Community Corner

Leveling the Pitch

The East Brunswick Soccer Club's TOP Soccer Program gets athletes with disabilities on the soccer field for fun and exercise.

Dom Mastro has seen first hand what a difference something as simple as being on a team and playing a sport can make in the life of a youngster.

A coach with three children involved in the East Brunswick Soccer Club, he’s coached dozens and seen how they benefit from exercise, teamwork and making new friends.

But what really got him interested in the East Brunswick Soccer Club’s TOP Soccer Program was his nephew.

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“My nephew has Cerebral Palsy, we’re always around him and it never stopped him. He was always playing - wrestling, basketball, soccer - and that made me want to get involved in this taking off in town.”

TOP Soccer is designed to bring the game of soccer to boys and girls with special needs by pairing each with a “buddy” to assist in practicing and coaching. Groundwork for the program was laid by former club President Ron Bransorfer, and continued by other club members, including Mastro and Jen Harmon.

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“We started it because we just felt that East Brunswick soccer was so big and had so many kids, but it didn’t address the needs of some of the students,” said Harmon. “If a child was disabled, there wasn’t an appropriate place to play in East Brunswick.”

The goal of the program is to teach young athletes the fundamentals of soccer and making sure participants get plenty of exercise and have plenty of fun. Along the way, they’ll also get to see what it’s like to really be on a team.

“It has exceeded our expectations,” said Harmon. “Parents are thrilled. They say they’ve been waiting for this for some time. We got a lot of parents wanting to help out. I had people as soon as I mentioned it last spring.”

So far, 34 players have enrolled in the program and 50 residents have volunteered to be buddies. The program is open to children with ADD, ADHD and other health impairments including physical and the spectrum of autistic disorders. TOP Soccer joins similar programs in the township, including the East Brunswick Baseball League and Fast Break Basketball program. In fact, EBSC looked to those programs for guidance and even found a few volunteers there.

“We’ve been talking to the buddies involved in basketball, and we had a (certification) class at the end of February next to one of the Buddy Ball games. Watching the Buddies involved with it was a great thing,” said Mastro.

Buddies must attend a four-hour certification class, the next of which will be held March 26 at Heavenly Farms. The program will show buddies how to work with special needs and address situations that may arise.

TOP Soccer will run on Saturday mornings at the new handicapped accessible Level Playing Field at Heavenly Farms for eight weeks. The kids will be divided into teams and take part in drills that match their abilities, including kicking, rolling, blocking shots and even rolling a huge soccer ball around.

Kids who enroll will get the full Soccer Club treatment. Not only will they get to practice and play games, but they also get a club shirt to wear for games and participate in trophy day. But that’s not until they learn what makes the game so popular.

“The goal is to teach them the fundamentals of soccer, kicking, blocking running, and give them exercise and have fun at the same time,” said Harmon.

The TOP Soccer season will begin April 2. To register, visit the East Brunswick Soccer Club website.


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