The folks in charge at Miracle League have really been introducing a bunch of new activities. Namine had a blast with bowling, and now she got to try out soccer! I should mention that this wasn’t like wheelchair basketball, in that it wasn’t strictly for kids in wheelchairs. The YMCA Miracle League welcome kids of all ages and abilities.
Since it’s the middle of winter, the event was held indoors. We had brought Namine’s sport wheelchair for soccer. While she has gotten stronger (and therefore faster) in it, its large size made it somewhat difficult to maneuver on the astroturf. Even so, every time someone went to help by pushing her, she said no, she didn’t need (or want) any help.
They had two different kinds of soccer balls: regular ones and large inflatable ones, kind of like a beach ball. Namine’s helper started her out with a beach ball, but that actually proved harder for Namine to push with her wheelchair. Switching to a regular soccer ball made it a lot easier (and more fun).
When the hour of soccer neared its end, the adults broke out a giant parachute for the kids to flap and run (or wheel) under.
If Namine had a single complaint about her first time playing soccer, it would be that the time went by too fast! She’s definitely looking forward to doing this again next weekend.
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