The Backyard Sports Cares signature program that matches middle and high school volunteer coaches with special needs athletes recently found another home in Rye. Launched in September with the help of the Rye Recreation Department and support of the Rye City School District, the new program welcomed 20 new athletes for 6 weeks of fun and soccer instruction on the pitch.
The fun continued during the winter months with six weeks of basketball in the Midland Elementary School Gym. And late winter is bringing more indoor activity at Midland with a four week tennis program that will run during the entire month of March.
Volunteer coach Sydney McMullen, a junior at Mamaroneck High School, recently explained why she shows up every Thursday afternoon. “I can see the positive impact that integrating special needs athletes and non special needs athletes has on my community. I see it in my school, I see it in my family and I see it in the faces of the volunteers and athletes that show up here every week.”
Long time coach Vin Minotti has kindly shouldered one hundred percent of the coaching duties bringing his usual combination of fun, thoughtful lesson plans, and enthusiasm to the program. Adult volunteers Suzy Ugliarolo-McKay and Claudine Hanley have contributed countless hours helping with everything from spreading the word within the community of potential athletes to recruiting and organizing volunteers from Rye High School, Iona Prep and The Ursuline School. A special note of thanks to Superintendent Sally Rogol and Asst Superintendent Erin Mantz at Rye Recreation Department for all their help and support.
As the mother of one of the athletes remarked following a recent Thursday afternoon session,
“It gives my son an avenue to have fun with other kids. He spends a lot of time after school doing ABA therapies and this is just a great break for him. We enjoy seeing him happy, and this program makes him happy, so that’s why it works for us.”