Spalding Soccer Visits Bluegrass Center for Autism
The Spalding University Men's and Women's Soccer teams visited the Bluegrass Center for Autism last week, spending time with over 30 special needs kids.
The Bluegrass Center for Autism provides individualized education to children with autism. BCA's unparalleled approach to education and therapy focuses on developing the learning tools and skills that children need by the time they reach adulthood. For their visit, the two teams spent time at the Kosair Charities East Campus house.
The Spalding student-athletes played with kids ages 3-11. From 1v1 soccer games to tag to just kicking around, the Men's & Women's Soccer players had a great time working with the children at BCA.
"It was an overall great experience," senior Katie Ballard remarked. "It made me extremely happy to see how excited the kids were to play with us and I'm so thankful for the chance to volunteer," she finished.
Freshman Jacob Kirby reflected on the visit, "We had a great time playing with the kids and seeing them smile. It is always great to get to spread the joy of the sport with others," while freshman Will Mock noted that it "was an uplifting, humbling experience."
Spalding Soccer alumni Amanda Weber, who graduated this past spring, currently works at BCA and helped organize the community outreach event for the two teams. It was another example of the role college athletes can play in giving back to their community.
"A big thanks to Amanda and director Christen Byrne on inviting us out to volunteer," Men's and Women's Assistant Coach James Kusak stated. "At Spalding, we value our role in serving the community and had a wonderful experience with the Bluegrass Center for Autism."
STORY COURTESY OF SPALDING UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE
