LYSA Kicks Off a Special Program
TOPSoccer Will Serve Those With Disabilities
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Nobody is a bigger soccer fan than Jeremy Cook of Lexington.
The 18-year-old attended every one of his brother Robbie’s soccer games.
When Robbie, now 20, starred on the Tates Creek High team, the Commodore players adopted Jeremy as the team mascot.

But because of his autism, Jeremy did not have a team to call his own -- until now.
With a little help from Special Olympics and the arrival of a former LYSA star player, the timing was ideal for LYSA to launch a TOPSoccer program.

The Outreach Program for Soccer, developed by U.S. Youth Soccer, is a community-based effort to allow young athletes with disabilities to play soccer.
The national program is open to players 4-19, but LYSA has removed the upper limit, allowing adults to play.

The season will run from August to October. Options are available to all players with disabilities.

LYSA leaders have long strived to bring this program to Lexington and actually succeeded for one year about a decade ago. “Jeremy played for one year and we had a great time,” said his mother Sherry, a long-time LYSA volunteer.

“We even had one of the youth girl select teams come and buddy with the athletes.”
But the program ended after one year because LYSA could not find a qualified person to direct the program.

But then serendipity ensued. One of the members of the girls team that buddied with the TOPSoccer team a decade ago was Jessie Birdwhistell, a long-time LYSA Select player and a four-year starter at Division III Denison University.
Birdwhistell, 23, has returned to Lexington where she is working toward her doctorate in psychology with an emphasis on working with children with special needs.

“She is the perfect person because she knows soccer so well and has played at a top level,” Cook said. “And she is dedicating her life to working with people with disabilities.”

For two summers in Lexington, Birdwhistell worked as a camp counselor for children with special needs.

Last year, she conducted a soccer camp for children with special needs, and in the fall was certified by the USYSA to coach children with disabilities for TOPSoccer.
Suddenly, all the pieces were in place to re-launch the TOPSoccer program.
After connecting with Special Olympics in March, LYSA quickly put together a team of 10 players, male and female, of varying disabilities and ranging in age from 13 to 35 years old.

The team has played in three tournaments, in Frankfort, Louisville and in a Special Olympics tournament in Richmond in June.
“The best thing about this team,” Birdwhistell said, “is that everyone feels a part of the team. “We won in a shootout (in Richmond) and everyone was so proud of all their teammates. Our players showed such heart, camaraderie and teamwork, it was very gratifying.”

Much of that success rests with Bird-whistell’s skills as a coach, Cook says. “She’s magic out there with the kids. She is patient and is a great teacher,” she said. And also a great time manager. Along with her demanding course load, Birdwhistell works 20 hours a week as a research assistant and also will coach the Henry Clay JV girls team in the fall.

Still, her favorite time of the week comes when she works with the TOPSoccer team. “Soccer is a big part of my life and working with individuals with special needs has been a long-time passion. To combine these two passions means a lot to me,” she said. “It’s so much fun to be around the players. Like Jeremy (Cook) after our game in Richmond. “He had the game of his life, and all he talked about was how well everyone else played, and when’s our next game.”

Now, thanks to Birdwhistell and LYSA, there will be a next game for some special players.