Special needs involvement

I was paired with a student who had a disability which made it hard for him to focus on what was going on in class. I was there to try and help him learn and keep him on track. I would help him about once a week.

Around 4th or 5th grade my dad started up a soccer club for kids with disabilities which was called the Very Important Persons club (V.I.P.). Since I was so young, to make it more fun for the kids, I would miss the ball and they would score. The goal of the club was to help kids have fun and play soccer that was more tuned to their speed. This allowed us to be able to walk next to them and show them how to play. There were about 8-10 kids who played.

During my middle school time I was an assistant coach for a U8 team for about 3 years. My job was to assist the coach but also focus on helping the player who had a disability. I would teach them how to play the game and just focus on them. Over the time I coached them they made massive improvements. They went from not knowing what was going on to being involved with every play and actually enjoying going to the games.

Through my high school there was a class I could take called linkers and I was assigned a student to help. With this program I was able to join him every day in one of his classes he was struggling in. My job was to make sure he understood the material he was learning, help him with his homework and answer any questions he had about anything. I did it for my last 2 years of high school.

Top soccer was another soccer program that my dad started to help children with disabilities. Since this took place while I was in high school, I could help him more than before. My job was to make sure that all the kids were participating and having fun. If there was someone who wasn't enjoying it or not trying, I would take them over to the side and we would go play somewhere else where it was more enjoyable for them. There were about 10-20 kids who attended.