COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — The Switchbacks FC kicked off year three of its Unified Team this week. 25 Special Olympic athletes were selected for the 2023 roster. They signed one-year contracts and were celebrated by the Colorado Springs community and members of the team.
"It means a lot to us and probably even more to them," Switchbacks midfielder Jay Chapman said. "To see them celebrate when their names got called was fantastic."
Business Development Manager, Jon Taylor said the Switchbacks became the first USL Championship team to start a Unified program back in 2021.
"It only takes one," Chaplan said, "Now that we have one, other teams are {hopefully} going to follow suit."
The goal is to offer an opportunity for anybody to play soccer, create friendships and fall in love with the game.
"It is such a fun experience playing side by side with both men and women of all ability levels on the inclusive team," Unified Team Coordinator Yariv Ben-Naim said.
The Switchbacks Unified Team will host two home games at Weidner Field this summer on August 4th and August 9th.
