Commerce, City, Colo.- Fourteen seasons in, and the Colorado Rapids Unified Team carries the same level of excitement, unabashed joy, and smiles all-round with everyone involved whether it’s their first season, or tenth season like Head Coach Molly Underly.
“I’ve been involved in some capacity since 2015. I often tell people this is my lifeline,” Molly says with obvious pride in what’s been built and continued with the Rapids.
“It’s something that definitely keeps me going, just the value around what I think is the greatest game which is soccer and how there are so many life lessons you can learn both on and off the field,” explains Molly on why she keeps coming back to lead this program on the pitch.
“Watching the athletes and parents grow is really fundamental for my well-being. It brings so much joy. There’s nothing that compares to this whole experience and opportunity. It’s a life-changer for me.”
Joy is the sentiment that seems to radiate from this group of 18 extraordinary athletes, partners, and their families with every new season. Rapids President Pádraig Smith, himself a veteran around this program for many years, echoes Underly’s sentiments and has a world of praise for both her and Rapids VP of Community, Events and Entertainment Caitlin Kinser, the driving club force to keep the Unified Team rolling year after year.
“Molly’s wonderful,” Smith tells Burgundy Wave. “It’s the way she goes about building the team, trying to create a culture, and trying to create a group that plays with a lot of heart but shows a lot of respect for the game, a lot of respect for the opponents, respect for their teammates, and making sure this is a genuinely inclusive group that pays for each other.”
“What Molly does, the commitment she has, the dedication she’s shown, the number of years she’s been around – it’s an incredible job she’s done. To work with Caitlin to build a program that’s so strong and that encourages people to come back, encourages new partners to come in, and people want to be engaged.”
Many of those who jump at the chance to participate are Rapids first-team players, like Rob Holding, Lucas Herrington, and Alex Harris in 2026. All 3 players come from very different places in the world, however they grabbed the opportunity to work with the squad of inspiring and hard-working Unified athletes.
“I met the Unified Team last year when I was in the team, and the way that Zack Steffen spoke to me about it, and said how much he enjoys these events, I said I’ll throw myself right back into that and give back a bit of support,” says the English defender Holding.
“I think it’s a super-cool thing for them to be able to talk to us, and for us to talk with them, so just getting to know all the guys and that aspect of it,” says young striker Alex Harris. “It’s a lot of them seeing our journey, and we get to see their journey, so it’s all super-relatable.”
Relating to a game that all of us love, using that to learn, teach, and experience more in life, is a big reason all involved speak so highly of this opportunity to really engage with the community as well as become such an integral part of the lives of everyone involved, including fans!
“When you see people with such joy in playing the game, it brings you back to earth a little bit,” explains Smith. “It allows you to understand why we all started playing this game at one point in time. Yes, you’ve reached the professional level and results matter, and those things ultimately appear in contracts and your livelihood. Every single player started playing this game because it brought them joy. No matter how good you are, you started playing with your mates, playing with your siblings, playing in the streets and on parks, and I think it brings players back to the essence of what this game is – the game.”
“I look at a player in Rob Holding, who’s experienced so much in this game and played some of the best teams in the world, and then you’ve got Lucas (Herrington) and Alex (Harris) who are just starting their careers, and then I think of the (former Rapids) Cole Bassetts, Zach MacMath, Lalas Abubukar – Zack Steffen I include as well because he’s done so much with this program, but the fact that players from every stage of the career pathway just want to be involved, it comes back to the raw element of joy. I think they see this in this team and I love how they connect.”
Much of that connection is with these young men and women who will wear the Rapids badge in Salt Lake City this May, as well as in DICK’s Sporting Goods Park against Austin FC later in the season. “There’s got to be an element of gratefulness, in terms of the opportunities that have been afforded those players, and the life they get to live as a professional athlete. I think that’s something that does connect with these guys when they see it,” Smith notices of the Rapids involvement.
It’s not all fun-and-soccer-games mind you, according to Head Coach Underly, but there’s also a deeper purpose to everything the Unified Team try’s to do and instill in these young people. “I really do push athletes and partners to be the best versions of themselves both on and off the field,” Molly admits.
“I challenge them with finding opportunities to be curious, express gratitude. Those are things that happen far beyond any soccer game. I think there’s moments of that in every practice, and then we make it fun because people are vulnerable and they’re open to growing and changing and contributing to society. Soccer is just a means for us to get together, but it becomes a way of life because you’re representing the Colorado Rapids and Special Olympics of Colorado. That’s the bigger lesson – how do I help these young people grow into productive members of our society and we really just use the touchlines as a way to get together.”
Coming together is one of the really fun things to watch with the team throughout the season. Many of the players don’t know each other to start, but in the end, they form bonds that will last forever and hopefully inspire all the fans who watch them as well. Part of that team-building is mirroring the Rapids first-team in traveling across the Rockies looking to keep their control of the Rocky Mountain Cup in 2026. Holding explains it’s not just the travel, but the time spent together that’s invaluable for players at
all levels.
“I think they do the one away game they’ll travel out with us, which is cool we’re all on the plane together and it’s pretty exciting. I think it’s like the whole experience to stay in the hotel the night before, they do the gameday experience we do so that’s exciting. Having a few hours together on the flight, I think you learn a lot about your team and the people.”
Unified veteran and team Legend, Scotty Stephens, summed it up perfectly, saying, “I like the fans, the families who come to see us, I like to go to Salt Lake City.”
Rapids Unified will takeover Brighton High School at 270 S 8th Ave, taking on the Brighton Unified Team on Tuesday, April 28. Kickoff is 5:30 pm MT. Holding and Herrington will be in attendance.
Go Get Em Rapids Unified!!
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Spencer Baldwin 
Eamon Shaw 