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Wearing a mesh green pinnie, Dag Young, 7, eyeballed his pint-sized opponent, charged and kicked the soccer ball into the tiny goal on the 30-yard line of the Gilbert de la O Field in St. Paul.
Then, in typical World Cup fashion, he ran across the field, arms wide, head back and yelled, “Goooaaallll!”
Young was one of about 150 kids who turned out Saturday for the first ever OneMN Sports Day, hosted by the Twins, Timberwolves, Lynx and MN United FC. The teams partnered with the St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department to put on the event, which featured bounce houses, appearances by team mascots and mini-clinics in baseball, soccer and basketball.
“We just all wanted to come together and really give kids an opportunity to try a variety of sports,” said Sandra Ciesielski, spokesperson for the Minnesota Twins.
“We’re looking to grow this,” she said. The group hopes to host another event in Minneapolis and do several more in the future.
The event took place at the El Rio Vista Recreation Center in the West Side neighborhood, a location Parks and Recreation supervisor Andy Rodriguez thought was fitting.
“The All-Star Field was funded by the Twins,” he said, pointing to the baseball diamond where a group of 10 to 12 year-olds were running the bases. “And the Gilbert de la O Field was partially funded by the Vikings.”
Rodriguez did not know why there wasn’t a Vikings representative at the event. The football field was dominated instead by soccer, which was fine by several World Cup fans, both parents and children.
Sadiya Abdurahman, of Blaine, and Leah Young, of St. Paul, sat in the dugout watching their boys play and discussing favorites in the World Cup quarterfinals. Both women heard about the event through emails sent out by St. Paul Parks and Rec and came because their kids love sports, the event was free and the weather was perfect. (The original June date was rained out.)
Organizers also hoped the event would introduce kids to a variety of sports, a push-back to the trend of having kids specialize too early. And Parks and Rec made sure each kid knew about its fall soccer program and winter basketball program.
Young’s plan to introduce her son to a variety of sports may backfire if Dag’s soccer obsession doesn’t ebb over the years ahead.
“He wants to be in the World Cup more than watch the World Cup,” she said.