A statewide soccer tournament is uniting people throughout the state in a special way. Unified Soccer is organized through Special Olympics Oklahoma and nearly 60 teams competed in Wednesday’s event.
Organizers said the purpose of the tournament is about more than scoring goals. It’s about putting aside differences and making friendships that can last off the field.
“Enjoying, having fun and being myself on that field no matter what,” said Wagoner High School senior Jayden Pilent.
“We started practice yesterday,” said Wagoner High School senior Paul Lamberson.
Lamberson and Pilent are on the same team and both love playing soccer.
“I like kicking the ball,” Lamberson said.
“Just enjoying it and seeing the ball go flying to the goal,” Pilent said.
Around 60 Oklahoma teams took the field at the Owasso Sports Complex. Players traveled from towns as far as Idabel, Yukon, and Mustang to nearby like Broken Arrow and Jenks.
Each team includes people with special Olympians and partners who play with them.
Sports Director Robert Schaefer said the event is open to all ages from elementary to adult.
“The opportunity for those kids to be accepted by their peer group is huge and it carries over into all aspects of their lives,” Schaefer said.
He said soccer is unifying and teammates can become friends.
“You get to know them. You go to practice with them, you go to lunch with them, soon you’ll see them in the hall and instead, it’s high fives instead of, ‘what’s he about,'” Schaefer said.
The game is allowing kids with special needs to just be kids.
“A lot of people think these kids are limited to only do so much, but they just come out here and show everyone that they can do just as much as anyone else,” said Unified Partner and Wagoner High School junior Lanie Brown.
“My brother has autism, so to see kids like him be able to do things like that, I love it,” said Unified Coach.
“I don’t know who gets the most out of it, the special Olympians or the unified partners. I know they both gain a lot from this opportunity,” Schaefer said.
The tournament is bringing people together for the love of the game, but mainly, proving we’re not as different as we think.
.