The Fergus Elora District Soccer (FEDS) special needs soccer program is calling on all community members to come out and enjoy the third annual Special Needs Soccer Festival on July 11.
The festival, which will take place from 12 to 4pm at Victoria Park in Fergus, will have organized soccer games with athletes from Centre Wellington, Kitchener and Halton Hills.
There will be food, prizes, face painting and a large cake for spectators.
All the fun and games are to show support for the FEDS special needs soccer program, which runs every Friday at Southridge Park in Elora.
“So many people in the community don’t know that the program exists,” said FEDS president and festival organizer Pat Espina.
Katie Morton, a coach for this year’s team, thinks the program is fantastic.
“It is really difficult to find adult special needs programs,” said Morton. “There’s a lot of things for children under the age of 12, but as soon as they hit 16 to 60, there’s not a lot of activity for them that’s physical.”
The program opened for the season on May 29, bringing more than 30 participants to the field.
“You can tell they all love to be here, I think it’s because there’s a special community spirit here and friendship,” said Espina, who keeps the games going.
Espina and his wife Irene started the program five years ago.
“We felt that there wasn’t anything for the adults other than they have more competitive things,” said Irene. “We wanted something more relaxed and fun and social and still learning skills.”
“A lot of them come out of their shells even within a few weeks,” added Morton.
Debbie and Kerry Hillis drove from Guelph with their son Riley to participate in the program. Debbie has seen Riley open up at the soccer games every Friday.
“I think he is more outgoing and more willing to participate and the coaches are really encouraging,” she said.
