Children in Motion: Together is Better

As soon as the Coronavirus quarantine ended and children were allowed out onto the soccer pitch, Artyom grabbed his ball and took off like a shot. He finished sixth grade in a St. Petersburg school #25, and it’s hard to believe that just a few years ago this daring kid was overweight and lagged behind his peers in athletic ability. Artyom has cerebral palsy and his left hand has been frozen in a fist since he was born. His mother Yelena recalls, “He couldn’t make anything out of clay or do chin-ups. His classmates made fun of him. Artyom would get upset and complain that he didn’t need his ‘bad’ left hand.”

Artyom wasn’t interested in any sports, and since his hand was always a fist, he was afraid to play catch. But everything changed after the organization “Perspektiva” began to hold events in his school as part of the Nike-funded project “Children in Motion: Together is Better!” Together with the other kids at his school and their Phys. Ed. teacher, Artyom took a class trip to the stadium to cheer on the St Petersburg football team Zenith at all the championship matches. That’s all it took to turn the boy into a soccer fan. “I really like Artyom Dzyuba! He’s got the same name as me, and I want to play forward, too!” Artyom said.

After the first match he saw, Artyom came home and told his mother that he was now a soccer player, and he asked her to sign him up for classes. Several times a week he goes to play soccer with kids without disabilities. To get into good shape, Artyom started to work out. “He began to jog and work out on gym equipment,” his mother said, “even though before he was too lazy to walk just one stop on public transportation. He used to act like it was punishment.”

Artyom stopped being afraid of the ball, and after some workshops on adaptive physical education the teacher realized how to involve this child with a disability into sports. “Artyom did the same drills as the other kids,” his Phys. Ed teacher Vladimir said, “but he did them with one hand. And he learned to run. In the spring he took first place in the shuttle run test.”

Artyom is crazy about soccer. He goes to the pitch in his courtyard every day he doesn’t have training. His mother noticed that when he got involved in sports, he was able to sit longer and do his homework better. Now he’s motivated. “If I behave, they’ll take me to a Zenith match at the stadium!”