COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Colorado Springs Switchbacks players took time away from the pitch to connect with children at Early Connections Learning Center, reading books, playing soccer and singing songs together.
"I want to be able to motivate kids and young adults to be better than I am. I just love being that good role model in the community, and it makes me happy being around these kids,” said goalkeeper Jonathan Burke.
The visit created moments of pure joy as players engaged with excited children, even playfully recruiting them to join the team.
"It gives me just that bigger purpose. Soccer is important to all of us, but there's so much more to it. Especially in the community because we can have such important impacts on these people," Jonathan added.
This season, the club has emphasized community engagement as a core value.
“(Chambers) made it a point at the beginning of the season, one of the things we really care about is the community. They're the ones that come to our games and support us from afar. Some of these kids haven't even been to Switchbacks games, but they see us. We're not really famous in the big scheme of things, and they're just super excited to see us. So it's always great to give back, especially in a city that means so much to me now," said defender Matt Mahoney.
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