Real Salt Lake Soccer Club has teamed up with Special Olympics Utah to create a Unified Sport Soccer Team.
Unified Sports joins athletes both with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team to promote social inclusion through shared training and competition exercises with the principle that training and playing together is the quickest path to friendship and understanding.
Players were selected at tryouts on April 27, 2016 at Rio Tinto Stadium and during the High School Unified Sports Championships.
RSL’s Unified Team will play their first home match against Colorado Rapids Unified Team directly following the MLS match on Friday, August 26, 2016. The team will be coached by Jenna Holland. Coach Holland is certified in coaching Unified Sports, track and field, soccer, Bocce, snowshoeing, basketball and swimming. In 2014 Jenna went to USA Games as the Utah Unified Head Soccer Coach.
More Information on Unified Sports - www.mlssoccer.com/mls-works/special-olympics
More Information on RSL’s Unified Soccer Team: Mary VanMinde, Director Community Relations – Real Salt Lake. mvanminde@rsl.com OR Ashlee Chatterton, Manager of Youth and School Partnerships – Special Olympics Utah.chatterton@sout.org
