Daniel Urshansky and Alex Bartlett grow the game for players with disabilities 

Everett Baumann, Staff Writer

Any aspiring soccer player would love to take the pitch for Atlanta United. For Northview athletes and seniors Daniel Urshansky and Alex Bartlett, this isn’t just a dream, but very much a reality, thanks to their positions as players on the Atlanta United Unified Soccer Team. 

Never heard of it? Unified Soccer is a game of soccer designed to be inclusive for athletes with disabilities. Urshansky and Bartlett facilitate the play for the other athletes, playing alongside those with intellectual disabilities and helping the game run smoothly. Players play the game in a 9v9 or an 11v11 format, with the season running from February to October. Practices are held once a week on the same grounds that the first team practices on, and players are given the same treatment as the pros. 

The concept of Unified Soccer flew on Urshansky’s radar five years ago, when he first started playing at North Fulton United (NFU), a local soccer program that offers 6v6 unified soccer. Urshansky played alongside his brother Eli, who was born with Down Syndrome.

“We were looking for sports programs that he could do because he couldn’t play typical soccer [and] we found NFU,” Urshansky said.
Bartlett started volunteering at NFU two years ago. He thought NFU was a perfect fit for him because it combined his love of soccer with his passion for volunteering with kids with intellectual disabilities.

“I got involved with NFU because I wanted to become more involved with helping out kids with special needs. I was online searching for programs and NFU stuck out,” Bartlett said. 

Urshansky and Bartlett eventually found their way on the Atlanta United team through the head coach Marty Jelleme, who invited them to try out for the Unified team. When they made the team, Atlanta United hosted a signing day for players where they signed official contracts as part of the club.

“We had a great experience at signing day. [We] got handed a jersey and got to meet some of the players,” Bartlett said.

As crucial parts of the mentorship program at Northview, they assist students with intellectual disabilities and get the opportunity to apply mentorship lessons to the Atlanta United team. As well as mentorship, they are a part of Northview’s Varsity Soccer team. Varsity Soccer coach Sean Morgan believes the mentorship program is beneficial to not only the soccer team but to all aspects of life.

“I think it helps them become more confident in who they are as individuals and within that, I think they have opportunities to lead,” Morgan said. “They’re some of the coolest-of-life-type of personalities.”

While the Northview Varsity season has ended, Urshansky and Bartlett now turn their focus to the first Unified game on May 17 in Nashville, Tenn. Until then, they will spend their Thursday nights at the training ground, practicing with the Unified team.

“I would implore everybody to try out and go volunteer,” Bartlett said.