Autism Awareness The Goal Of Wall Soccer Club Tournament

About 1,600 pairs of cleats are kicking it up this weekend at the Wall Soccer Club’s annual Shoot Out at The Jersey Shore Memorial Day Weekend Tournament.

The three-day event continues through Sunday and is aimed at raising money for the Parents of Autistic Children, a nonprofit group that provides free training, recreational and support services to children with autism and their families.

One hundred area travel soccer teams, including 25 boys and girls teams from Wall, with players ages 8 to 15, are expected to participate in event, held at the soccer fields behind town hall. It is expected to raise between $4,000 to $5,000 for the autism group, event organizers said.

Wall Soccer Club Board Member Greg Panasuk’s 9-year-old son Luke has autism and was the inspiration for selecting POAC as the beneficiary of this year’s tournament.

Autism is one of a group of serious developmental problems called autism spectrum disorders that appear in early childhood — usually before age 3, according to the Mayo Clinic. Though symptoms and severity vary, all autism disorders affect a child's ability to communicate and interact with others.

“Luke was diagnosed with autism when he was 18 months old,” said Susie Panasuk, Luke’s mother and a member of POAC. “He does not speak and uses sign language to communicate. When he was four years old, we got involved in POAC.  Since then, we have benefited from POAC’s free support services.”

POAC relies totally on donations to offer its services across the state at no charge to families, Panasuk said. Services include training for parents, teachers, first responders and bus drivers; an annual picnic; a day of surfing; and sibling support to those who have a brother or sister with autism. 

Panasuk’s 12-year-old daughter, Alex, is a member of one of the Wall Soccer Club’s travel teams and played in this weekend’s tournament.  

“Her teammates have always been so great with Luke,” said Panasuk.  “We can’t say enough about how appreciative we are to the community for their support of autism awareness.”

A portion of each travel team’s tournament entry fees will be donated to POAC, according to Tournament Director Dan Manson. Additional money was also raised from the Wall teams’ purchase of bright blue “Kick Out Autism” t-shirts, which all Wall teams wore during Saturday’s games.  The Wall Soccer Club also coordinated the design of soccer socks with the autism awareness puzzle piece image. Most Wall players also purchased and wore these socks during the tournament.

“We want to teach our players that there is more to life than sports.  There are others out there who need our help,” Manson said.

For more information about the available services or to make a donation to the Parents of Autistic Children organization, visit www.poac.net.  

To purchase the Autism Awareness soccer socks for $8.99 from the Wall Soccer Club, email questions@wallsoccer.com.