Benefield: Special-needs children find level playing field at Santa Rosa sports program

One athlete dropped to the ground and made an imaginary snow angel on the synthetic grass. Another played peek-a-boo while sitting inside a soccer goal. And still another shed a few tears when the ball didn’t do what he wanted it to do.

In all, it looked like an average introduction to soccer practice with young athletes.

But not to Maribel Flores.

On Wednesday, Flores watched her 9-year-old son Angel race around the field at Sports City at Epicenter in Santa Rosa with his designated buddy, kicking the ball and working up a sweat. Angel, who has ADHD, had tried recreational soccer before but the pace was too fast, the instruction too cursory. On Wednesday, at the opening session of the Epic Athletes program, it was just right.

“Other times he’s kind of always fallen short with other people who are more high functioning,” Flores said.

The atmosphere with Epic Athletes gave Angel a chance to feel successful, she said.

“So he’s not feeling like he’s trying to catch up or not understanding,” she said.

Epic Athletes is a years-old program with a new name but the same mission it has always had: Give special-needs athletes a place to play and learn with peers of similar cognitive and physical abilities. The new, eight-week session that is free to families kicked off Wednesday with 103 athletes on the rolls and an additional 15 on a waiting list.

“I see how much parents and kids need something like this,” said Katya Robinson, director of Epic Athletes.

Robinson is also a special-day teacher with the West County Special Education Consortium.

“Currently, if a kid is diagnosed with a disability, their access to general education PE is very limited,” she said.

And sports offer every person the opportunity to get physical exercise, make friends, learn about commitment and a litany of other life skills.

“We all play in different ability leagues. You don’t need to be a superstar at it; it’s about building team unity,” Robinson said. “It offers a sense of empowerment.

“This is something they don’t necessarily get in an academic setting,” she added. “Your goal is to have fun and laugh and joke and make friends. Everybody wants to feel accepted.”

Epicenter is donating the facility time and space for the program.

“Sports are such a metaphor for the rest of your life,” Epicenter assistant general manager Jenny Ogston said.

Teamwork, handling disappointment, handling success, taking instruction, accepting a challenge - sports dole out those lessons daily. And everybody deserves a shot at it.

Alison Gray watched her 16-year-old grandson Kamden Marrs play soccer with Epic Athletes. Sports help Marrs, who has autism, turn his focus to others.

“It’s not always easy to teach them to work with others,” Gray said of those with autism. Gray said that being on a team, working on passing the ball and handling it when things don’t go as planned has been huge for her grandson.

“And it’s the same reason why any kid plays sports,” Gray said. “You get to teach them about teamwork and sportsmanship. It’s not about winning. You play as well as you can play.”

The fact that a new session of Epic Athletes launched approximately 24 hours after federal Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed entirely eliminating federal funding for the Special Olympics was not lost on those participating or watching last week. And never mind that President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he has “overridden my people” to reinstate the funding. The message that the special-needs community is expendable was clear.

“It’s abhorrent. I can’t even imagine,” Gray said of the proposed cut. “Special needs is not a political statement; it’s not limited to one party.”

The feeling among Epic Athletes supporters is there should be more programs, not fewer. Robinson said that in addition to soccer, the organization is also offering basketball and looking to potentially develop sessions in yoga and weightlifting.

Robinson, who sees parents in both an academic and sports setting, said the together time for moms and dads and family members of special-needs students is crucial.

“I feel like it’s pretty isolating when you have a child who has a disability,” Robinson said. “What Epic Athletes offers is a way to connect with other parents and share experiences.”

“For parents to be able to be together and talk is incredible,” said Larkin O’Leary of Santa Rosa, whose 5-year-old son James was just named a global ambassador for Nothing Down, an organization focused on changing the way the world views Down syndrome.

“We are all faced with challenges,” she said. “It’s a different road, but it’s a similar road.”

James, who is largely non-verbal and typically uses sign language, is in his third session of soccer with Epic Athletes.

“We are excited to have him be out there and be supported and not be looked at as the kid who is different,” she said.

And the one-on-one partnerships with ?on-the-field volunteer “buddies” has been great, she said.

“When you have never met someone with a disability or interacted, it’s hard to see past the disability and see the person,” O’Leary said. “When you see my son, you see Down syndrome. When you meet my son, it’s ‘Oh my God, there’s James.’”

The part of the program where athletes can take part on an even playing field and feel accepted is priceless, said Francisca Flores of Santa Rosa. Her 7-year-old son Daniel has ADHD and epilepsy.

In between running around, playing avalanche and sharks and minnows, Daniel made snow angels on the synthetic turf with his volunteer buddy, Sarah Brown.

It was a far cry from his earlier attempts to play sports, Francisca Flores said as she sat in the bleachers watching her son.

“He felt different and he felt out of place,” she said. “Here, it looks like he fits in. He feels it.”

You can reach staff columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com, on Twitter @benefield and on Instagram at kerry.benefield. Podcasting on iTunes and SoundCloud, “Overtime with Kerry Benefield.”