The Tribune South Tempe Voice, Wednesday, October 31, 2001
The Arizona Republic, Tuesday, February 26, 2002
The Ahwatukee Foothills News, November 28, 2003
Article
Soccer League makes youths feel like VIPs
By Larry Ward Staff Writer
Like a lot of parents, Amy Dill didn't know what to expect when she signed up her 5-year-old son, Adam, for the Very Important Player (VIP) youth soccer program this summer.
"It turned out wonderfully," said Dill, an Ahwatukee Foothills "soccer mom," and marathon runner after the inaugural VIP season concluded at Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School last Saturday morning.
The VIP program began in 1961 by the American Youth Soccer Association and is designed for players with physical or mental challenges that would normally prevent them from participating in regular programs.
"Adam has been in physical therapy forever," Dill said, "and he didn't seem to be interested in being out there with the other kids. He didn't care. Now, he's found an interest."
Although the program has been around for more than 40 years and has been a success in other parts of Arizona, it wasn't until Ahwatukee Foothills resident John Mills and some volunteers organized a local group during the summer that the program gained a home in Ahwatukee Foothills.
"Our original plan was to just do it in the fall," Mills said, "but everyone wanted to have a spring season, too, so we'll be starting up again the second week in January."
That season will conclude after spring break and just before another program, called Challenger Baseball operated by the Little League Baseball, begins for children with disabilities.
A dozen original VIP players wrapped up the season with a game last Saturday, then an awards presentation where each player took home an individual trophy.
For some players, like James, the son of Ahwatukee Foothills optometrist Teresa Pavese, the VIP program was his first experience with an organized sport.
"He had a lot of experience kicking gravel," Pavese said jokingly. "When this opportunity came up, I thought it would be great."
She rented a soccer tape featuring Pele, considered the world's finest soccer player, from the library when James started to show an interest in soccer.
"I thought it would go over his head," Pavese said, "but he knew what they were doing on the tape, tried it himself, and transformed from being a non-player to a rather good player."
The VIP theme is based on "Let Every Child Play," and the score didn't matter even though the team finished the season with a 7-0 record.
Entry fees for returning players for the spring season will be $35 per player and $75 for new players requiring a uniform. Some assistance is available for VIP players based on financial need.
The club received a major financial sponsorship boost from the My Wine Cellar marathon running club and Kathleen Fordyce, who owns the Ahwatukee Foothills business with her husband, Tom. The club will run as a team in the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in downtown Phoenix in January. The members pay an entry fee. Over the past four months, those fees and other fund raising projects have added more the $1,000 to the VIP treasury.
"We plan to buy balls that make noise or light up because some players are blind," Fordyce said.
The club also received help from several volunteers, like 13-year-old Kyrene Altadeņa Middle School eighth-grader Andrew Waterhouse and Scott Sidener, an occupational therapist.
Waterhouse, who played soccer when he was younger, became involved through a school project.
"I have a class where we do community service and get a better understanding of the community," Waterhouse said. "I knew some kids at my school who had disabilities, but now I have some firsthand knowledge. It's been fun. All the kids are really nice and really appreciate you being out there."
Sidener has been making an 80-mile round trip from Gold Canyon to volunteer, but he's used to being on the road. He works with children with special needs throughout the Valley.
"This is rewarding," Sidener said. "You're not looking so much for the end result but the journey along the way. The social interaction is great for the kids."
Mills said the only disappointment from the first year of the program was the lack of high school-age participants.
"We're still experimenting," Mills said, "but we would like to form a high school team where they could play other high school teams. But we got a lot of feedback from the kids and the parents. Some kids who were more athletic learned about teamwork, too, and that you can't score all the goals."
Dill said the program has made an impact on her son.
"Adam is probably the youngest player in the program," Dill said, "but he's out there kicking the ball with the other kids now. We'll be back."
The reporter is available at (480) 898-7915 or by e-mail at lward@aztrib.com.
Registration opens
The VIP program will have a walk-up registration between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Dec. 6 at Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School's multi-purpose room, 2720 E. Liberty Lane, in Ahwatukee Foothills.
An online registration is also available through the sixth paragraph of the registration page at http://members.cox.net/ayso1046 or through Mills at (480) 704-7780.
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