TUKWILA — After practicing on a field right next to the one hosting a Seattle Sounders training session, the Marysville Pilchuck varsity, junior varsity and freshman boys soccer teams interacted with the pros, some even taking part in a post-practice accuracy contest with Sounders players like Clint Dempsey, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans and Marco Pappa.
For the Tomahawks, it was a chance for the players, whose season ended in the district playoffs, to observe up close some of the best players in MLS while also meeting some of their soccer heroes.
“To have this experience, they just converted 45 kids into Sounders fans if they weren’t already,” Marysville Pilchuck coach Paul Bartley said. “Just to have an opportunity to see how fast the game is, they were impressed with the speed of play and how hard they went at it in practice without shin guards.”
Ever since the tragic on-campus shooting last October that claimed five lives, sports have played a role in the healing process, as have the professional and college teams in the region.
“Our team is trying to move on from that, but this reminds them what the sport is all about,” Bartley said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, just enjoy watching excellent soccer.”
Like the Seahawks, who hosted a Tomahawks practice at their Renton facility during their postseason run, the Sounders were more than happy to open their doors to Marysville Pilchuck this week.
“It was great, it’s fantastic,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. “Anything we can do like this to give back is fantastic. It’s good for our souls, it’s good for their souls, but the most important thing going about it is just, we’re a soccer team, we’re in the entertainment business, and part of our job hopefully is to bring a smile to people’s faces if we do things well on the field. Being able to bring a smile to their faces and give them an experience that not everybody gets to have is important.”
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