Soccer Team Created for Special Needs Kids
Updated: Thursday, 11 Mar 2010, 6:09 PM CST
Published : Thursday, 11 Mar 2010, 3:35 PM CST
HOUSTON - It seems they are the kids always left out of neighborhood pick-up games and backyard match-ups .
They are children with physical and intellectual disabilities, the type of challenges which inspired coach Sergio Rosenhek to make a big decision five years ago.
These special kids, he reasoned, denied by circumstance from so much, should never be denied the sheer joy of soccer.
"We have a spot for you," Rosenhek told these kids and their parents.
On any given Sunday, at Houston's Jewish Community Center you will find the players and coaches of TOPSoccer.
"It is just amazing that it's inclusive for all the kids who really need an extra place to feel special," says parent Rebecca Herschkowitz.
Like all successful sports programs, the focus at TOPSoccer is on fundamentals. Student volunteers guide even the most challenged players in getting untrained feet on to moving balls. Coaches and kids quickly connect.
"They feel special by having the relationship," says Rosenhek.
"If you come here and try your best, that is what it is all about," says Lucas Aisenberg, a student volunteer.
These "teen-aged teachers" find themselves learning different, but no less important lessons.
"Everyone, no matter what their situation, has the ability to give their all and be fantastic people and its nice to be a part of that," says student volunteer Moria Atzil.
Each weekly session ends with a spirited game. On the crowded gym floor, new skills actually emerge within the controlled chaos.
No one keeps score.
On the sidelines it's easy to find grateful parents.
"What I'm seeing is a lot of development, a lot of personal growth and they are just having fun," says parent Mark Katzenellenbogen.
The head coach who took the risk and got the ball rolling measures success in smiles.
"Those kids have such a hard week between school and everything. To come here on Sunday afternoon and just play soccer and just relax and have a good time, I think its priceless," says Rosenhek.
It's also the reason he can't bring himself to turn any kid away.