Chris and Lindsay Lubick’s son Jack is a 9-year-old with an extreme form of autism. He has not yet learned to speak, and wears earplugs to quiet sensory overload.
Despite these daily challenges, it’s evident to his parents that Jack enjoys soccer. It’s what he wants to do when he attends his sister’s games for the Clarence Soccer Club.
“He’s happy as all hell,” Chris Lubick said. “He loves to kick a soccer ball around.”
The Lubicks spent the last few weeks preparing to send Jack to the Buffalo-area return of TOPSoccer, a national program for kids with special needs that combines learning the sport with fun.
The first session of TOP Soccer began Saturday at Epic Sports and Fun Center in Lancaster, and runs every Saturday through March 23. It is intended for children ages 5 to 21 with physical or mental challenges.
All 30 spots in the first session are filled, but there is potential for the program to grow for future sessions, said Doug Curella Jr., executive director of Clarence Soccer Club.
Participants and volunteers to help lead the program are not limited to members of club. More information is available at clarencesoccer.org.
Curella said Meg Bellomo, a Clarence youth soccer coach with a background teaching special education, will spearhead the sessions, along with Vanessa Uhteg from New York West Youth Soccer and Frank Butcher from Clarence Soccer Club.
Given her background, Bellomo said launching something like TOPSoccer has long been one of her goals.
“For special education families – we needed something for them,” she said.
Curella and Bellomo said one of their soccer club’s greatest strengths is its many eager volunteers – traditionally a hurdle in sustaining special needs programs – to provide one-on-one attention through a buddy system for anyone who participates. No child with special needs is left alone.
“It’s an opportunity for kids to feel included, to feel part of a team and to connect…
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