Soccer Club Seeks To Open Field To Blind
Soccer club seeks to open field to blind
By Bob Walter - Bee Columnist Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, April 19, 2007
Story appeared in CITRUS HEIGHTS ORANGEVALE section, Page G1

Different goal: The newest goal, pardon the expression, of the San Juan Soccer Club has less to do with competition than with community service — and it’s
aiming for a pretty wide community.

The club is starting a program for visually impaired children from all over Northern California, said San Juan parent and booster Elaine Jewell of Fair
Oaks. In fact, they hope the program grows to include young adults, but that’s down the road a bit. “Children with visual impairment are widely spread,”
Elaine said, “so we are not limiting ourselves geographically.”

The program is based on a model that is used in other parts of the United States and many countries, especially Brazil and the United Kingdom. Kids will
start playing with a soccer buddy — mostly older San Juan players — using balls and goals designed for the blind. The cost, if any, will be minimal.

“Most comp programs just focus on themselves, but we want to add some community service to the mix” said second-year San Juan coach Marcos Mercado, a former
professional player in Mexico and a fixture on the Sacramento soccer scene for 15 years. “We want to give back to soccer,” he said, “and see kids with
no eyesight having a heck of a time running around and kicking a beeping ball.”

Elaine and Marcos are working on an opening “Play Day” — date to be announced — to kick off the program. Anybody who wants to participate — play, coach,
sponsor or whatever — can call Elaine at (916) 524-1203 or Marcos at (916) 505-4691.

… http://www.sacbee.com/224/story/156640.html

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