KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When she heard a knock on the door, Lily Haubrich didn’t know what to expect.
The junior at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy in Kansas City, Missouri, was totally surprised when her soccer coach was standing outside with a gift bag.
“I’m happy,” she said holding her gift bag.
Haubrich and about 30 other girls didn’t get to play a single soccer game this season because stay-at-home orders focused on preventing the spread of COVID-19 forced Kansas City Public Schools to cancel sporting events.
The canceled season hit even harder for Haubrich and her teammates because this would have been the first season in decades the team had a home field on which to play. This past fall, the district unveiled a new, blue turf at Lincoln Prep.
“It was so disappointing,” Haubrich said of missing the season. “I was really excited for this season. We had such a great group of girls and we didn’t even finish our required practices or anything.”
Employees at Ride KC, which is headquartered a few blocks from the high school, heard about the canceled season and decided to step up.
They knew they can’t replace the season, but they wanted to soften the blow.
“We want to try to ease the pain a little bit and acknowledge all the work they’ve put into it to get to this point and cheer the success they didn’t get to have, but we know they’ll have success in life,” explained Chuck Ferguson, Ride KC’s vice president of operations.
The care packages included treats, a note and several t-shirts - including one that called the team “undefeated” in 2020.
Employees from the transit agency delivered the care packages alongside coaching staff in Ride KC vans Thursday morning.
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