Rockets Celebrate Joy of Football With Special Needs Students

Rockets Celebrate Joy of Football With Special Needs Students

The University of Toledo football program shared the joy of victory with approximately 35 special needs students from Toledo Public Schools and around the area at its ninth annual "Victory Day" inside the Fetterman Training Center on Saturday. Participating students met Rocket football players, ran drills on the field and heard their names announced over the public address system as they scored a touchdown.

Victory Day is an opportunity for special needs students to have their "moment in the sun" on the football field. Each student was partnered with a Toledo football player who served as his or her mentor for the day. Toledo cheerleaders were also there to cheer on the participants.

Head Coach Jason Candle said Victory Day is a great opportunity for the youngsters who participate, as well as a chance for his team to gain some perspective from the experience.

"It's an awesome opportunity for us to engage with the community and for the kids to be a part of football," Candle said. "Most of these kids don't have that opportunity. It doesn't mean they can't be fans of football and fans of Toledo. We want to provide them with an opportunity to be as close as they can to our program.

"College athletes have the power each and every day to choose what they want to be. Some of these young kids that are here today have been robbed of that opportunity. So it's great to be out with them and share the smiles, share the memories and share the excitement they have. It's cool for our players to add perspective to their lives and understand how lucky they are to be Division I athletes and how good they really have it."

"Being a part of Victory Day has been awesome," said junior wide receiver Thomas Zsiros, who was paired with the same youngster, Avin, for the second straight year. "We're in the thick of camp, but it's important for us not to lose focus of what's important. For us to get a chance to come out and be around these kids and make their day, even year, and give them the chance to enjoy this moment with us helps us 'find our why' again. It was especially awesome for me to be around Avin again, after I was with her for last year's Victory Day. She enjoys coming out, she's an awesome kid and we had a really good time today."

Added Candle, "The real heroes here are the parents of these young people. I'm sure it's really challenging for them to find activities to consistently get them out of the house and do things. It's been great to see some of the same parents and kids come back every year."

Victory Day was started in 2010 by Aaron Segedi, a teacher and football coach from Trenton, Mich. Segedi is a cancer survivor whose life was saved thanks to a liver donation from his sister, Rhonda. Since then, the Victory Day program has been adopted by high schools and universities throughout the country. The Rockets first celebrated Victory Day in 2014.

Toledo opens its season on Thursday, Aug. 29, at 7:30 p.m. vs. Duquesne in "The Biggest Party in Toledo."

To order tickets or for more information, please visit UTRockets.com/fbtix, call/text 419.530.GOLD (4653), or stop by the Rocket Ticket Office located in the Sullivan Athletic Complex at Savage Arena during office hours.