John Vinci, known as ‘Mr. Soccer,’ named West Haven’s Italian American of the Year

WEST HAVEN — Although the game of soccer may have its earliest origins in China, West Haven’s “Mr. Soccer” jokes that the game is truly Italian.

John Vinci, president of West Haven’s Youth Soccer League since 2001, first began coaching in the league when his son was a player in 1984 — two years after Italy won its third World Cup championship. Since then, Italy won a fourth World Cup championship in 2006 and Vinci’s son has moved away from West Haven, but Vinci has stayed in the city where he’s lived for nearly a halfcentury and risen through the ranks of the league.

Through decades of coaching and officiating, Vinci said he does not actually know much about the game.

“It’s about the kids,” he said. “We have arguably the highest registration in the state, and it’s because the kids are just having fun.”

For his spirit of volunteerism and recreational engagement, Vinci was named West Haven’s 23rd annual Italian American of the Year. “I never expected this, it really was a shock,” he said at a brief ceremony outside City Hall.

Vinci’s paternal grandparents left Italy for the United States in the early 1920s, settling in upstate New York near the Vermont border. Since arriving in West Haven, Vinci said he has fallen in love with the city.

“I love it. I’ve got a great house down on the water,” he said.

Paul Frosolone, president of the West Haven Italian American Civic Association, said the day of Vinci’s ceremony should be a day of Italian pride, but so, too, should all other days.

“We need to be proud not just this day, but every day after this,” he said.

Mayor Nancy Rossi said Vinci had demonstrated an “incomparable legacy of volunteerism” in which he has inspired many lives in the city “on and off the field,” and instilled the values of sportsmanship, responsibility and teamwork in generations of West Haven residents.

“You are living proof of the American dream,” she said.

Vinci said he hopes to use his platform for visibility — specifically to attract new coaches to the city’s youth soccer program.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi, left, presents West Haven Italian American of the Year John Vinci with a personalized jacket during the 23rd annual Italian Heritage Celebration in front of City Hall.