SOAR (formerly known as Dreams for Kids) supported by the Alexandria Football Club and the NGO DC Scores and On the Edge Foundation came together to welcome The Ball in an event in Alexandria, Virginia, just a few miles away from Washington DC. Together the partners ran a soccer clinic for children with physical and intellectual disabilities. Each child was partnered with a volunteer. The volunteers were from Mercersburg Academy and from the Howard University Women’s Soccer Team. The children took part in skill drills: dribbling, passing, and shooting together with the volunteers. Afterwards we mixed the participants up into 9 teams and played FairPlay football. It was a beautiful experience: all of the special needs children took active part and most of them scored at least one goal. The celebrations were fun and wild.
Afterwards, we were invited by DC Scores to attend the Washington Spirit professional match at Audi Stadium in Washington DC. It was also wild and fun, especially the last kick of the match was a penalty scored by the Washington Spirit, which sent the fans into ecstasy and won the match 4-3. The young shooting star of US Women’s Soccer, Trinity Rodman, played in the match and signed The Ball afterwards. „One Ball, One World“ she said, with a huge smile.