Lynbrook Soccer Club Mulls League for Kids with Disabilities

Children with disabilities might have a soccer league of their own if the Lynbrook/East Rockaway Soccer Club has anything to say about it.

The club is working on putting together a league called TOP soccer – Total Outreach Program for soccer – which has been spearheaded by the club's president, Guy Punzi, and the director of recreation for the , Pat McDermott.

"It started when Pat called and said he was looking for advice on starting a program for disabled children," Punzi said. "I did some research and found that our parent organization, Long Island Junior Soccer, has TOP soccer for physically and mentally handicapped children."

The club is in the process of getting the word out to see if there is any interest. At this point it has a lot of people who have volunteered to coach, but only has one child interested in playing.

That child, Justin Silver, is the son of travel league coach Brian Silver, who has volunteered to coach the disabled league.

Justin has Fragile X Syndrome, which is a neurodevelopmental condition that causes symptoms ranging from learning disabilities to severe mental retardation, seizures, speech delay, and anxiety. Although 9-year-old Justin has debilitating anxiety, behavioral issues and seizures, he loves sports, his father said.

"He loves basketball and baseball and he has tried the soccer program in Oceanside," Brian Silver said. "If it's possible to get kids together to participate in soccer and identify with their siblings, they will feel better about themselves."

Silver coaches his 12-year-old daughter on the U-13 travel league, called Thunder.

"The [disabled] program is designed to offer a child with disabilities the opportunity to participate in a sporting event as best they can," Punzi said. "Whatever might put a smile on their faces. Soccer is a means to get that accomplished."

The league is trying to get the word out by going through the department of recreation in Lynbrook, the special education PTA in Lynbrook, and Camp ANCHOR, which is based in Long Beach. The program will be offered at no cost and will be open to children ages 5 through 18. They won't necessarily be organized by their age, they will be organized by ability, Punzi said.

Punzi is hoping to run the program in the spring, fall, or both. The kids would play on weekends, including eight weekends each season. Punzi said he would like to see the program start this spring, but participants have been slow in coming, so he hopes it will start in the fall.