Special Olympics Texas and Special Olympics Colorado Get Ready For A Rematch

By Alex Hubbard

Less than a week remains until a unified soccer team from Special Olympics Texas takes on a unified team from Special Olympics Colorado at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.

The two Special Olympics teams will face off following the Saturday, August 9 contest between MLS teams FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids. Tickets can be purchased at this link: http://www.payitsquare.com/collect-page/40193, with a portion of the proceeds supporting Special Olympics.

This will be a rematch for the two Special Olympics programs after facing off last season in Denver. Reece Halfmann, a goalie and forward on the Special Olympics Texas team, remembers last year’s trip to Colorado as “cold and rainy”, but also says the team “had so much fun” on the visit despite the weather.

Saturday night’s game is part of a partnership between FC Dallas and Special Olympics Texas. Over the past two years, FC Dallas provided the SOTX athletes with chances to meet and practice with FC Dallas players and coaches, and the organization also signed all of the SOTX athletes to professional contracts earlier this season.

“This partnership has been so great for us,” Special Olympics Texas head coach Tom Black said.

“It’s a big responsibility and a great experience for all of us,” Anthony Campise, a member of the SOTX team, said of working with a professional team like FC Dallas.

Saturday’s event gives the athletes from SOTX and SOCO a chance to showcase their skills they have learned from FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids on the biggest stage: a professional stadium.

“It is really awesome and we are all so excited to get this opportunity,” Steven McIlhaney, an athlete on the SOTX team, said of Saturday night’s event.