The freshman football team has volunteered its time playing football with individuals with special needs through the All-Star Training Club.

Freshman football players Joey Cifani, Mikey Kahoe, Matthew Kostoff, Cody Luther, Michael McKee, Garet Scherler, Robbie Starkey, Andrew Schwertner, Brandon Trocano, and Logan Weinert volunteer their time playing football every Sunday at the Steel Academy in Akron with individuals with special needs.

Parents Debbie Schwertner and Gigi Kostoff first got the kids involved with the All-Star Training Club, and volunteered their time to drive the boys every week. Schwertner mentioned how the boys first got involved with the All-Star Training Club.

“Matthew [Kostoff] and Andrew [Schwertner] talked to Mrs. Boarman, who was their eighth grade counselor last year. She works with many different volunteer groups. We thought that All-Star Sports Training Camp would tie in directly to football, a sport that would easily allow our boys to make a connection with special education athletes,” Debbie Schwertner said.

Founder of the All-Star Training Club Dan Lancianese talked about why he started the All-Star Training Club.

“My main purpose for creating my program was to ‘Reach Out – Fill The Void – Feel the Excitement’ of extracurricular activities for individuals with any form of disabilities. I also wanted to make the program totally inclusive which means that athletes without disabilities would train and compete at the same time as those with disabilities. Finally, I wanted a program that had no age limitations. The All Star Training Club (ATC) is open to all ages. I have had athletes as young as 3 and as old as 73 competing in my program,” Lancianese said.

Lancianese also mentioned how the Revere volunteers made an impact on the individuals with special needs and the All-Star Training Club in general.

“The Revere volunteers were exceptional. By the time the championship game was played, the Revere partners took total charge of the games. Their participation in the entire season made not only for a very exciting league, but also helped mold the athletes with disabilities into very good athletes,” Lancianese said.

Additionally, Lancianese explained what a session of the club would usually involve.

“The league begins with a training session. After the first session, teams are established very similar to an intra mural-style league. The volunteers are integrated into each team. From this point forward, games are then conducted. Stats and team records are kept. The last week of the season is the championship game,” Lancianese said.

Freshman linebacker Kahoe described the goal of the volunteer program and what he took away from the experience.

“The goal of the volunteering program is to give the [individuals with special needs] a chance to be like all the other kids. We helped them learn the ins and outs of football and most importantly develop social skills. Though the objective was to teach them social skills, I believe the [individuals with special needs] taught us more. The first day of practice all the volunteers included were very shy, but it was the [individuals with special needs] who put themselves out there and started conversations,” Kahoe said.

The team hopes to continue volunteering with the All-Star Training Club, spending time with the individuals with special needs through bowling together or playing volleyball.