Atlanta Amputee Soccer Association
Atlanta Amputee Soccer, founded in 2024, has grown into a vibrant community of athletes of all ages. As an official affiliate of the American Amputee Soccer Association, the organization has developed both recreational and competitive pathways, offering opportunities that provide individuals living with limb difference meaningful access to the game. What began as a small group has evolved into a thriving community of amputees, allies, and friends united by sport, connection, and opportunity.
Ryan Kenneally, Power Soccer PDX, Rose City Renegades
Ryan Kenneally transformed Oregon’s adaptive soccer landscape through pure grit, humor, and vision. After finding no power soccer program in the state of Oregon when he arrived in 2016, he built one himself. As founder and head coach of PowerSoccerPDX and the Rose City Renegades, Kenneally turned an empty gym into a thriving community where athletes using power wheelchairs could finally compete, belong, and be seen. He secured equipment, trained volunteers, and cultivated partnerships to make the sport accessible to anyone who wanted to play. More than a coach, Kenneally was a mentor and advocate who led with compassion and authenticity. Diagnosed with Becker’s muscular dystrophy, Kenneally’s lived experience shaped how he empowered others - treating every individual as an ally first. Practices under his leadership were filled with laughter, purpose, and belief, and he has shown the broader soccer world that adaptive sport is not charity - it’s competition, strategy, and heart. His players and peers remember him as the guy who made you feel like you mattered, on and off the pitch. Even after his passing in March 2025, Ryan’s legacy continues to grow. The Rose City Renegades still play under the mission he built, carrying his commitment to access, dignity, and excellence forward. Kenneally was not only a man who adapted to every barrier, but one who built a space for countless others to thrive, showing that true leadership is measured in community, not trophies.
Mallorie LaFarge, Kansas Youth TOPSoccer
Starting in her local community, Mallorie LaFarge launched a US Youth Soccer (USYS) TOPSoccer (TOPS) grassroots disability soccer program. It’s at the local level where children and adults with disabilities are introduced to and play the beautiful game, and LaFarge’s initiative and leadership has changed many lives. Not satisfied with just serving her local community, LaFarge established herself as the Kansas Youth Soccer TOPS chair, where she has helped local clubs throughout the state launch and support TOPS programs. This includes personally applying for and being awarded over $100,000 worth of grants for them across two years. LaFarge’s initiative continued in the summer of 2024 when she applied for and was awarded a US Soccer Federation (USSF) Innovate To Grow (ITG) grant. She leveraged the ITG to establish the first national TOPS festival and coaching education event, held across three days in suburban Kansas City in June 2025. Over 100 players from over a dozen states attended and were treated to an amazing day full of skill development, competition, and camaraderie. Coaching education included the novel approach of establishing cohorts of coaches that were connected and encouraged to continue the dialogue over the months to follow, sharing best practices and practical ideas to maximize participation and successful outcomes for all. In September, LaFarge also shared many of her secrets with an on-field demonstration at the USYS Grassroots Symposium.