DuPage Valley Special Athletes starts unified soccer team for players with, without disabilities

Posted July 29, 2015 1:00 am

By Kish Pisani DuPage Valley Special Athletes

DuPage Valley Special Athletes, an organization offering competitive sports programs for athletes with special needs, will offer a Special Olympics Unified Sports Soccer team beginning this fall. The team will be open to male and female athletes with and without special needs. The deadline to register is Monday, Aug. 10.

Unified Sports is a relatively new program through Special Olympics that aims to promote social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences with people both with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. The DVSA teams will include rosters of up to 12 athletes. The DVSA Unified Soccer team is open to athletes ages 14 to 22 in the Naperville, Lisle, Warrenville and Wheaton areas.

The team was started by a group of parents in Naperville Unit District 203 who wanted more athletic programs for their special-needs high school students. All coaches and volunteers with DVSA are certified Unified Sports and Special Olympics coaches.

Practices will take place Sunday afternoons from mid-August through early October. In addition, DVSA will arrange for practice games with other teams - most of which are sponsored by other school districts in surrounding areas.

The team will participate in a regional tournament on Sunday, Oct. 4, in Homewood-Flossmoor with other teams from the Chicago area. Participation in this tournament makes DVSA eligible for an opportunity to compete in a state tournament on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The fee to join the team is $45. Jerseys will be provided. For registration information, call (630) 632-1965 or email dvspecialathletes@gmail.com.

DVSA's mission is to develop and nurture positive healthy habits through athletic activities for individuals with physical or developmental disabilities by providing positive coaching, teamwork and competitive opportunities. DVSA currently offers flag football, spirit squad, Alpine skiing, unified soccer, running club, and track and field.

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