Locals parlay TOPSoccer into careers

By Gary Curreri

Brittany D’Addio Miller and Jessica Perrin Saperstein have more than fond memories from their community service days as Buddies in SABR TOPSoccer. Their experiences led to their career choices.

US Youth Soccer TOPSoccer (The Outreach Program for Soccer) is a community-based training and team placement program for young athletes with disabilities, organized by youth soccer association volunteers. SABR TOPSoccer is one of the oldest and most-nationally recognized.

Brittany Miller gave up the sport she loved because she loved something even more.

After starring in club soccer with SABR Team Boca and then moving on to St. John Paul II Academy (Pope John Paul II at the time) where she played high school, she earned an athletic scholarship to Flagler College in St. Augustine.

In her second collegiate season, she opted to study what had become her passion throughout her teenage years with SABR TOPSoccer. She began as a soccer buddy in her freshman year of high school.

“I really loved it (being a buddy) and I did it all four years,” Miller said. “It became a passion of mine that I was excited to embrace it, and my college (Flagler) had the best major for (Special Needs). It was tough to give up playing, but it was really easy to get into it.”

“The whole thing started with TOPSoccer and the progress from week to week,” she continued. “The first parent of a kid I was working with said, ‘Don’t be upset if her doesn’t remember your name or he doesn’t look at you.’ I remember I had to skip a week and when I came back he was really excited and said, ‘Hi Brittany,’ and he gave me a big hug.”

She met Patrick in her second season of TOPSoccer and credited him with setting her career path. After graduating from Flagler with a double major in Elementary Education and Special Education, she wound up teaching kindergarten through the third grade at RB Hunt in Saint Augustine for seven years.

“He changed my life,” Miller said. “I was his buddy my last three years. I learned patience. They are all so different, but they are all so loving. I didn’t go into the Downs Syndrome field, which was what Patrick had. I went the ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition) route. Working with Special Needs kids are the brightest light. They are so loving, and they are so sweet.

“I wanted something challenging so I went with kids who I was told wouldn’t remember my name or kids who were a little harder to get to,” she said. Its extremely gratifying. I enjoyed making a difference in peoples lives and the light bulbs would go off just being there for them and they have it so hard.”

Miller, who now lives in Jacksonville Beach, married Brian, and had a son last year named Bode, who has temporarily left the classroom to be a mom. Miller holds her high schools school record with 121 goals and 106 assists for the Eagles. Her father Bill was a long-time coach and Director for Team Boca.

Early on in her buddy career, she took part in a Florida Youth Soccer Association (FYSA) Special Needs event in 2012 with former United States Womens national team legend Abby Wambach. There were nearly 200 children and buddies that took part in the clinic which raised money for the FYSA Special Needs program.

“That day was awesome,” she recalled. “It was really special and the people that run TOPSoccer are really amazing. Going back and seeing some of those kids a couple of years ago, like Patrick all grown up is amazing. I loved, loved, loved it and Ill go back one day.”

Jessica Perrin Saperstein’s last two years at West Boca High School (2010-2011) were spent as a buddy in the SABR TOPSoccer program. Saperstein went on to earn a Bachelor degree in Speech Pathology at FSU in 2015 and a Master degree in 2017, with a special emphasis on working with Autistic children. She is now a speech therapist at Calusa Elementary School in Boca Raton working primarily with K-3 graders.

Volunteering in the TOPSoccer program was one of several influences that focused on her studies and career choices. She and her husband and 2-year-old daughter (with a son due in November) live in West Boca.

“I always did different Special Needs programs, and then found TOPSoccer, which was a wonderful program to work for,” Saperstein said. “I loved my experiences, and it wasn’t until I got to FSU and their speech pathology program that it kind of all clicked.

“I actually had a couple of kids that overlapped,” she said. “They were in the basketball program or the dance classes where I also worked with them. loved being paired up with them. I had some kids who were non-verbal, and I wanted to help and that is why I decided to get into speech pathology.”

Saperstein said the smiles, and hugs being out on the fields with their peers and playing a sport was what convinced her to work with the Special Needs children.

“This year, I have about 15 kids,” Saperstein said. “Of that, there are about 10 who are non-verbal and on the spectrum. In my meetings with parents, they say they wish there were more extra-curricular programs for them to do and I will suggest programs like TOPSoccer to them constantly.”

“It shaped my whole career, and I don’t think I would have gone into speech therapy without it,” continued Saperstein, who has been at Calusa for the past five years. “It has been extremely rewarding. I have a kid who didn’t talk at all last year and now he’s talking, and it is really unbelievable.”

Vic Nocera, SABRs TOPSoccer Director said one of their mottos is “making a difference.” The program is free, thanks to SABR, which has funded the program since it began in 2000, and the generosity of additional community-minded sponsors who have learned about the program over the years.

“And what that means is getting involved with the Special Needs community and providing them with a team sport and a team activity,” said Nocera. He was also the FYSA Chair for Special Needs athletes, from 2005-2007, and currently is the FYSA Regional coordinator from Lake Worth to Key West,

“There is an amazing team of people who run it and are dedicated to the cause,” Nocera said of the SABR program. “There are probably 20 different kids over the years that have gone on as adults to be involved in Special Needs. The program attracts great people, and it is a unique program. We have a lot of kids from Boca, Delray Beach, North Broward, and kids from all over as buddies. They really get it.”

“The benefits are endless,” he continued. “The life lessons learned are amazing. You can’t put a dollar amount on the value that this has to our future youth kids that buddy up with us.”

Suzi Vogelgesang, who serves as the SABR/TOPSoccer Administrator, got her start with the program in 2006 when she started assisting with purchasing uniforms. She became the administrator not long after that.

As the program grew so did Vogelgesang’s responsibilities such as event planning, communication with the city and vendors, building teams, helping organize and assign buddies as well as securing sponsors and donors. She said as the years have continued; she’s getting successors for each role.

“Like the players, the buddies can make lasting friendships with team participants, other buddies, and coaches,” Vogelgesang said. “Their involvement in TOPSoccer is very advantageous when the colleges and universities see that they have given back to the community in a selfless manner.”

“We witness the players gaining independence, confidence, and a sense of accomplishment as they score goals, get stronger from the exercise, and learn new skills on the fields,” Vogelgesang noted. “The leadership from our coaches is also enduring, with players and buddies continuing to return to their assigned teams year after year. Some of our buddies continue to volunteer during college and return to coach after graduation. One of our coaches has signed up for her 25th season.”

The 9-week program begins in January and runs through the second week of March at Woodlands Park. They had 175 athletes and 160 buddies in 2024.

Click here to become a Buddy, player, or coach. If you would like more information about SABR TOPSoccer, please click here.

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