OHIO – He shoots, he scores!
Rourke Martin, a 21-year-old Drayton resident, travelled to Ohio last month to play in the 2024 Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Game.
Rourke scored the first goal of the match in Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus on July 23, and his team, the East Conference All-Stars, wound up defeating the Western Conference All Stars 5-0.
“I was really happy when I scored that first goal,” Rourke told the Advertiser.
He has been playing soccer since he was a young child, though his favourite sport is hockey, he said.
Playing in the All-Star Game was the best part of his trip to Ohio, Rourke said, but he also enjoyed travelling on an airplane to get there.
His mother Heather Martin said “we’re really glad that he was given this opportunity.
“It was a pretty cool experience … definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for him.”
Rourke was one of two players from Toronto Football Club’s Special Olympics Unified Team who played in the All-Star Game.
Other players on the east team were from Washington DC., Philadelphia, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, New England and New York.
The west team included players from Texas, Colorado, California, New York, Maine, Utah, Washington State and Missouri.
The two teams represented 26 Major League Soccer (MLS) Special Olympics teams and included players with and without intellectual disabilities.
The game is in its 9th year and was live-streamed on the MLS Youtube channel.
Heather said Rourke “had a great time meeting new people and making new friends.”
“I had so much fun,” Rourke said, adding it was especially exciting to get to play on turf for the first time.
