Mike Trotta has been named coach of the New York State National Special Olympic Soccer team at the national games being held in Ames, Iowa from July 1 through July 7. There will be more than 5,000 athletes and coaches from all 50 states represented at the games.

Mr. Trotta is the director of recreation and volunteer services at St. Christopher's home in Sea Cliff, a program of SCO Family of Services. His involvement in Special Olympics goes back to 1975 when he served as a volunteer in Ohio and as a coach in Colorado.

The St. Christopher team, the Owls, competes year-round in local, regional and state level competitions in basketball, soccer, volleyball, bowling, golf, track and field and softball. Recently Mike was one of the coaches of the Long Island Special Olympic volleyball team that competed in the state games in Albany. The select team included several residents from St. Christopher's.

Mike is also a managing partner and program director of Stars, a not-for-profit socialization and recreation program for children with autism and other developmental disabilities which is held every Saturday at Friends Academy and is president of Fitness and Friends, a fitness and nutrition consulting firm that provides in-home services for children and adults with developmental disabilities. In addition to his work in Special Olympics, Mike has served as a coach in Glen Cove in junior baseball, soccer, lacrosse and CYO basketball.

For information on any of the above programs, including volunteering, contact Mike Trotta at mt5296@aol.com.