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New Jersey Youth Soccer

About TOPSoccer



US Youth Soccer TOPSoccer Celebrates 30 Years Strong in 2021!

TOPSoccer is a community based training and team placement program for young athletes with special needs. The program is designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any boy or girl with special needs. The New Jersey Youth Soccer / US Youth Soccer TOPSoccer program provides assistance to affiliated organizations with ways to enable players with mental or physical disabilities to play soccer. The emphasis of this program is on development, training, and meaningful participation rather than on competition. Our goal is to enable the thousands of young athletes with disabilities to develop their physical fitness, technical skills, courage, and self-esteem, through the joy and excitement of playing soccer. There are thousands of children with disabilities who need, and can be provided the opportunity to play soccer through TOPSoccer. That opportunity exists for these athletes to achieve, develop and participate according to their individual abilities.

Player registration and TOPSoccer coach/buddy training is currently offered at no cost, thanks to the generous support of RWJBarnabas Health.

Interested in starting a TOPSoccer Program? Contact Coach Lou Mignone at [email protected].

PROGRAM EDUCATION

TOPSoccer Buddy Course:  New Jersey Youth Soccer offers a free 2-hour TOPSoccer Buddy Course that examines the role of the Buddy for creating fun, safe, and inclusive opportunities for the players as they explore, problem-solve, collaborate with others, and build competence through guidance and encouragement. An emphasis is placed upon considerations for special needs of players, skills for effective communication, and awareness of expectations for each session  

TOPSoccer Coach Course:  New Jersey Youth Soccer offers a free 4-hour TOPSoccer Coach Course that fosters understanding relating to organizing and implementing a TOPSoccer session with fun, safe, and inclusive training activities, considerations for special needs of players, increasing effectiveness of TOPSoccer Buddies, identifying unique challenges for safety and risk management, addressing injuries and emergencies, and applying a variety of coaching strategies and qualities. Skills are explored for organizing, checking and adapting, effective communication, designing program formats, developing staff, and planning learning progressions. 

TOPSoccer Coaching Certification Course

To host a TOPSoccer Buddy/ Coach Course please fill out the TOPSoccer Coach Course/ Buddy Course Request form

UPCOMING COURSES

NJYS is offering a free US Youth Soccer TOPSoccer Buddy Course for all parents/siblings/guardians through webinar-based learning. 

TOPSoccer Buddy Course

February 13, 2022 Virtual only 6:00pm-8:00pm Click here to register


Program Registration

Each year, TOPSoccer programs are asked to re-register their programs with New Jersey Youth Soccer.

Registration:

Updating your programs for the 2021-202 Season contacts please email [email protected] with the name, email, address, and phone number of the TOPSoccer Coordinator. 

  • A NJYS recognized program has a minimum of one (1) TOPSoccer Coach who has completed the TOPSoccer Coaching Course.  All coaches should follow the  minimum guidelines for risk management.  Please see the guidelines for recreation coach and player registration on our recreation page. To start your coaches registration see below.

    Coach Registration:

    As a reminder, all coaches must present a SafeSport certificate dated after June 1, 2021 OR SafeSport Refresher 4. Previously verified concussion and coaching licenses remain verified. 

    RETURNING COACHES: For an instructional video, click here. For the registration link, click here. Note: If the account is unable to be found, use the registration process below. 

    NEW COACHES:  For an instructional video, click here. For the registration link, click here. 

  • A recognized program has at least one (1) TOPSoccer Buddy who has successfully completed the TOPSoccer Buddy Training.  TOPSoccer buddies should be paired up with no more than two (2) Athletes.  In other words, there should be a minimum of two (2) TOPSoccer buddies and one (1) TOPSoccer Coach to train five (5) TOPSoccer Athletes.  The purpose of this standard is for the safety and well-being of all participants. Buddies over the age of 18 should register as a coach. See instructions above.

  • A recognized program has a minimum of five (5) registered players with special needs.  

                                   For a printable guide on registration of players click here

All participants should be reported to NJYS within 1 week to the start of your program.  This will ensure proper insurance coverage for your program.  Please see the guidelines for recreation coach and player registration on our recreation page.

Additional Notes: 

  • Each season, TOPSoccer coaches will be required to authorize a background check during the registration process.
  • Contact Lindsey Nappi ([email protected] or 609-336-2022) with questions about the coach registration/background checks.
  • Contact Lindsey Nappi ([email protected] or (609)336-2022) with questions about coaches and/or buddy courses.
  • Contact Lorie Hynes ([email protected] or (609)336-2021) with questions about player registration.

Contact Us

New Jersey Youth Soccer

569 Abbington Dr, Suite 5
East Windsor, New Jersey 08520

Phone: 609-490-0725
Email: [email protected]

New Jersey Youth Soccer

569 Abbington Dr, Suite 5
East Windsor, New Jersey 08520

Phone: 609-490-0725
Email: [email protected]
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