YMS Special Stars - Soccer League for Children / Young Adults diagnosed with Autism & Asbergers

Contact:  John Healy (267) 229-310 or Joy Taylor 609-937-3130 ymsspecialstars@gmail.com    

YMS SPECIAL STARS SOCCER TEAM INVITES THE COMMUNITY  TO CELEBRATE AUTISM AWARENESS ON APRIL 13TH  Yardley, PA – March 19, 2014 – The YMS Special Stars soccer program invites the community to help celebrate Autism Awareness month.  The event will take place during the YMS Special Stars team practice and game on Sunday, April 13th between 3:00pm and 4:15pm at Edgewood Elementary School, 899 Oxford Valley Road, Yardley, PA 19067. 
YMS Special Stars is a volunteer soccer program for children and young adults who have been diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum, including Asperger’s Syndrome. This program is dedicated to engaging children on the autism spectrum in regular games of soccer supervised by a group of Volunteer Student Athlete Mentors (Special Pals) and Volunteer Coaches who help and guide Special Stars athletes and their families during the practices and games.   “This program is designed and led by a group of parents looking for a fun and supportive soccer program to meet the specialized needs of children and young adults on the Autism Spectrum.
The program truly enriches the lives of these special athletes, the volunteer pals, and the volunteer coaches who participate each Sunday,” said John Healy, co-founder of the team. “You can’t help but smile when you see all the athletes, coaches and the volunteers working together to make this activity a positive experience for all,” said Joy Taylor, the other co- founder of the team.  “Everybody gets something personally rewarding from the program.  It’s something you just have to see for yourself.” 

Founded in 2011, YMS Special Stars is administered under the auspices of the Yardley- Makefield Soccer Association. Practices and games are held weekly at Edgewood Elementary School in Yardley, PA.  The program welcomes children and parents from the autism community.  
The spring session for YMS Special Stars will be starting on Sunday, March 30th and will run through Sunday, June 8th.  All practices/games are held on Sundays from 3:00pm to 4:15 pm at Edgewood Elementary.  The team is currently looking for more special stars athletes, volunteer pals and volunteer coaches to join the fun on the soccer field.   
For more information about this event, or the YMS Special Stars program in general, please contact us at ymsspecialstars@gmail.com or call John Healy at (267) 229-3109.    About YMS Special Stars:   YMS Special Stars is a volunteer soccer program for children and young adults who have been diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s syndrome.  This program is modeled after the Ontario Special Stars program.  The program is dedicated to engaging children with autism in regular games of soccer supervised by a group of volunteers.  YMS Special Stars is administered under the auspices of the Yardley-Makefield Soccer Association.  Student Athlete Mentors (Special Pals) and Volunteer Coaches help and guide Special Star players and families during the practices and games.    To learn more about YMS Special Stars, please visit https://sites.google.com/site/ymsspecialstars/  or email us at ymsspecialstars@gmail.com