Soccer Bonanza!!
May 2nd, 2009, 12:00AM
Young soccer players in NY and PA improved their skills by working
with college players at two EDD Memorial Fund clinics. On May 5th, we
offered adaptive soccer clinics in Allentown, PA and Oneonta, NY and we
were thrilled to have 65 kids and young adults participate.
The Allentown Clinic was bigger than ever, thanks to a new partnership with the Lehigh Valley TOPSoccer Club
. TOPSoccer is a national soccer program for young people with
disabilities. We scheduled the clinic on the same day as a club
practice and invited young people from the community to attend. All of
the club members plus about 10 other young people had the opportunity
to run drills with the Muhlenberg College Men’s Soccer Team. The coach
of TOPSoccer Club appreciated having a large group of skilled
volunteers to work with his team.
In Oneonta, we had another great day of soccer on Elmore Field at
Hartwick College. The clinic followed the same model of rotating the
participants through several drill stations around the field. Members
of Hartwick College Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams worked with young
people with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, muscular dystrophy,
and other developmental and physical disabilities. After about an hour
of drills, the participants and volunteers played a half-field
scrimmage game. With parents and volunteers cheering from the
sidelines, all the players enjoyed chasing the ball down the field.
Some were competitive and others were content to watch the action go
by, but everyone had a great time.