About Our Program

Our program started back in 2010 in response to a mother who had a son on the autism spectrum. Every year on Thanksgiving, her nieces and nephews would come over and play soccer in the yard and her son would sit in the kitchen window watching. She could tell he wanted to go out there any join in the fun but just didnt understand what was going on. Her dream was for her son to be able to go outside with his cousins and join in the game in the yard. She asked if we could put together a small class with about 3 children and teach them the fundamentals of soccer. We hired a few soccer coaches and the mom gathered some of her nieces, nephews, and friends to help volunteer on the field and within a few months we had over 20 children ranging from 3 years to 20 years old. We decided to create a 501c3 not-for-profit and expand the program, dividing it into age groups, ability, and different sports. Since then, the program has expanded into different facilities across Long Island and we proudly service thousands of kids on a yearly basis.

Executive Director

Our Executive Director is Michael Furino, a Port Washington native and long-time lover of sports and helping children. Michael’s full-time job is working as a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate, but he devotes countless hours to fundraising and helping organize, develop, and grow the Be The Best Sport program. Michael saw a need to expand the program when he watched the initial class and utilized his business background and marketing expertise to add more programing and get the word out about classes. He has also utilized his vast network of individuals to acquire private funding to help keep the program running at reduced costs to parents all while hiring top notch professionals to work with the kids on the field.  Michael has helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last few years to keep the program running and expanding the program each year.