Children in Motion: Together is Better

Yura, a third-grader in Moscow School # 709, used to spend Physical Education (PE) class sitting on the bench and his evenings playing computer games. Yura has a gallstone disorder, and his parents were worried about letting him play active sports.

But that all changed when the school Yura attends joined the Nike project “Children in Motion: Together is Better!” As part of the project, Yura met the world-famous soccer player Ronaldo at Gorky Park in Moscow. That shook up Yura’s world: he instantly became a soccer fan. He followed the Russian team in the 2018 World Cup and then decided that he wanted to go out onto the field and play himself. “I love soccer more than anything!” he said. “I love to play with the team. If I’m a forward, I try to make goals. If I’m a goalie — I try to stop them!”

Specialists from the disability NGO Perspektiva held training sessions for the school teachers on adapting PE for kids with disabilities or special education needs and taught them the main principles of inclusive sports. For Yura, his PE teacher Vladimir saw that they needed to begin with non-contact sports before sending him out onto the soccer field. “There are a lot of games, like “pass the ball” where the kids pass the ball to the player in front, or “sniper” where they need to get the ball through the hoop more than their competitors. These games are part of the training for soccer and basketball, and they help the kids get over their fear of being hit by the ball. They learn skills, too — how to catch, throw and pass the ball,” Vladimir explained.

And so gradually, step by step, Yura began to play soccer. And now it’s his favorite team sport. And why not? Playing on the field is great fun. Yura has made new friends, too, and is more and more confident in himself and his abilities.

Yura’s mother, Yelena, is really happy for him. “Now my son kicks around the ball in the courtyard with his friends, not just in PE class. He dreams of becoming the best goalie in the world!”