Florida's Best Buddy

Claire McDonough learned in kindergarten what many fail to grasp in a lifetime: Helping people is its own reward.

That revelation came into focus when, from her backyard, McDonough heard her cousin, Emily Granet, playing in a TopSoccer match at nearby Woodlands Park.

“We heard the music one day, and we decided to walk over, and we saw everybody playing, everybody having smiles on their faces,” McDonough said. “I saw my cousin and I just jumped in and started doing the drills with her.”

TOPSoccer is a program within the Soccer Association of Boca Raton (SABR) designed for Boca Raton's Special Needs community. The program is open to special needs players beginning at age four. Players don't age out of the program.

Volunteers, called “Buddies,” are paired with players or a team to help on Saturdays with soccer drills and the games that follow. 

Though the general rule is that a volunteer has to be in at least eighth grade, and most are in high school or older, McDonough officially became a Buddy as a fifth grader.

Her youth prompted TOPSoccer to pair her with higher functioning players.

“As she progressed, got older, and more mature, we gave her the hard kids,” TOPSoccer Director Vic Nocera said. “She's been a great asset to our club. The kids love her.” 

McDonough's been part of Matthew Lesser's development for nearly a decade.

“She's still with me,” said Lesser, a 27-year-old living with autism who recently graduated from Florida Atlantic University's Academy for Community Inclusion. “She's my favorite.”

Turn's out, many share Lesser's opinion of McDonough.

Months after graduating from Spanish River High School, McDonough earned the Florida Youth Soccer Association's TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year award – an honor she didn't even know she'd been nominated for.

“It was a complete surprise,” McDonough said. “My jaw dropped. I had no clue. I was so happy, so excited.”

Sally Bahn, 42-years-old and living with Down Syndrome, is certain that McDonough deserves to be Florida's Buddy of the Year.

“I liked that,” Bahn said, “It made me happy.”

McDonough hasn't played competitive soccer since leading Spanish River's junior varsity team in goals as a freshman. She switched, instead, to flag football, but couldn't quit being a TOPSoccer Buddy,

“I love seeing the smiles on the kids' faces - of showing up and seeing how happy they get when they just see you,” McDonough said. “When they score, their faces light up.”

SABR teams practice and play games at District-owned Patch Reef Park, along with Spanish River Athletic Facility and the FAU soccer fields – both District funded. Prior to each season SABR's TOPSoccer coaches, buddies and players hold preliminary events at District-owned Sugar Sand Park, and TOPSoccer administrators frequently utilize community meeting rooms at the District-owned Swim and Racquet Center. There are 175 players in the TOPSoccer program, which plays at City of Boca Raton-owned and funded Woodlands Park.

McDonough is one of about 180 Buddies within the SABR system. Not only is she among the most accomplished in the group, she's also responsible for bringing dozens of new Buddies into the program. 

“The first thing that these wonderful Buddies that she would bring to us would say was, 'Claire, I don't know how to play soccer,'” Nocera said. “And she said, It's not about that, not about what you know or how to play. It's about helping these kids get through their drills.”

Buddies aren't paid, but they do accrue community service hours, which can be a difference maker when it comes to college admissions.

“I didn't need the community service hours,” McDonough said. “I did it because I actually, truly enjoyed going every Saturday, being able to see the faces on these kids, their faces light up.”

McDonough is preparing to attend Florida State University, but she's not heading to Tallahassee right away. She's going to spend her first semester of college in London at FSU's branch campus.

“We are so proud of Claire and everything she's accomplished,” District Commissioner and TOPSoccer administrator Suzi Vogelgesang said. “She's brought a great amount of joy into the lives of many within the Boca Raton special needs community.”

Being away from South Florida will prevent McDonough from being a Buddy when the TOPSoccer season resumes in January. She is, however, planning to set aside Saturdays during her spring break to join her buddies on the soccer field.

More recognition for McDonough may be coming. A couple weeks ago, shortly after winning the Florida award, she learned that she's been nominated for the U.S, Youth Soccer National Buddy of the Year Award. 

Boca Raton's TOPSoccer program has a history of winning national awards. Late last year U.S. Youth Soccer named Lin Hurley its National TOPSoccer Coach of the Year,

“I don't know what to expect,” McDonough said. “If I win it, it'll be great. If not, I don't need the award. I did it for the goodness of my heart and the goodness of everybody else, to help everybody else out.”