Sporting Club Gjøa

850 62nd Street, Brooklyn, NY
Upholding the ideals of amateur athletics since 1911

The Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen is best known as the first man to reach the South Pole. But his initial  fame  came in 1906,  when  he  and  his  crew became the first to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific through  the  Northwest  Passage,  a goal that had eluded explorers for centuries. This feat was accomplished in a 70 ft square-sterned 48 ton sloop named Gjøa.


Five years later, in 1911, members of the Norwegian Seamen's Association organized a sporting club. Inspired by the spirit of that hardy band of explorers, the new club adopted the name of their ship.

A bulging trophy cabinet bears witness to the titles and cups won by this small club with an odd name. In whichever organization it found itself, Gjøa has been a prominent participant. From the Scandinavian-American Athletic League in the early years, to the Cosmopolitan Junior Leagues today, Gjøa members have excelled individually as well. Their names can be found in the lists of National Soccer Hall of Fame members and of Herman Trophy winners.

Proud as the club is of the team that "three-peated" as National Soccer League champions in the early sixties, the 1931 tour of Norway holds a special place in club history. In 60 days, and playing against most of Norway's best teams, the boys from Brooklyn won 16 games, drew 7, and lost only 6.

An echo of that 1931 trip has been heard numerous times as Gjøa youth teams have traveled to Norway, Minnesota and many tournaments throughout the Northeast.  As important as the results of the games was the fostering of friendship through sport, and the lesson that soccer is indeed the game around the world.

Soccer's future depends on solid youth programs. At Gjøa the volunteer staff not only supports both the boys and girls youth teams from U-8 through U-19, but also organizes and runs a soccer and softball team for adults.  The future at Gjøa of what Pele called "The beautiful game" is very bright! With their new partnership with SABA and Harry Triana, we anticipate a long and successful future on and off the field.

Jimmy has been coaching youth soccer for over twenty-five years and is currently the Youth Athletic Director at Gjøa and the VP of CJSL. In addition to volunteering his time to coach at Gjøa and other teams, Jimmy has served on the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League Executive Board as President, Vice President, Treasurer and other positions. He is a Life Member at SC Gjøa, and has served on their Executive Board as President, Youth  and Senior Athletic Director, and Social Director. He has also served on the Eastern New York Yough Soccer Association Executive Board as trustee. He was successful in launching the first girls' team in th eclub and league. He has coached for the CJSL select program and brought teams to Europe and the presitgious Dallas Cup, where they lost in the semi-finals (as a point of interest, Harry Triana, our Head Coach, was a player on the team brought to Dallas).  He has coached at Xavier High School, Bishop Kearny High School and Lawrence High School. He holds advanced degrees in Elementary Education and Social Sciences, as well as Administration and Supervision. Jim is the Principal of the The Garden Cith Park School in New Hyde Park, New York.

[Read about SABA and our couches.]

The New York Observer
Saturday Afternoon Fever
by Roger D. Hodge
observer.com

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