the next 10 years.

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