Soccer clinic for special needs children
Soccer clinic for children with special needs.
A coaching clinic for children with special needs was held on Thursday, July 28, at the Discovery Soccer Park and all had a good time and learnt quite a lot on the field.
This joint venture was held in conjunction with Discovery and the Gauteng Department of Social Development.
According to the organisers, the Discovery Soccer Festival will be held on a regular basis.
Head of Discovery Vitality Wellness, Dr Craig Nossel, said, “The first Discovery Soccer Festival was a huge success with all our participants enjoying the soccer training and games. Sport truly goes a long way in bringing people together and helping them feel part of something.”
Zandi Mahola, social work policy developer for the Gauteng Department of Social Development, said, “We are striving to take measures to enable persons with disabilities to participate fully in recreational, cultural and sports activities. We want to ensure people have the opportunity to develop and utilise their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their benefit but also for the enrichment of the society.”
Adding the spirit of the Olympics shortly before the opening of this year’s Games, well-loved Olympian Natalie du Toit opened the festival. Also a Paralympic and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Natalie said that the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics build-up reminds us of how sport can bring people together and create opportunities for everyone.
“For each and every one of you, there is opportunity – you have to find it! It’s not about your disability or your ability, it is about having a goal you want to achieve. We cannot all go to the Olympics or Paralympics but we can all enjoy our lives through sport and have goals and dreams,” du Toit said.
Altogether 12 teams from various areas in and around Johannesburg participated in full-day activities, while 15 youth volunteers gave of their time to run the sessions.
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