accessibility/inclusion question about soccer

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I have a tricky question about laws about including children with

disabilities. Yesterday, at my son's soccer practice, one boy was

acting kind-of wild. My son is friends with the boy, though he

feels the boy sometimes invades his personal space and is not always

a good listener. The boy definitely has some behavioral issues,

though I don't know the details. At soccer, the boy was not

listening to the coach, repeatedly pulling on other kids' jerseys on

the field, running into them excessively, and eventually kicked a

ball (not the one being played with but one on the sidelines) hard

enough to chip a girl's tooth! After repeated failed attempts to

get the child to listen to her, the coach made him sit out the rest

of the practice. (This is a coed 1st grade town team.)

The boy's mom is mad at the coach. She feels her son was singled

out. Last year, and this boy were also on the same team, and

I have to say, the boy's behavior was seldom a problem (to me he

seemed worse than ever at yesterday's practice.) I feel for the

mom, and think her son has every right to play soccer. I think the

mom plans to find another team for her son.

At the same time, I sympathize with the coach too. The safety of

all the players is her responsibility. I also have concerns about

my own child's safety on the field with out-of-control players,

particularly with regards to his cochlear implant. The coach is

very safety-conscious, and I think this is a mostly good thing.

However, I had mentioned to her about 's implant and how I

didn't want him kicked in the head, and now I am even slightly

paranoid that she might decide that she can't take the risk of

letting him play either!

So my question is: what is the responsibility of a town soccer

league with regards to inclusion of children with disabilities? The

coaches are parent-volunteers, and most don't have the training to

work with children with behavioral issues. I am sure some would be

more willing to work with a parent and listen/learn how to include

everyone than our coach seems to be, but was she breaking the law in

making the boy sit out? What are the child's rights with regards to

inclusion in something like this? (And what do I do if she

arbitrarily decides that can't play either because of his

implant?)

Thanks,

Lydia

Mom of , implant using soccer player

and Colin, playing tackle football this year! Yikes!