On any given Saturday morning, there’s usually a lot of soccer going on.
With around 4,500 kids, it’s usually pretty busy for the Lakeshore Soccer Club, but for those that have autism and other challenges, like Anthony Di Jiulio, at times, they’re stuck on the sidelines.
“He wanted to be part of a sports activity,” his mother, Maureen O’Toole, said. “He watched his sister play soccer for Lakeshore and he really wanted to also – at one point, all he wanted was to have a jersey, just like his big sister did.”
So Lakeshore’s director general, Kelly-Anne Soutter, gave Anthony his own jersey and a little more.
She spearheaded the Super Sonics program – designed for soccer players with disabilities – and it’s been going strong for nearly a decade.
“Some of them don’t have the ability to keep up with a 60 minute game or a 90 minute game,” Soutter said. “So this is very developmental, it’s not just a full game of competition – they’re learning cognitive skills that are necessary for soccer.”
Ranging from four to 19 years old, the program now has about 75 young athletes.
And every Saturday, each one of them gets to attend their own practice.
“The coaches they’re all Special Olympics certified,” Soutter said. “So they come out year round. We do this in the wintertime at John Abbott College and in the summer – all year long.”
Parents explain that the program is about more than just soccer.
“It’s that sense of self-worth that he has, that ‘I can be part of something too.’ It’s very important,” O’Toole said.
To help Anthony and the other Super Sonics celebrate the end of their season, Olympic bronze medalist, Rhian Wilkinson, came out to show support.
“It’s really down to these big clubs to reach out into the community and make soccer available to as many children as possible,” she said. “Obviously, I’m a big fan of the game and I want as many children, no matter what’s going on in their lives, to have access to the game.”
The West-Island native and former Lakeshore soccer player said she hopes to show kids that with a lot of hard work anything is possible.
Her advice for the Super Sonics and all the young athletes out there?
“There’s always going to be this thing called luck but sometimes you make your own luck by being in the right place and putting in the work. So set your goals high and go for it,” Wilkinson said.
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