Special needs youngsters have a ball with CSU Pueblo soccer players on the pitch

No matter how many times Stuart Szemaraj has seen it before, the sight never gets old: dozens of special needs kids, each with a smile as wide as you could imagine, running after soccer balls inside Colorado State University Pueblo’s indoor training facility, The ART.

“Look at how much fun they’re having,” Szemaraj said Wednesday while watching the youngsters interacting with members of CSU Pueblo's men's soccer team. "And look at how much fun the CSU Pueblo kids are having. It’s good for them to give back.”

The CSU Pueblo student-athletes were paired with the special needs players at Wednesday's outing as part of the Pueblo Rangers’ TOPSoccer special needs program, which is funded by the Rangers and is a branch of the club that Szemaraj helped start.

The program's spring season began last week, but Wednesday's event was an interlude that gave the kids a chance to play with and learn from collegiate players.

Conversely, it offered those CSU Pueblo athletes an opportunity to engage in a community project with a group of kids that, at times, can be overlooked.

“Just from their reactions, when you give them time and effort, you can tell it means a lot to them,” said Will Whitworth, a sophomore goalkeeper for CSU Pueblo men’s soccer. “(This interaction) also builds into your awareness of the world. It’s so easy to get caught in your bubble and only be aware of the types of people you spend time with on a day-to-day basis like friends and family. It’s eye opening.”

Szemaraj felt much the same way soon after he, in his early years of helping develop youth soccer programs in Pueblo, realized he hadn’t started a league for people with intellectual and developmental challenges. Debbie Nettles of the Pueblo Rangers Soccer Club connected him with Kathy Schleifer, an occupational therapist and owner of Pueblo Pediatric Therapy Center, and the pair eventually developed teams for people with special needs around 2015.

Those two and Nettles have since helped shepherd the program to where it is today. Kids who participate in the program play four exhibition games every Saturday between late April and May in what is one of the few active programs in Pueblo that offers a recreational opportunity for people with special needs.

Because of that, Wednesday’s event was much more special for the kids who participated, and their parents, who often ask Schleifer when the next event will be so they can circle it on their calendars.

“I just like to see her out there having a good time,” said Bryon Mick, father to 4-year-old Katie Mick, who participated in Wednesday's event.

Kara Mick, Katie’s mom, said her daughter was more outgoing and confident on Wednesday than she's been in prior years. She feels that Katie's participation with the Pueblo Rangers special needs program has helped spark some of that growth.

Katie Mick was one of several kids at the event who beamed with confidence and an infectious joy during several drills led by the CSU Pueblo athletes, who were just as jubilant. Some of the kids raced down the field, kicking soccer balls toward the goal post; others chased them down, completely focused on the game and the environment.

“We’re really lucky and blessed to have these amazing facilities and to have the opportunity to play soccer every day and do what we love,” said Oliver Twelvetrees, head men’s soccer coach at CSU Pueblo. "(This partnership) gives you a degree of gratitude for what we have.

“Hopefully we brought some joy into these kids' lives and helped them enjoy the sport and learn it a little bit, too.”

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Twelvetrees also said he feels the interaction can help his players develop as people by learning other skills.

“It’s a big thing for me to step up and give them the opportunities that some people might not ever have and help people in need have that time and experience that they may not get elsewhere,” said Joseph Baston, a junior forward for CSU Pueblo men’s soccer.

The program's spring soccer season is scheduled for Saturdays throughout May. The fall season runs between September and October.

The event on Wednesday, however, was the “highlight” of the season for the kids and parents, Schleifer said.

“The thing is, this was just a field full of kids having a great time,” Schleifer said. “I could go down a list and tell you a bunch of things about them, but really there’s no reason to know it. They were just a bunch of kids who had a great evening playing soccer.”

To learn more about the Pueblo Rangers' TOPSoccer program, visit pueblorangers.net.

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Young special needs soccer players learn from CSU Pueblo athletes