LOCKPORT: Fun and games
By April Amadon/amadona@gnnewspaper.com
The Tonawanda News
Barbara Dotts stood on the sidelines at the Kenan Center on Thursday, watching her son Matthew run around the field, kicking a soccer ball and laughing with his friends.
Matthew, 10, who suffers from a neurological disorder and delayed motor skills, doesn’t always feel as comfortable playing with other children.
“My son has a lot of cousins who are developmentally fine, and when they’re playing soccer, he gets a little intimidated by it. He shies away,” Barbara said. “If there’s other kids like him out there, he wants to participate.”
Barbara and other parents have signed their kids up to be a part of The Outreach Program for Soccer, a sports program for kids with disabilities.
The Niagara TOPSoccer league meets from 6 to 7 p.m. every Thursday on the fields outside the Kenan Center, 433 Locust St.
No pre-registration is required. The cost for new players is $27, which includes a uniform.
Any kid over the age of 5 who has any kind of mental or physical disability is welcome to join.
Teresa Doermer, director for TOPSoccer’s Western New York division, said the goal of the program is just to have fun.
“We want to give them the opportunity to play soccer like their siblings,” she said. “They can say they’re soccer players.”
The players go through drills, learning how to run with the ball and pass it back and forth. At the end of the practice, they might play a small scrimmage game to test their newly-learned skills.
For kids in wheelchairs, there are larger soccer balls that are easier for them to use. The adapted equipment is provided by TOPSoccer, a national program.
Marlies Borzynski brought her son, 9-year-old Noah, to the program for the first time on Thursday.
Noah, who is autistic, needs an outlet like this, Marlies said.
“This is an adventure for us,” she said. “I kind of just want him to get exercise. Otherwise he’ll sit in front of the computer or the TV. ...I want him to be around other kids, is what it comes down to.”
Parents get to be around other parents, as well. Barbara joined her fellow parents, Patty Day-Harding and Ilene Garrison, on the sidelines to watch their sons play together.
“He’s very active. He loves playing soccer,” Ilene said of her son, 7-year-old Matthew, who has Downs Syndrome. “He doesn’t always have kids in the neighborhood that he can play with.”
Day-Harding said her son, Michael, 12, loves the TOPSoccer program.
Michael has several disabilities, including autistic tendencies and developmental delays, but is very athletic.
“He has physical obstacles and is able to play pretty well, but he does better in this league,” Day-Harding said. “Socially, he feels that he’ll be embraced. He’s not ‘different,’ is what he said. He’s not different here.”
The program is always looking for more volunteers. Doermer said they aim to have one volunteer for each child.
Jon Williams, who coaches soccer at Niagara County Community College, volunteers to coach the kids and has brought along several of his players to help out.
Barbara said she appreciates the hard work of the volunteers.
“The people don’t mind every week if they have to tell my son the same thing. He needs that constant re-enforcement, constant direction,” she said. “In a lot of other programs, they don’t have the patience.”
Volunteer and organizer Erin Minderler said college students can even get credit for helping out.
“We desperately need more people, especially college kids, to come out,” Minderler said.
Anyone who wants to volunteer can call Doermer at 774-1070, or send an e-mail to TOPSoccer@nyswsa.org.
Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.
Click Here for more pictures from the Lockport TOPSoccer sessions.
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Lockport TopSoccer Jamboree
The Lockport Jamboree held on Saturday, April 28, 2007 was a great success. Erin Minderler and her volunteers from the Lockport area hosted the Jamboree. The Kenan Center generously donated the facility for the event to take place. The players and volunteers were given special Jamboree T-shirts donated by SCORE and New York State West.
This event was a preview to the upcoming Niagara TOPSoccer League that will take place on Thursday evenings starting June 14th. All players can register at the first session. It will be at the Kenan Center – outdoor field – starting at 6 pm on Thursday, June 14th running for 6 weeks. Volunteers are always needed. Please contact Erin Minderler atmailto:eminderler@yahoo.com for more information.
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TOPSoccer Summer Sessions 2007
*no pre-registration required,
you may register at the first session of every event.
Cost for new players $27.00 (includes uniform)
NIAGARA TOPSOCCER LEAGUE
THURSDAY EVENINGS
June 14th – July 26th
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Outdoor at the Kenan Center
433 Locust Street
Lockport, NY 14094
For more information contact
Erin Minderler at eminderler@yahoo.com
