Constable: Fire's unified soccer team celebrates goal of inclusion

The red jerseys with their names on the back are identical to those worn by the Chicago Fire players. The new soccer cleats and shinguards in their lockers are issued by the Chicago Fire. The players on this new team practice alongside the Chicago Fire, mingle with the pros, will fly to Portland on the Chicago Fire charter flight and will even stay in the team hotel.

"A fancy one, too," says Josh Banty, a 15-year-old Arlington Heights soccer player who can't stop grinning about every aspect of his spot on the history-making Chicago Fire Unified Team, which combines local Special Olympics Illinois athletes with peer partners from local high schools.

"They're staying at The Nines," says Jessica Yavitz, executive director of the Chicago Fire Foundation. Staying at a luxury hotel as a team (without their parents) puts a finishing touch on an adventure that began with tryouts in March.

"I just tried my hardest," says Adam Letcher, 18, who has competed for seven years in Special Olympics sports with Hoffman Estates High School and will be a senior at New Connections Academy in Palatine this fall. "I wanted to make it (the team) to see my parents and grandparents get happy."

Begun three years ago, the growing partnership between the MLS professional soccer league and Special Olympics North America blossomed this year into the Chicago Fire Unified Team that blends athletes with and without developmental disabilities, says Jen Marcello, director of young athletes for Special Olympics Illinois. It's more than just a feel-good story.

"It's a competitive experience," Marcello says. "We have some amazing soccer players who are Special Olympic athletes."

Friday's game at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, pits a Chicago Fire Unified Team of three Special Olympics athletes and two peer players against a similar squad from Special Olympics Oregon in five-on-five action on a 40-feet-by-60-feet field. The young athletes also get to watch the MLS game between the Fire and the Portland Timbers.

"Everything is paid for by the Chicago Fire, MLS and Special Olympics Illinois," Marcello says. The four peer partners playing alongside the Special Olympics athletes also get the professional-soccer-player treatment.

"The partners often get more out of it. More than likely, none of these partners will play for the Chicago Fire, either," Marcello says.

"I tell them I'm a player for the Chicago Fire," quips peer Gerardo Valencia, 18, a senior football player at Hoffman Estates High School who started volunteering with the Special Olympics more than two years ago. He practices with his partner, Adam, and the full team once a month at the Fire facilities at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.

"It's an awesome experience to be able to play on this field," Gerardo says. "We're out there sweating. That's for sure."

Practicing under the direction of coaches from the Fire and Special Olympics coaches such as Julie Phelan, a special education teaching assistant at Hoffman Estates High School, team members also work on skills and drills at home.

"I felt my chances (to make the team) were very slim, to be honest, but I'm here," says Aurora's Ryan McDonough, 18, who attends Waubonsie Valley High School and has enjoyed lots of success during his eight years as a Special Olympics athlete. The trip to Portland is a highlight.

"It means multiple things to me: seeing new places, knowing how far we've come as a team, and enjoying the game," he says.

"Yep, that's true," adds Adam. "I'm enjoying this new environment, playing on this big field. It's just playing for fun. Try your hardest and have fun."

Wheeling volunteer Andy Torres, 14, an eighth-grader at MacArthur Middle School in Prospect Heights, partners with Josh, as they both represent Prospect Heights Elementary District 23. The other athletes are Mackenzie Carlson of Normal and Warren I. Richards III of Glenwood. In addition to Gerardo and Andy, the other partners are Brenna Poncin of Normal and Jared Hoekstra of Homewood. In addition to Phelan, the other coaches are Paul Cadwell, the Fire's director of soccer and team development, and David Dore, a longtime Special Olympics coach.

"It's amazing. It's incredible," Josh says, noting that his soccer career has gone from kicking around a ball at home with his 10-year-old brother, Noah, to playing in a professional stadium. "It's really amazing. I'm addicted to soccer, playing FIFA (the video game on his Xbox 360), too. I can't stop thinking about soccer. I just want to do it."

On Friday, he'll get that chance on the big stage.

"They get on the field and play in front of 20,000 people," says Atul Khosla, chief operating officer of the Chicago Fire. While the focus "is all about promoting social inclusion," the local team has some elite players, he says.

"They're good," Khosla says, breaking into a smile that rivals the one still on Josh's face. "They're better than I am."