Ridgewood Soccer’s Special Needs Program Ready to Kick Off

With summer coming to an end, soccer season soon begins, and that's certainly true for the Ridgewood Soccer Association (RSA) and the one thousand pairs of cleats that will soon be tearing into the village's grass fields.

For over 30 years, the RSA has offered fun recreational soccer programs for kids as young as kindergarten age, all the way up to high school and thousands of kids have been through the ranks since the association's inception in 1978.

What you may not know, however, is that the RSA makes room for players with special needs, too. 

Starting Sept. 11, soccer players, ages 6 to 14, "who require the individual attention available in a smaller soccer program" according to the RSA, will be able to kick around the ball, and Bill Behan, who heads the special needs program couldn't be happier. Why they enjoy it is no different than the other kids, he says.

"The kids who play are like average kids," said Bill Behan. "They like talk to people and play ball." 

He added, "You can see they have a lot going on upstairs." 

Behan said the program gets between 10 to 20 kids each year.

"We begin our first game the Saturday after Labor Day and we fit in eight weeks," he said. "We get it in to the early weeks of November, by then it just gets cold." 

He said that each of the kids plays with girls from Ridgewood High School's varsity girls team, who volunteer their time to teach the kids and to just hang out and have some outdoor fun.

"The girls from the soccer team will run along side of the players and encourage them and help them on," said Behan. 

He explained the girls are "incredibly giving" with their time and it's a credit to the character of the girls and girls varsity coach Jeff Yearing.

"The girls of the Ridgewood varsity soccer and coach Jeff Yearing really give back a lot," said Behan. "They really give a lot to this program." 

"They will cheer on the kids and say, 'Kick the ball! Kick the ball!'," said Behan, smiling. 

He said it helps mainstream the special needs kids with the rest of the community. 

"It is fun just to see the players hang out with the high school girls," said Behan. He said the kids and the girls from the school relate well to each other, which fosters a special bond between them and encourages the kids with special needs to really feel comfortable. 

Whether a seasoned veteran of the program or a green rookie, the goal is to provide individualized attention to develop soccer skils and fitness while also promoting how fun soccer and sports in general can be, Behan said.

But parents too benefit from the special needs program.

"These kids have special, special needs," he said. "You can see the look on the faces of the parents. They get to watch their kids play an hour and it gives them a chance to enjoy the time as they watch the kids." 

The head of the special needs program explained the program "has grown over the past several years." 

"Both the players and the volunteers enjoy themselves," he said. "It is just incredibly rewarding to see it and be a part of it." 

For more information about the Ridgewood Soccer's Special Needs Program, visit here.