GA-SC Bulls Soccer Club coach Wes Meadows saw the affect of a clinic the club held last year for special needs athletes, not only on its participants, but also on Bulls players and coaches who helped run it.
"We had a lot of players came back up to us and said, 'Coach, that was a really special event, and I realize how fortunate I am, and I would love to work another event like that,'" Meadows said.
Bulls coaches and players will get another chance to give back during Masters week.
The club will conduct a soccer clinic on April 7 for East Central Regional Hospital, a medical center in Gracewood, Ga., that serves patients with special needs.
Meadows said the clinic will teach basic skills like shooting, dribbling and passing and will be followed by a scrimmage.
"Our main goal is to be sure the athletes have fun, that they're having a good time and enjoy it," Meadows said.
Meadows said the club received a letter last year from Special Olympics Georgia thanking the Bulls for holding the clinic. The letter also said that was the first clinic of its kind for special needs athletes that the organization was aware of.
"It went fantastic," Meadows said.
The Bulls staff is hoping for similar success this year, but they are adding a twist.
The coaching staff will provide goals, tents, banners and soccer equipment for the event. They plan to leave each clinic participant with a soccer ball and T-shirt.
The event is being headed by Bulls coaching coordinator Forrest Wimberly, whose Augusta Prep girls soccer team recently wore pink shirts during a game to raise awareness of breast cancer research.
Wimberly is asking for donations of new and used soccer balls from Bulls players and members of the community. Academy players are asked to bring donations to any of their upcoming "friendlies" at Blanchard Woods Park. Players U13 and up can bring balls to any of their games prior to April 7. The staff is asking for volunteers U15 and up to assist with the clinic.
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