Every Kick Counts FootGolf fundraiser returns for NJYS TOPSoccer

The second annual Every Kick Counts FootGolf fundraiser was held Friday at Bel-Aire Golf Course in Wall Township, with proceeds supporting the NJYS TOPSoccer Program. The event linked a fast, accessible hybrid sport to a program built around inclusion, turning a day of kicks and putts into direct support for young athletes with disabilities.

TOPSoccer is New Jersey Youth Soccer’s community-based training and team placement program for young athletes with disabilities. It is designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any boy or girl with disabilities, and that mission gave Friday’s fundraiser a purpose beyond recreation. FootGolf fit the cause neatly because the sport combines the precision of golf with the kicking skills of soccer, and the official rules call for players to complete each hole in the fewest number of kicks from the teeing zone to the green zone.

The event’s return for a second year followed a first edition that brought together more than 50 players, families and volunteers, with RWJBarnabas Health as sponsor. That turnout gave the fundraiser immediate momentum and showed there was enough interest to bring it back at Bel-Aire, which Monmouth County Park System materials identify as a FootGolf venue and a place where the basics of the game are already established.

That structure matters for a fundraiser like this one. FootGolf does not demand elite golf experience or advanced soccer pedigree, which opens the field to families, teammates, coaches and supporters who might not enter a more specialized tournament. For TOPSoccer, that accessibility mirrors the program’s own goal of widening access to the game, and it makes Every Kick Counts more than a social outing. It is a practical way to connect a popular, easy-to-join sport with the resources needed to keep inclusive soccer opportunities growing in New Jersey.