Dear Coach Alex,
I am not sure if you recall nine years ago receiving a message from a mother in tears requesting a call back, as she heard you may be able to help her son Frankie. Now, here I am nine years later, writing this letter with tears in my eyes again as I say thank you, gracias and grazie! Frankie is soaring as a 9th grade freshman at St. Anthony’s High School, and he wouldn’t have gotten there if it wasn’t for you, Shelly, Christina, and all the past staff and O/T students from ISF.
Frankie was a baby who never slept through the night and stopped napping at 1-1/2 years old. He often cried and screamed. Unbeknownst to us, his many tantrums most likely occurred from his inability to communicate what he wanted due to a speech delay in which we were unaware. His pediatrician, at the time, did not say there was a delay. When Frankie was two years old, we put him in Ducky Pond Christian pre-school two half days and then three half days at three years old. His teacher spoke to us and advised that we should have Frankie evaluated. We did so through the school district and quickly after that point Frankie started receiving early intervention and had a SIET push in with him at Ducky Pond Pre-School and a speech therapist to our home weekly as Frankie tested at 5th percentile for speech. Frankie’s behavior, which was never disruptive in school, but more concerning on the developmental end, lead us to more evaluations and testing both with the school district and privately. After all the evaluations, he was then sent at four years old to a Special Education Pre-School, Leeway, in Sayville, NY, for 1-1/2 years prior to starting Kindergarten.
At Leeway, Frankie was placed in a classroom with a Special Education teacher as well as an aide. Here he was not only getting speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy but also group therapy with a Social Worker to help him work on self-advocating. Leeway taught his father and I about Motor Planning Delay, revealing that his slow transitions were not due to developmental delays, but rather he had to stop to make his brain tell his limbs what to do. By this point Frankie had been diagnosed with a speech delay, motor planning delay and sensory processing disorder. He also showed low inner core strength and muscle weakness in his hands and lower limbs.
Off to kindergarten Frankie goes and gets put into an inclusion class with a special education teacher and a secondary teacher continuing all the same services from pre-school. We enrolled him into T-Ball, two seasons of Frankie spinning and more interested in the clouds. We did not continue. Since Frankie frequently tripped over his own two feet, we never encouraged him to run, always reminding him to be careful and watch where he was walking. Even after years of O/T and P/T with the school and weekly private O/T, we saw no improvement. I expressed my concern with his social worker in kindergarten, as I did not know what else to do. He still hated any coloring or writing, his hands fatigued and hurt so quickly, and he was still falling when going up and down the stairs. I was a nervous wreck because you could see his foot dangling. This was the day I learned about ISF. His social worker told me she had heard about the program and maybe they could help. As soon as I left, I called, and left Alex Lopez a message pleading for help, as I didn’t know where else to turn.
In September 2016, Coach Alex answered my prayers, and at just 6 years old, Frankie became the youngest student ever to be accepted at ISF. Initially, he was not a willing participant by any means. He would kick the back of my seat repeatably the entire drive to ISF. This was common behavior for Frankie when he was going somewhere he did not want to go. He would cry and tantrum and throw himself on the floor while Alex kindly encouraged him to calm down and participate. In addition to Frankie’s speech delay, need for O/T for his fine motor skills, low muscle tone and issue with his vestibular system & P/T which helped him in school to sit at his desk upright and ascend and descend the stairwell properly, his Developmental Pediatrician recommended a Neuro-psych evaluation for further diagnosis. In 2017, his diagnosis included Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cognitive Disorder, ADHD, Dyspraxia, and I am sure there may be a few others I am forgetting somewhere. Even with all these diagnoses, they didn’t answer why he was getting 1’s and 2’s, which are the lowest grades you could receive on reading and writing. After years of trying to figure it out, a test revealed a disruption in the communication between his eyes and his brain, an interruption which you also helped support in addition to the vision therapy we took him to for 10 weeks.
In addition to ISF, we enrolled Frankie when he was in first grade based off the recommendation of the Developmental Pediatrician into Cub Scout’s to help with his social skills. I was his den leader for 5 years as he always needed a push, and who better than his mom. Frankie was a very nice boy with other children but always attracted bullies. His classes were inclusion classes therefore he was placed in classes with children with many behavioral issues. So, we also enrolled him in karate so he could learn to defend himself and increase his self-esteem, as well as help focus on his A.D.H.D. There is no other program that I am aware of that lights a candle to ISF. I’ve recommended it to parents with children with special needs 100’s of times over the past 9 years.
