VIP/EPIC Registration is OPEN with no waiting list!
Soccer is for Everyone! The AYSO VIP/EPIC Program provides a quality soccer experience for children and adults aged 4 1/2 and up whose physical or mental disabilities make it difficult to successfully participate on mainstream teams.
VIP = VERY IMPORTANT PLAYERS
EPIC = EVERYONE PLAYS IN (OUR) COMMUNITY
(For ALL Special Needs Players Only)
We are very proud that AYSO Region 33’s VIP/EPIC Soccer Program at Balboa Park in Encino is the largest and most successful in Southern California, with over 80+ VIP Players participating last season!
CONTACT INFORMATI0N:
For information about our VIP/EPIC Program, please contact KAREN HENDERSON, Regional VIP/EPIC Director, via e-mail at [email protected] or at (818) 667-6722 (cell).
VIP/EPIC PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
Our “VIP/EPIC” Program is designed for ALL Special Needs Players (ages 4 and up, with no upper age limit) to enjoy and participate in the sport of VIP/EPIC Soccer. The VIP/EPIC Players are supported and assisted on the field by VIP/EPIC coaches and youth, able-bodied volunteers (“VIP/EPIC Buddies”), allowing VIP/EPIC parents to sit on the sidelines and cheer them on, just like every family participating in our core AYSO Program. The VIP Program is all about success and fun for your child, while at the same time providing them with some soccer skills and outdoor exercise.
VIP/EPIC Soccer is meant to be a very positive experience for the VIP/EPIC Soccer Players, and our VIP/EPIC Coaches will ensure that each VIP/EPIC Player will have lots of touches on the ball and lots of goals scored, for maximum enjoyment of the sport. We don’t keep score, but we do keep things upbeat and exciting. Loud cheering from parents and families are welcome and encouraged!! For parents and caregivers who may have thought they would never see their children playing a sport and belonging to a team, VIP Soccer renews hope and brings them joy.
VIP/EPIC PLAYERS AND PARTICIPANTS:
VIP/EPIC Soccer Team Players may include, but are not limited to, those who may be:
Autistic
Down Syndrome
Cerebral Palsy
Mentally or emotionally challenged
Deaf or hearing impaired
Blind or visually impaired
Amputees or conditions that impair mobility
Friends/classmates/siblings are very welcome and can, of course, be on the same team as your child – just let us know once registered so we can be sure to put them together.
Our goals for every participating VIP/EPIC Player are to:
Have fun playing soccer
Meet and be comfortable with new people
Learn teamwork and fair play
Understand soccer fundamentals
Become more physically fit
Increase positive self-esteem
VIP/EPIC Coaches – Our volunteer VIP Coaches are enthusiastic, energetic and experienced working with special needs players. Every season they truly develop an amazing connection with them. Our VIP/EPIC coaches are very motivated to make every Saturday a special soccer day for your child.
VIP/EPIC Buddies – Typically, young volunteers, aged 11 and up, with positive attitudes who are there to assist and make friends with your VIP child on the field and give you the opportunity to be a cheering parent on the sidelines. Of course, if your child needs you on the field, then always please feel free to do so… our program is about success and fun and is not meant to be stressful. VIP/EPIC Buddies will run (or walk or jog) with our VIP/EPIC Players on the field to assist them with receiving the ball, moving it down the field, and ultimately kicking it into the goal.
NOTE: We always need new VIP/EPIC Buddies to assist with our VIP/EPIC Soccer Players every season. If any VIP/EPIC Families have tween or teen siblings that need volunteer hours for school, church or temple, please contact us! Also, this is a fantastic, rewarding way for middle and high school students to fulfill their community service requirements. We are also happy to provide college entrance recommendation letters if requested.
VIP/EPIC PROGRAM DETAILS:
Registration for the VIP/EPIC 2024 Fall Soccer Season opens on March 15, 2024, and remains open throughout the fall season. There is no waitlist. Sign up and register on our website – www.ayso33.org - at your earliest convenience and your child will be placed on a team. You can register your child until the season ends in November.
All VIP/EPIC soccer games in Fall 2024 are held at Balboa Park in Encino, beginning Saturday, September 7, 2024, and continuing through November 16, 2024. Warm-up/transition to the park begins at 9:30 a.m., with the VIP Soccer games starting at 9:45 a.m. and lasting one hour. Our VIP/EPIC Players thrive on consistency, so your team will play on the same field every week and at the same time.
Teams are balanced by ability and size. There is no upper age limit for VIP/EPIC Players. Last season, we had 80+ VIP/EPIC players, divided into 4 teams: two teams comprised of older teenagers and young adults, and three teams comprised of younger kids up through mid-teens. All teams were co-ed with girls and boys playing together.
VIP/EPIC Teams typically play against regular (“core”) AYSO teams every Saturday throughout the AYSO fall soccer season. This benefits our core players by teaching them empathy and understanding, and at the same time gives our VIP Players a challenge – it’s a win/win for both teams!
Become Part of our Exciting VIP/EPIC Soccer Team
If want to register your VIP/EPIC player, or volunteer as a coach or a VIP/EPIC “Buddy,” we would love to have you join us!
Again, for more information about our Balboa Park, Encino, AYSO VIP Program, please contact Karen Henderson, Regional VIP Director, via e-mail at [email protected] or at (818) 667-6722 (cell).
