A Richmond non-profit is launching the city's first soccer program that caters to kids with cognitive or physical diversities or limitations.
Richmond United Soccer Club's (RUSC) Adapted Kicks program was founded by board director Gita Manhas, and it's unique because it's tailored toward the needs of each child.
"Our aim is to really embrace participation from any kid, whether it be neurodiversity — maybe they have ADHD and autism and therefore can't participate in regular soccer programming that's more structured," said Manhas.
"Or if the child has a physical disability and therefore will benefit from one-on-one support, to learn new skills and be given the time and space to really grow into a soccer player."
Children with cognitive or physical diversities are often underrepresented in youth sports, said Manhas.
Indeed, one of her students, whose older sister is enrolled in RUSC's regular youth soccer programming, has never been able to get involved in the same activities.
"At some point, I realized that the family was actually driving out (of town) once a week for the child to be involved in soccer in general," she said.
"That was a moment that really clicked for me and realizing that we can be doing more to provide soccer to diverse kids in the community."
In contrast with programs currently on offer, one of the benefits of the Adapted Kicks program is one-to-one support for participants.
"I've set a goal for myself to be able to partner every child who registers in the program with a volunteer for every training session. So the children will be able to work one-on-one and have that direct hands-on support," said Manhas.
The program will be supervised by head coach Noah Jobson, who is experienced in the creation and execution of adaptive sports programming.
Another goal that Manhas had was to keep the program affordable. At $100, the fee includes a whole set of training sessions and a full uniform kit for participants to keep.
"Just to make sure they really feel like they're engaged in this soccer community, even though their training sessions aren't going to look exactly like the training session running beside them," said Manhas.
Adapted Kicks will run from Sept. 19 to Mar. 6, 2023. Details and registration for the program are available online.
Anyone who is interested in volunteering as a coach is also welcome to submit a volunteer application.