In my eyes ISF was the key to Frankie’s successful development. Every O/T student at ISF who has worked with him over the years was not only caring and friendly with Frankie’s introverted timid demeanor, but also made him feel that he could persevere. A few of the key elements ISF taught Frankie over the years include teaching him with their moving rock-climbing wall how to properly climb a ladder as would be on a playground which he wasn’t able to do naturally due to his motor planning delay. ISF helped him with his vestibular system to have greater balance and more stability through utilization of the moving surfboards at the facility. The sensory room with the games he played have helped his sensory processing disorder immensely. ISF taught Frankie to ride a bike, with a lot of love and encouragement. ISF Coaches helped prep him shooting basketballs time after time when he decided he wanted to start playing middle school sports so he would be better adapted to play with typical children. When Frankie was a bit older, the staff at ISF had him lead the group of children in warmups and warm downs to help him with his social skills. The activity after activity to help develop his fine motor skills is just amazing. Not as amazing as the stationary bike activities for the children to race against each other, which developed Frankie’s lower extremity weakness to measure above and beyond. ISF helped him be comfortable looking into someone’s eyes when speaking to them. Two years ago, when Frankie transitioned from being a student to a mentor there was a real pivot in his growth. And where do we begin to discuss running. Frankie’s training over the years at ISF, both with running and strength training, has been extraordinary. It has made him an exceptional runner.
Your confidence and mentoring helped him become a great mentor to other students over the school years and summers. Again, I can’t thank you enough for that. Coach Alex, I can just go on and on for days about what a blessing ISF has been for our entire family. Even after Frankie was dropped from receiving speech therapy yet still could not properly pronounce an R or TH, your O/T students continually worked on it with him in a round and about way while doing other therapy.
So here we are now at the close of the second quarter in high school, which Frankie at his own request no longer has an IEP/IESP or 504. I cannot wait to share with you, and please share with the staff as well, that Frankie has not only received a weighted GPA of 102.34 at a college preparatory high school in many honors classes, but he also has been selected for All County with his clarinet. Last weekend Frankie placed first in 2 out of 3 events in the Long Island Catholic School Winter Track Championship Race for Freshman. He was remarkable. At 8th grade graduation Frankie received the NY State Triple C award for a student’s outstanding courage, character and commitment. In addition, he received 2 scholarships towards his high school tuition for his kindness and grades. Frankie is not only persevering, but he is also conquering everything by storm, and he couldn’t have done it without you as his #1 mentor and all of you at ISF with your support over these past 9 years. So again, THANK YOU, GRACIAS and GRAZIE! I hope and pray that ISF is around for years to come, and maybe even Frankie as an adult will still be a part of it.
Sincerely,
Paula R
By Aiden Lorenzo for the Islip Messenger
Back in September 2024, The Messenger had the great opportunity to cover an end of summer fundraiser for Inclusive Sports and Fitness (ISF) that was held at Kingston’s Clam Bar in West Sayville. Now that its March 2025 and spring has sprung, we return the spotlight to Inclusive Sports and Fitness and their latest fundraising event, The Spring Gala.
Held this time at Land’s End in Sayville, ISFs Spring Gale was a way for people to help their cause, while also recognizing a few noteworthy people who have contributed to ISE in one way or another.
The events primary honoree was Saul Zabell, a local attorney who is also a board member of ISF and has supported the cause for a long time now. Saul has consistently provided financial backing for ISF’s many fundraisers and has become a vital member of the board contributing invaluable knowledge that has guided ISF through an important phase of growth.
“What makes this prestigious is that it’s a group of my peers; people who I admire and we and enjoy working with who felt that I deserve this. But the reality is that they deserve this,” Zabell told The Messenger, “I just surround myself with good people and I haven’t done half the hard work that students like yourself and Mr. Lopez have done…I got involved because my son Jack was involved, and it was one of the only programs that really made him realize his true potential.”
ISFs founder, Alexander Lopez, also gave their Inspiration Award to fifteen-year-old Frankie Rodriguez, who had been involved with this program since he was five years old. Between then and now, Rodriguez has become a star track runner for St. Anthonys High School in Huntington and is on the varsity team as a freshman.
“It’s nerve wracking but it’s also really rewarding that after all these years I’ve spent with ISF, and I get to think, ‘Wow, I did this, and I get to help other people like me.” Says Rodriguez.
“As someone who has been rather close with Frankle during his formative years at ISF, to say that I am impressed would be an understatement because I am very proud to see him blossom into a talkative, confident young man,” said Lopez.
Additionally, awards were also given out to Dillon Boeckel and Sloan Rivas for their exemplary mentor work for Inclusive Sports and Fitness.
In addition to the awards, the event also had their usual raffle, live music performed by Johnny Kroo, and delicious gourmet catering from Land’s End’s Lovin Oven catering business. The Messenger had the opportunity to speak with the venue’s owner, Mike Scolon about way they chose to host ISFs spring gala every year.
“ISF’s a great cause, and of course, it’s also very local. It’s honestly a no-brainer and we’re glad that we get to have the ceremony every year.”
ISF’s fundraisers are worth attending. Not only are they fun with the support going to a great cause, but they also honor the deserving people who have been loyal and crucial to ISF’s growth for many years. Here’s to many more years of success, growth, and well-done fundraisers.
