50 The Courier sun • march 5, 2015 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com sports INCLUSIVE SOCCER PROGRAM TEACHES KIDS SKILLS BEYOND THE FIELD BY ANGELA MATUA [email protected]/@QueensCourier A new soccer program for children in Queens hopes to have kids setting goals on and off the field. Soccer Kids NYC was created by Noe Canales in September 2014 after he noticed that other programs did not focus on teaching lessons that could translate to all aspects of a child’s life. Canales said that Soccer Kids NYC strives to teach not only the fundamentals of soccer but also skills that children can utilize off the field like teamwork, respect and perseverance. Soccer Kids NYC differs from other programs in several ways. Canales, who is a certified special education teacher, integrates children with special needs into all classes. He hopes to remove the stigma that families of special needs children typically deal with. “Soccer Kids NYC wants to help in getting rid of that pervasive thinking,” Canales said of the threemonth course that costs $179. “Our mission cuts across all lines; our program is for children with special needs and typically developing children. We don’t believe in labels except for our kids’ names.” He believes this inclusiveness contributes to the program’s 99 percent retention rate. The coaches at Soccer Kids NYC also strive to make their classes affordable for everyone, he said. Though children typically attend classes once a week, students are encouraged to join other classes if there is available space at no extra cost. They also provide a refund to all families who are not satisfied with the program. Scouting the right coaches is important for Canales, who is also a teacher at TheraCare, a preschool in Rego Park that accommodates children with and without special needs. Coaches are trained extensively until they are ready to lead a class. This approach is the reason he can provide a quality program, he said. “My experience with larger programs has been that they will first find a location to expand and then work on hiring and staffing those classes with a coach,” Canales said. “This approach hinders the quality of a program as many times these coaches are not fully trained to lead a class and consequently, our kids get the short end of the stick.” Every season, parents are encouraged to leave feedback for the coaches. Canales said they have not received any negative feedback yet, but the coaches still come together to reflect on ways to make the program better. The feedback has been all amazing,” Canales said. “This is something that we feel extremely proud of.” Classes are taught in Bayside, Woodhaven, Middle Village, Elmhurst, Flushing, Kew Gardens and other parts of Queens. Canales said they are not in a rush to expand but would like to eventually teach classes in other parts of Queens and New York. Photos courtesy of Soccer Kids NYC CHRIST THE KING KEEPS ON WINNING BY ROBERT ELKIN the league, city and state. A junior, Alkins, a 6-foot 5-inch shooting guard, No one was able to stop Rawle Alkins and his already has some offers from colleges, but he has to teammate as the Royals varsity basketball team from continue with his excellent play during the remainder Christ the King High School managed to defeat the Xaverian High School team in the championship game of the Brooklyn-Queens Diocesan section of the playoffs. Christ the King won 21 of 25 games heading into the contest last week. Christ the King had another banner year in the Catholic High School Athletic Association regular season. Now they seek to defend the title in the CHSAA intersectional tournament. And if they do, then they will shoot for the state tournament title. In each game, they usually have a strong and large support before packed crowds from their student body. Alkins seems to be one of the top players in of the playoffs and next year as a senior as well. “Xaverian played great,” said Christ the King’s head coach Joe Arbitello, in his seventh year as the helm of the program, after CTK’s 66-59 victory over Xaverian. “My hat is off to Xaverian and coach Jack Alesi. Those guys were not stopping.” After the score read 56-50 in favor of Xaverian, with 6:40 left in regulation time, Arbitello called time out. Christ the King managed to win it on a 16-3 run. “Rawle started to block some shots,” Arbitello said. “He got three key blocked shots for us. He played like an MVP on both sides of the floor.” Some other players also came up with big plays to help Alkins out. “Jared Rivers came up huge for us,” continued the veteran coach. “Jose Alvarado and Tyrone Cohen were also outstanding. And we played very good defense. We took the game over. That’s the way we win games.” Assistant coach Greg Lemko agreed. “After Arbitello called time out, we played great defense,” he said. “And we stepped it up.” “This young man at Christ the King is a heck of a player,” said Mike McGovern, who runs the finance department for Xaverian. “He took over the game, which super stars should do. They beat us twice and we beat them once.” Both teams will advance to the intersectional tournament.
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