Blue Thunder

The team gathers for a post-practice chant

The TOPSoccer program is divided into two separate groups of players: children, ages 4 and up, and adults. I volunteer with the children's team, Blue Thunder. Every Sunday I have the opportunity to play with these inspiring children for just one hour. They're mind boggling. Truly. It amazes me to see how they overcome their physical and mental challenges to accomplish their goals as a team. From fields away, their disabilities aren't even noticeable, and that is what I love about this program.

One of my core values is the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. TOPSoccer strives to embody this rule every day of the year. I love seeing the volunteers and coaches look past the player's mental and physical differences. They don't just see their faces or bodies; they see what truly matters: their souls. 

Pictured here is Joella, an athlete on the team with Down Syndrome. Joella is for sure the most optimistic human I've ever met. When the team splits up into groups for scrimmages, she loves to play goalie, and finds herself constantly cheering for the other team as the ball rolls under her feet into the goal. One day I asked her,"Joella why are you cheering the other team scored?"
To which Joella cheeringly replied "well yeah but Blue Thunder scored too!"

Before I entered this program, I would've told you this experience was going to be dreadful, difficult, and dry, but its everything BUT that. These children are so upbeat, smart, and hysterical.

team gathers under the parachute after practice

Mimi, a rambunctious 7 year old, loves to charge at the goal during "Red Light, Green Light", beating all of her teammates. From the goal, Mimi climbs in the net and chants at her other teammates "C'MON BLUE THUNDER. GREEN LIGHT MEANS GO!" Her vivacious and rambunctious spirit is the heart and soul of this team.

The remarkable kids I've met through TOPSoccer have forever changed me. I'm so glad to be apart of this team and I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has to bring!

It's the Little Things That Make the Biggest Difference

Volunteers explain the next activity to their buddy

After just a few weeks of getting to work with the amazing kids in LYSA TOPSoccer, I have learned so many insightful things about children with disabilities.  First off and most importantly, I have realized the value of patience in working with these kids. Patience is absolutely essential in teaching them the game of soccer because they can't always comprehend and act on what you say after the first time you give them a direction. I experienced this first hand-- the buddy I was assigned to on the first week, named Damien, has been diagnosed with ADHD as well as Autism.  He had trouble following directions and all he seemed to want to do was run around and do the opposite of whatever we told him. So to sum up, that week I came back to campus tired out and frustrated with the lack of progress.  Two weeks later I was assigned to Damien again and got to see him already drastically improving in so many different ways.  The beginning of the practice was very similar to that first week I was working with him, but as time passed his other buddy and I collaborated and found activities that peaked his interest more than others.  With our patience combined with our persistence to help him achieve his very best, Damien's other buddy and I worked together to help him improve in merely 2 weeks time.  At the very end of the practice, Damien's mother came up to us and said: "That is the most that he has touched the soccer ball in probably a month. Whatever you guys are doing, keep it up!".  This statement just uplifted me and really made me feel like I was making a difference in someone's life.

Child watches his buddy dribble towards the goal

Another observation I made about working with disabled children is the extreme amounts of encouragement and effort that the buddy has to put in to make sure the child understands what you are asking them to do. As shown in the photo on the right of a previous practice, the buddy sometimes has to demonstrate the action that you want them to mimic, for example "dribbling" or "shooting" the ball. Through persistence and lots of positive words, the child ends up learning the exercise.   Seeing the proud smile on my buddy's face when he accomplishes something new is one of the main reasons I keep looking forward to coming back to TOPSoccer week after week!