Congratulations to Maryland’s own Stephanie Lighter!   Stephanie’s hard work and dedication to the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association’s TOPSoccer program catapulted her above her peers not only from the state of Maryland, but also among Region I! As the Region I TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year, Stephanie will represent the 15 states that comprise Region I and will attend the US Youth Soccer Gala to be held on Friday, February 26, 2010 in Forth Worth, Texas to be honored with other regional nominees. 

Stephanie has been involved as a TOPSoccer Buddy for the past 5 years helping as an administrative intern in preparation to be the Assistant Director of the MSI’s TOPSoccer Program.  Her enthusiasm, demonstrated leadership and overall involvement in advanceing the game solidified her as the Region I nominee to US Youth Soccer.  This is the first year that this award will be presented. 

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. The program is designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any boy or girl, who has a mental or physical disability. Our goal is to enable the thousands of young athletes with disabilities to become valued and successful members of the US Youth Soccer family.