Foxboro, MA - Coaches whistles, soccer drills and player chatter coming from the practice field at the Dana Farber Field House are familiar sounds during the soccer season. The players on this day however were not just some of the Revolution stars but also over seventy area youth with disabilities there to enjoy an afternoon of fun and learning.
The New England Revolution, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network and Massachusetts General Hospital partnered for the seventh year to host a free Youth with Disabilities Soccer Clinic on Tuesday, September 27th at the Dana Farber Field House at Gillette Stadium. Revolution players Matt Reis, Zak Boggs, Bobby Shuttlesworth, Tim Murray and Zack Schilawski as well as Revolution Academy Coaches ran the participants through various drills to enhance their skills and enjoyment of soccer. The event was designed to be a welcoming environment for children of various ages and abilities to learn both about soccer and team work.
"As coaches and players, we enjoy doing events like this because it's about the pure joy of sport. Giving kids of all abilities the chance to play soccer will only help them become more confident in all aspects of their lives. We are all quite proud to work with great partners like MGH and Spaulding to welcome these wonderful kids, parents and community groups to join us on the field," said Deven Apajee, Revolution Academy Director.
"To able to provide this event now for seven years is the result of the strong partnership Massachusetts General Hospital and Spaulding have with the New England Revolution. We are all so proud to partner to provide this terrific community event free of charge to the many deserving area groups and parents. It's a chance for children to push themselves and truly see what they are capable of and also get to spend time with some of their favorite soccer stars," Oz Mondejar, VP of Community Relations, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network.
"The children who participate in this clinic spend so much of their lives hearing about what they can't do, but after two hours of soccer with the Revolution players, they're very eager to tell you all about what they can do. It's a great feeling for everyone - the children, their parents, and our staff. We're very happy to offer this opportunity," Jeff Davis, Senior VP of Human Resources, Massachusetts General Hospital.
The participants came from a variety of area groups such as Partners with Youth for Disabilities, Special Olympics, TOPS Soccer and Easter Seals. Participants not only learned soccer skills but had a chance for a question and answer session with the Revolution players and also get autographs. "I really liked the New England Revolution Clinic, it was totally awesome and would love to do it again. With meeting the Revs, I really enjoyed how they worked with all of us," Jessie Bland, participant.
About the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network
A member of Partners HealthCare, The Spaulding Rehabilitation Network includes Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital its main campus, a 196-bed facility, located in Boston, as well as Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cape Cod, two long term care facilities Spaulding Hospital Cambridge and Spaulding Hospital North Shore and two skilled nursing facilities, as well as twenty three outpatient sites throughout the Greater Boston area. Spaulding is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School as well as the official rehabilitation hospital of the New England Patriots. Spaulding is the only rehabilitation hospital in New England continually ranked since 1995 by U.S. News and World Report in its Best Hospitals survey with a #5 ranking in 2011. For more information, please visit www.spauldingrehab.org.
About Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $500 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, systems biology, transplantation biology and photomedicine. www.massgeneral.org
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