Cerebral Palsy Soccer Now Offering Indoor Team in Manhattan

Following the successful programs in New Jersey, Houston, Mid-Atlantic, and most recently Brooklyn this September, Cerebral Palsy Soccer (CP Soccer) is forming an NYC team in Manhattan. Cerebral Palsy (CP) Soccer is a non-profit founded to help these kids keep team sport in their lives by offering them a chance to train and play soccer with their peers. For many of these kids, its the first time in their lives where they get to meet others with a physical disability like theirs. Getting to play on a level playing field is an exhilaration many of them have never experienced. These kids have as much spirit, drive and determine to succeed, and when they are on the field of fair play and fair competition, they go all out!

Kids with cerebral palsy who can walk independently are an unforgotten population. Their disabilities are almost universally physical instead of cognitive, so the majority are able to enter mainstream education and participate in mainstream activities. However, when these kids reach middle school age, they often find that they are squeezed out of mainstream activities and sports because they cannot keep up with their able-bodied peers. At the same time, sports for kids with developmental delays are not suitable for them. Kids often go through a period of withdraw and end up giving up sports all together, when regular sports and physical activity is ironically a prescription for their diagnosis.