NHSGVS
Very soon after we officially launched Zo Much More, Gabby - a parent from the Needham High School Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team - got in touch about ordering spirit bracelets for the team. Her goal (no pun intended) was for it to be a surprise so she provided some parameters but said they were flexible on design. I tried to offer Gabby an “NHS Discount” but she wouldn’t hear of it. She insisted that the team would want to support a local business and ensure we were able to make the full donation to our designated charity partner.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. The institution that is Needham Soccer - starting with the Needham Soccer Club and extending through the Needham High School Soccer Teams - has long been committed to the community. In fact, last year, one of the Needham Soccer Club coaches was recognized as the National Girls’ Recreational Soccer Coach of the Year for the model she created of using community service to foster team-building. Many of the girls who were on that team now play for Needham High.
Further, several years ago, some Needham Soccer parents came together and developed a TOPSoccer chapter through the Needham Soccer Club. I don’t think any of these parents had first-hand experience with special needs parenting but they simply wanted this sport which was such a meaningful part of their own kids’ lives be accessible to kids of all abilities. Zoe was a long, long, long time participant in this flawlessly run program. While most adaptive sports programs struggle to get enough volunteers, Needham’s TOPSoccer pool of volunteers has always been overflowing. Those volunteers became more than just soccer volunteers for Zoe; they became her friends.
When I told Zoe she would be making bracelets for the NHS soccer team, her immediate response was “soccer ball black white” and so we found a away to incorporate that soccer motif into the NHS blue & gold.
Last Thursday night was Senior Night for NHSGVS and the girls got their bracelets. I would have loved to take Zoe to that game but the scheduling gods had different plans for us.
My friend Deana - who I have known since she & I played Needham Soccer together in elementary school AND who is an NHSGVS parent AND who works as a Job Coach in Zoe’s Post-Grad Program at NHS AND who just happens to that soccer coach I mentioned above who was recognized nationally - texted me in her excitement of seeing this “full circle moment” as she described it. She told me how Gabby spoke about Zoe and Zo Much More when she gave the girls their bracelets. I was blown away that even in this moment which I would have expected to be all about these remarkable NHSGVS girls, they took the time to look outward at the community. Huge thanks to Gabby & NHSGVS for this fun opportunity!!
