Fort Wayne Football Club players Jayden Smith, JP Jordan, Ryan Becher and Michael Rempel visited Yeoman Park in Huntington on Wednesday to work with kids at a Huntington YMCA soccer practice.
Attending events such as this are part of Fort Wayne FC’s commitment to growing soccer in Northeast Indiana and impacting youths in a positive way.
Smith and Jordan worked with the older kids, grades six through eight, primarily on spacing, keys to successfully sharing the ball, and limiting the amount of ball chasing that happens on the pitch.
Becher and Rempel worked with grades three through five with a focus on fundamentals, including passing and shooting drills, and the Fort Wayne FC players participated in a scrimmage with the kids.
“It’s good seeing the young kids and all the play,” said Smith, a Fort Wayne FC defender, passionate about helping popularize soccer in the area.
About 50 kids were on hand for the event.
“It was good to see quite a big turnout for an event like this,” Smith said.
He was flanked by kids laughing, dancing and making lasting memories. Perhaps some will grow up to become professional soccer players, too.
“I hope they had fun, getting to see a couple of pro footballers. And if any of them wanted to become pro footballers that would be nice,” Smith said, adding that players who want to compete at high levels need to make sure they keep having fun while playing the sport. “Keep enjoying it. As long as you keep enjoying it, you’ll make it (far).”
The Fort Wayne FC players spent time autographing posters after the practice. One kid exclaimed with a big smile: “I will keep this poster forever. It’s never coming off my wall.”
Event photos
About Fort Wayne Football Club
Fort Wayne Football Club, founded in 2019, is a professional soccer club playing its first season in USL League One in 2026. The club plays home matches at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, which opened May 2, 2026, and is a soccer-specific venue. In pre-professional USL League Two, Fort Wayne Football Club won division titles in 2023, 2024 and 2025. For more information, visit FortWayneFC.com.
About United Soccer League
Founded in 1986, the United Soccer League (USL) is the largest and fastest-growing soccer organization in the United States, impacting more than 200 communities nationwide. The USL is the first and only organization to offer a comprehensive youth-to-professional pathway for both men and women under one ecosystem. This structure includes four men’s leagues: the newly announced, top-tier professional Division I league, the USL Championship (Division II), USL League One (Division III), and USL League Two (pre-professional). The women’s pathway includes the top-tier USL Super League (Division I), which debuted in 2024, and USL W League, the country’s leading pre-professional women’s league. The USL also oversees USL Academy, a progressive talent development platform, and USL Youth, a premier national youth platform.