TOPSoccer a hit in West Hempstead

After six weeks of fun and games, the West Hempstead Chiefs Soccer Club is ending its TOPSoccer program with Trophy Day on May 21.

The program — which came to West Hempstead by way of Lauren Lee, co-president of the West Hempstead school district SEPTA — is a volunteer- and community-based training and team placement program for young athletes with disabilities, according to the TOPSoccer website, usyouthsoccer.org. According to Lee, there was a need for just such a program in the small hamlet.

“The Chiefs, when they said they wanted to do this, I was very happy to start it up and try to be a part of it,” Lee recently told the Herald. “In the past I had gone around West Hempstead to find programs that were willing to do some sort of extra-curricular activities for kids with disabilities.”

Lee had previously worked with Lakewood Stables, Bodies in Motion and several karate schools to create programs for children with disabilities. She also ran a six-week program with the Chiefs in the fall to gauge the interest of the community. “The motto at the time was ‘There is no stopping us,’” Lee said. “We just had a really good time.” And as a result, TOPSoccer made it to West Hempstead in April

Some 20 kids signed up for the program. Each was paired with a junior soccer coach — Chiefs players between the ages of 12 and 18 — and they spent an hour on the fields at the George Washington School every Saturday starting April 9. The first half-hour was spent practicing with the coaches and the players participated in scrimmages for the remaining thirty minutes. But the one-on-one time with the coaches was golden, according to Lee.

“They do a fantastic job,” Lee said of the volunteers. “It’s a challenge for them to try to help this child to accomplish something as easy as kicking a ball or the accomplishment of kicking it into the net. It’s great to see those kids volunteering.”

It’s just as wonderful to see the benefits a program such as this affords the disabled children, Lee added.