Murray State University Athletics
Racer soccer reaches out to TOPS
10/8/2004 5:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
For the past two years, Minielli and the student-athletes of Racer soccer have spent considerable amounts of time working with the TOPSoccer program of Graves County, a team of young people with mental or physical disabilities.
TOPS stands for "The Outreach Program for Soccer," a national program based in Richardson, Texas.
"Former players Emily Schaller and Abby Baden began volunteering their time to TOPSoccer last season," Minielli said, "and now, many of our girls work with them."
TOPSoccer coach Jeannie McAlpin started the team two years ago after receiving a grant from TOPS. The team is open to any child with a disability who cannot otherwise participate on a soccer team.
"We like to call our program a real team with real uniforms," McAlpin said. "They learn social skills, and soccer is a wonderful way to get exercise. We also play indoors in the winter."
Sometimes as many as 10 soccer players from Murray State work with TOPSoccer on Saturday mornings as their schedule allows.
"That says something about our team, for them to get up on Saturday mornings to do this," Minnielli said. "Those kids have become our soccer buddies; many times when I see them, they ask how our team is doing."
The great thing about the game of soccer is that it lends itself to all skill levels. Anyone can play soccer, no matter what the skill level is. Minielli said working with TOPS is therapeutic for his team and the kids.
"We play an intense game on the college level, so for our players to get away from that for a while is good," he said. "But when you get right down to it, we play because we love the game, and the kids at TOPSoccer do too. Soccer has certainly helped the kids of TOPSoccer have a better life."
The same goes for the players of Murray State soccer, not because of the game, but because of giving their time and effort to the kids.
