Roby Young

Forced to quit school as a young teenager to earn wages at an oil factory, Young was first discovered playing soccer at age 15 for factory's team in an industrial league. His raw power and speed at such a young age attracted a scout from nearby professional club, Hapoel Haifa, who brought Young into their youth program. Young's impact on the youth program was immediate, as his team did not lose a single match and won the youth National Championship in Israel. By age 16, Young was promoted to the senior professional team and made his professional debut at age 16. Young remained loyal to Hapoel Haifa for his entire career in Israel, where he led his Hapoel Haifa team for over a decade and won two National Cups. As a teenager, Young was invited to play for the Israeli National Soccer Team at age 17. As a left winger, Young was a mainstay on the National Team for 12 years, and became the first Captain of the Israeli national team from Haifa. As Captain of the Israeli National Soccer Team during its golden age, Young paced the Israeli team to its best-ever finish in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City (where he was the flag bearer for Israel), and led Israel to qualify for the FIFA World Cup (held in Mexico City in 1970). Young and his Israeli team are also the unlucky answers to a soccer trivia question: which is the LAST team to lose a World Cup or Olympics playoff game by "choosing lots" before FIFA changed the rules to introduce penalty kicks to decide games. In the 1968…

Born on 15 May 1942 in Haifa, Israel, Roby Young was raised (alongside his older brother) by his mother in a small one-bedroom apartment in a quaint beach-side neighborhood called Bat Galim (translated: Daughter of the Waves). Grounded by his poor and humble beginnings, where his mother worked multiple jobs.

From 1969 until 2013, (except for several years coaching professional soccer in Israel), Young worked as an athletic director at Buckley Country Day School in Roslyn, New York. He also coached the Queen's College men's soccer team from 1986 to 1989 and the women's football (soccer) team at Queens College from 1999 to 2008. He was the athletic director at Buckley Country Day School and co-founded the Buckley Summer Camp in 1984. He retired from Buckley in 2013 but is still an active teacher in their chess program.