Shooting Stars!
Hudson County’s First Professionally Coached Soccer Program for Autistic Children
The Shooting Stars Soccer Program for autistic children began in April of 2011 thanks to the generosity of two local sponsors; O’Connell’s Restaurant in Jersey City and Bayway World of Liquor in Elizabeth. With their help, the first class of seven children, aged 3 and 4, will receive nine weeks of professional soccer instruction and class equipment - all free of charge.
The class is headed by USSF “A” licensed coach, Alex Lalaoui, who has nearly a decade of experience training children and adults on how to play the world’s most popular sport. He works one-on-one with this small, specialized group and is assisted by a trained autism educator and licensed soccer coach, Jeannette Ziobro. Together, they bring a new level of professional soccer instruction to autistic children in the community supporting The Soccer Learning Center’s mission that every child should have an opportunity to receive high-level, quality soccer coaching.
A new class for 5 and 6 year old children is anticipated to begin in September 2011.
For more information about the program, please contact us.
To support our charitable initiatives by becoming a program sponsor, please contact Melinda Vickerman, Director by email soccerlearning@aol.com or call her at 201-656-1156.
Parent Testimonial
He loves to kick a soccer ball and to run and to laugh with his friends. When Coach Alex decided to put his energy into this program, my husband and I were thrilled. A coach offers another way of learning. Sebastian may be running and laughing, but he is still learning--learning how to listen, how to follow direction, how to attend to a task, how to share and take turns...and eventually, how to play soccer! As parents we face the challenge of maintaining balance for our children while not allowing this prime time for learning to slip away. For my husband and I, this program is more than a basic skill set taught by a very generous man and his team, it's an opportunity for Sebastian to learn differently, and to laugh and smile and sweat while doing it! Catherine J. |
"I'm not Autistic, I'm Sebastian," that's the title of a future book by me, if I ever get time to sit down and write it. I craft its pages in my mind every day as we navigate the different path our son is on. The point I guess I am making is that our son is not a diagnosis, he is Sebastian. He has communication challenges, he learns differently, but he still loves ice cream and sunshine and a pool on a hot summer day.
Our Staff
Alex Lalaoui - Head Coach
Alex Lalaoui is the co-founder and head coach at The Soccer Learning Center. In the nine years since TSLC was established, he has coached thousands of area children from the ages of three and up on the correct way to play the world's most popular sport. The high-quality, European based curriculum that Alex utilizes in his open sessions has been specially modified to address the needs of the autistic athlete enrolled in our Shooting Stars program. In addition to youth coaching, Alex also teaches adult soccer and runs two popular leagues - an open co-ed league and a league dedicated exclusively to first responder and law enforcement personnel. He currently holds the United States Soccer Federation "A" license, the highest, accredited professional coaching credential available in the nation.
Jeannette Ziobro - Assistant Coach
Jeannette Ziobro brings a unique combination of skills to The Shooting Stars Soccer Program. Not only is she a certified K to 5 educator in New Jersey working as a one-on-one autism aide at The Children's Institute, she's also a NJ Youth Soccer licensed coach. Jeannette's love of soccer, her in-depth knowledge of how an autistic child learns, and her gentle approach to guiding our students throughout their session activities makes her a great addition to the Shooting Stars team.
