Our three Philadelphia soccer teams made their season debut at the 2018 Fall Sports Classic. This event was hosted by Special Olympics PA – Area M on Sunday, September 16th in Hershey, PA. Over 800 Special Olympics athletes from across PA competed in Bocce, Long Distance Running/Walking, Powerlifting, Soccer, and Volleyball for the 15th Annual Fall Sports Classic. The event was based at four different locations in the Hershey area. Hershey High School hosted powerlifting and volleyball, Hershey Middle School hosted volleyball, Founders Field hosted LDR/W and soccer, and Hershey Italian Lodge hosted bocce. 

It was the perfect day for our soccer teams to make their debut, clear and sunny with a nice breeze to ensure our athlete didn’t get too hot. Our three soccer teams, Philly United, Strykers, and Stars and Stripes gave a strong showing as they went head-to-head with their competitors. This is the first time Philadelphia has had a Unified Soccer Team participate in the Community Program. A unified team means individuals with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete together. Through training and competing together, friendships and a mutual respect are born between both athletes (individuals with intellectual disabilities) and partners (individuals without intellectual disabilities). Parents, coaches, and fans were excited to get outside and cheer on our teams as they made it one step closer to the end goal – state games, aka, Fall Festival.

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