Long Island Elite Football

09/18/2026

09/17/2026

Some partnerships begin with business. The best ones begin with recognizing something familiar in one another.

That’s what makes Silver Lining Restaurant Group a natural fit with Long Island Elite.

Founder John Sarno’s story is rooted right here on Long Island. His family operated a business on Main Street in Patchogue for decades. Before becoming a restaurateur, John was a physical education teacher in the Bayport-Blue Point School District while bartending on the side.

Then he took a chance on himself.

In 2010, he opened Village Idiot Pub in Patchogue. One establishment became Silver Lining Restaurant Group and a collection of restaurants across Suffolk County, including Drift 82, Chops Steakhouse and Castaways.

There’s a lesson in that story we want our players to understand.

Start somewhere. Work. Take risks. Learn from mistakes. Earn people’s trust. Create something of your own. And if you become successful, remember the community that helped make it possible.

John has.

Today he serves as Chairman of the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce Restaurant Committee. Silver Lining has also supported the Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund at Stony Brook Medicine and stepped forward for local families facing extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

That tells us far more about a person than a business résumé ever could.

Long Island Elite is deliberately creating a community around people who still believe character matters. That success should be earned. That family and community deserve our loyalty. That young people need standards, accountability and examples worth following.

Our sponsors aren’t advertisements. They’re people choosing to put their names beside those principles.

We’re grateful that John Sarno and Silver Lining Restaurant Group have chosen to put theirs beside ours.

Relationships Above All 🇺🇸

09/17/2026

There is a difference between putting your name on something and putting your name behind something you believe in.

Long Island Elite Football is proud to welcome The Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum, P.C. to the Elite family.

When Jason Tenenbaum founded his firm, he established a practice around something increasingly rare: personal responsibility for the work.

Jason writes his own appeals. He tries his own cases. After more than two decades in law, handling over 100,000 no-fault matters and writing more than 1,000 appeals, he remains directly involved in the work carrying his name.

We respect that.

Because whether you’re raising a child, coaching a football team, running a business or representing someone whose future may depend on you, your name should mean something.

Preparation matters. Accountability matters. Character matters. Doing the work when others are counting on you matters.

The firm has grown from a solo practice into a Huntington Station team serving people throughout Long Island and New York City, while remaining grounded in preparation, honest communication, integrity and fighting for those who place their trust in them.

Those principles translate far beyond a courtroom.

When Jason’s team reached out about supporting Long Island Elite, they learned exactly what our organization stands for: merit, faith, family, character and demanding more from young men than simply becoming good football players.

They chose to stand with us.

That makes this relationship especially meaningful.

We want our players surrounded by successful people who understand that achievement comes with responsibility. People who take their craft seriously, put their names behind their work and understand that reputation is earned over years but carried into every room you enter.

Our sincere thanks to Jason Tenenbaum and everyone at The Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum, P.C. for investing in our young men and believing in what Long Island Elite represents.

Welcome to the family.

Relationships Above All 🇺🇸

09/17/2026

𝟭𝟰 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗨𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦
𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬, 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧
💥 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 💥
𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙇𝙊𝙋, 𝙀𝘿𝙐𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙀, 𝙎𝙐𝙋𝙋𝙊𝙍𝙏
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠
✅ 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟
✅ 𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘
✅ 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬
✅ 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
✅ 𝗡𝗜𝗟 𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
🤝 𝗚𝗨𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝟱 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟

👉 Experienced Coaches who coach High School and played College or Professional football.
👉 Class
👉 Commitment
👉 Character

09/17/2026

𝟭𝟰 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗨𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦
𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬, 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧
💥 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 💥
𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙇𝙊𝙋, 𝙀𝘿𝙐𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙀, 𝙎𝙐𝙋𝙋𝙊𝙍𝙏
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠
✅ 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟
✅ 𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘
✅ 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬
✅ 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
✅ 𝗡𝗜𝗟 𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
🤝 𝗚𝗨𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝟱 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟

👉 Experienced Coaches who coach High School and played College or Professional football.
👉 Class
👉 Commitment
👉 Character

09/17/2026

𝐆𝐨𝐝. 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲. 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥. 🇺🇸

09/14/2026

FAITH - FAMILY - FOOTBALL 🇺🇸

Great coaching requires considerably more than knowing football.

Long Island Elite has assembled experienced football minds who understand technique, leverage, assignment discipline, situational awareness, film study and position-specific development within unified offensive and defensive systems. Players progress through consistent terminology and concepts from 7U through 15U, allowing the game to become more sophisticated without constantly starting over.

Just as important is the caliber of the men teaching it. Our staff is made up of successful, accomplished professionals and proven leaders whose example carries weight beyond the field. Young athletes are watching how their coaches communicate, handle adversity, treat people and conduct themselves when circumstances become difficult. We take that responsibility seriously.

Youth football can become a cesspool of ego, politics, parental agendas and unnecessary drama. Elite refuses to participate in it. Coaches who make the program about themselves, favor their own children, create division or cannot manage relationships with players, parents and fellow coaches eventually expose themselves. They do not define our culture, and they do not survive in it.

Playing time and depth charts are earned. Merit wins. Preparation, performance, coachability and ex*****on determine opportunity—not surnames, friendships or politics. Our coaches collaborate across age groups, challenge one another professionally and understand that no individual agenda outranks the program.

Development continues beyond the white lines. Through B.E.A.S.T. and our broader educational platform, players are introduced to academics, branding, social media, recruiting, NIL, contracts and the realities surrounding high school and college football.

Serious football knowledge. Successful men worth learning from. High standards without the youth-sports circus. That is the coaching culture behind Long Island Elite.

Relationships Above All 🇺🇸

09/12/2026

Coach Neal Mellert played at Cortland University and is one of the finest football coaches in our program. His understanding of scheme, preparation and situational football is exceptional—but what separates him is that his standard never changes depending on whose son is standing in front of him.

Four Mellert boys. Four Long Island Elite players. Two have moved on to high school football. Two are still coming through Long Island Elite.

There’s a principle behind this photo that matters to us.

The program comes before the individual. The standard comes before the last name.

Neal has lived that principle as a coach, and as a father. He teaches the game, demands accountability and makes decisions based on merits only. No favors, no daddy ball, and no nepotism. The best players play, period.

That’s leadership. And that’s exactly the kind of man we want coaching our boys.

Relationships Above All 🇺🇸

09/11/2026

COACH ROBERT DRAGO, LIE495HQ

Coach Robert Drago brings a lifetime of football experience and a strong commitment to developing young athletes to Long Island Elite Football. A Longwood High School graduate, Robert began playing the game at five years old and has remained involved ever since, coaching at multiple levels from youth football through high school.

Away from the field, Robert has spent much of his professional career in the hospitality, restaurant and catering industries, where he has managed people and operations in demanding environments. That experience has made him a dependable presence within Long Island Elite, contributing well beyond his responsibilities as a coach.

Robert believes the lessons learned through football should follow a player long after his final game. He expects athletes to compete, respect their teammates and coaches, accept responsibility and understand that character matters as much as performance. His ability to connect with young players while holding them to a meaningful standard makes him a valued member of LIE495HQ.