PLANTATION, Fla. – This week on Mom to Mom, Local 10′s Nicole Perez speaks to a mother who brought back a soccer program for children with special needs.
Mom and Top Soccer director Kristi Gregory had a passion to bring back the program that went away during COVID.
“I attended an event by the state soccer association to get me certified to run the program and learn techniques way to deal with children I’m not familiar with, so I’m able to bring this program to Plantation and offer it to anyone who is interested,” said Gregory.
Gregory said she has 30 kids ranging in age from four to 21 years old, on the Plantation FC Rush team and one of them is her daughter Aria.
“I do it because I have a daughter who has autism. It’s important to me that she feels included, not excluded,” said Gregory.
Aria is 14 years old and was diagnosed with autism when she was three years old.
“I still remember when she was diagnosed because the doctor specifically said to me, we don’t have to label her autistic if that bothers you and that statement actually bothered me because she’s no different than anyone else,” said Gregory.
Gregory made it her mission to give Aria the life that everyone has and that includes playing soccer.
“Safety is our number concern with autistic children and special needs. They do have a tendency to wander and that’s something we take seriously. We have a bunch of parent volunteers and coach volunteers that overview the program and making sure no one leaves the field alone,” said Gregory.
The program is made up entirely of volunteer travel soccer players and coaches, with about five coaches at every session and a buddy for each child.
“Your buddy has been through a course on how to deal with special needs children so from the minute they walk onto the field, they’re paired with a buddy that doesn’t leave their side,” said Gregory.
The field is all turf and is completely flat, which helps kids with balance issues there’s also no dust or divots for those with walkers or wheelchairs.
Santiago Parraga is seven years old and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He uses a walker, but his mom Sofia said it’s not a hindrance, it’s his motivation.
“Something as simple as kicking the ball he wasn’t able to do that. As soon as last year and now he’s kicking the ball,” said Sofia Parraga.
Despite his challenges life brings Santiago and his family, his mother said she has seen tremendous growth.
“From that little, tiny person with all the tubes and we didn’t even know if he was going to be able to breathe by himself and now, he plays for a full hour and he scores 100 goals like he likes to say,” said Parraga.
Parraga said she has spent most of his life searching for all kinds of adaptive sports programs and when she found Top Soccer, she said it was a game changer.
“When we found this program it’s like oh my God, not only is he playing for city team. He’s being registered as a player for the state of Florida. Those are the things you don’t think are going to happen. It means the world to us. Like my husband says,he’s my hero,” said Parraga.
A new season is expected to begin in March, but the group is looking for sponsors. This is a free program and there is no charge for the students to play. The coaches are also volunteers. If you would like to contribute, please email kristi@plantationfcrush.com.
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