Katie and Juan Rivas have watched their older children excel on football and soccer teams. But they never thought they'd get the opportunity to see their youngest son, Nolan, at soccer practice.

Nolan, a five-year-old John W. Decas Elementary student, suffers from cerebral palsy -- a disorder that affects muscle control and coordination. He has difficulty getting around and wears braces on his legs.

But on Saturday, April 21, Nolan played soccer.

"He's giving 100%. I'm so proud of him," Katie Rivas said as she watched Nolan chase a soccer ball, joyously picking it up and tossing it into a net. "He fell a couple times and he got right back up!"

It was opening day of Wareham's new TOPSoccer program, which falls under the umbrella of Wareham Youth Soccer and stands for "The Outreach Program for Soccer."

The team is designed for children with special needs. Each player gets a "buddy" -- a middle- or high-school student who assists coaches in helping the players learn the game. Training and gameplay are modified so that each child can participate.

Approximately 12 children and 13 volunteer buddies are participating on Wareham's inaugural TOPSoccer team. TOPSoccer is a national program that is provided free of charge to families.

"We're hoping to get this up and running," said TOPSoccer coordinator Michele Traver, noting that she hopes to accept more players for a fall season.

Traver's five-year-old son, Shane, suffers from autism and has difficulty in social situations. On Saturday, however, Shane took to the soccer field with his "buddy," ran around with his peers, and kicked soccer balls in every direction.

"The first day is trying to get them interested," Traver, who is running the five-week program with fellow coordinator Roxana Rodolfo, said of Saturday's agenda.

Parents were grateful for what they said was a nice change of pace in the kids' normal routines.

"It's good to have something [like TOPSoccer] right in the community," Katie Rivas said. The next closest TOPSoccer program is in Middleborough.

For an hour, the coaches and buddies had the players -- ages 4 to 11 with varying abilities -- doing everything from running drills to kicking goals to just hanging out and having a fun time in a new situation.

"It doesn't look like a whole lot right now," Traver said, "but just getting these kids out there is huge."

For more information about TOPSoccer, visit www.usyouthsoccer.org/programs/TOPSoccer.