BY ALLAN STEELE
HEMET— The Pink Panthers had some fun. So did the Bulldogs. And that’s exactly what Hemet High special education teacher and soccer coach Eric Parnell envisioned when he organized Saturday’s soccer camp for special-needs players. Members of the Pink Panthers, who play on the local VIP team through AYSO, did some stretching, ran some drillsandthenplayedagame with Hemet High soccer players. The two-hour camp was a chance for both groups to interact and maybe break down some barriers, Parnell said. “They’re just like us, they like to have fun,” junior Rafael Olivar said. “Soccer is just like any other sport for kids. It’s about coming and havingfunwiththeirfriends. It’s not really about winning.” Parnell coordinates the Yes I Can program at Hemet High, which focuses on promoting social inclusion of students with disabilities. He’s also the junior varsity soccer coach, so he figured the two would be a perfect fit for a camp. “That’s what the Yes I Can class is about,” he said. “It’s about breaking down that social isolation and the social barriers that exist on campus and in the community. That’s another reason why the soccer camp was such a natural thing. It seemed like it was meant to go together because that’s what the class is all about. Breaking down the social barriers.” The VIP program organizes soccer teams for adults and children with disabilities ranging from visual impairment to autism and Down syndrome, among others. It’s a national program. The local Pink Panther team plays during the AYSO season and in tournaments. Saturday was the first time they’d been to a camp. Parnell said he’d like to make it an annual event. “This is great,” said Paul Garcia, the director of the VIP program in region 137, which includes Hemet, San Jacinto and Idyllwild. Garcia has daughters involved in the program and has also coached. He said it’s important to keep the specialneeds children engaged. “Just to get them out of the house and doing something,” he said. “That’s the main thing, having them doing something.” Corrie Crater helps with the Yes I Can program at Hemet . “It’s like a bridge between special-needs and non-special needs students,” she said. “The more exposure we have to being around people with differences is the best that we can be. It’s just acceptance and tolerance of differences in everyone, because we’re all different. In one way or another, we’re all different.” But soccer bridged some of those differences on Saturday. Even if it was only for two hours. “It would be nice to have this every year,” Hemet senior Eduardo Plascencia said. “Hopefully these coming years we can get some more kids coming out,” added Olivar. “It’s a great way to help our community.” Follow Allan Steele on Twitter at @asteele12000