'Top Soccer' Kids Hang Out With Chelsea FC Before Game At U.S. Bank Stadium
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On a field in downtown Minneapolis, a few dozen soccer players run drills and scrimmage.
They are part of Top Soccer. The Minnesota Youth Soccer Association runs the group. They are athletes with special needs, some physical, some intellectual.
They come together to play in a league. Ivan Woyno is with MYSA.
"We provide an opportunity, which is what so many of these athletes crave and love, to play the game like their brothers and sisters who are able bodied," Woyno said.
Wednesday morning, a group with the Chelsea Football Club's foundation volunteered to coach Top Soccer players.
Zak Wooster is with Chelsea International Foundation.
"We don't want to just come and play a football match and leave. We want to come leave a legacy, leave a legacy with the children, leave a legacy with the coaches and the local community in general," Wooster said.
He says the day was a joy. Zach Learned, a 10-year-old athlete, seemed to appreciate the day too.
"I love soccer!" he said.
"We got a great group here, some great personalities. You can see they love scoring goals, they enjoy playing and hopefully this will be a memory that stays with them for a long while," Wooster said.
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