ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County youth soccer team received an invitation to compete in an international tournament and needed months of creative fundraising to get there.

What You Need To Know

  • An under-12 soccer team from the Avalon Park area was invited to compete in an international competition in Paris

  • Alongside their parents, the children raised $11,000 to offset the cost of the trip

  • Soccer players held car washes, sold raffle tickets and collected shoes for a charity organization

  • The Paris World Games runs from July 7 to July 12

The East Orlando Knights will play at the Paris World Games in France against teams from around the world on July 7-12. The team, made up of boys between the ages of 10 and 12 years old, typically plays squads from Ocala to Apopka.

The exciting trip will cost about $5,200 per adult and child.

As Myrt Price explained, it took dedication on the part of the children — and their parents — to earn the funds to offset the costs.

“It’s awesome to be washing a car and your son be right next to you," Price said. "I don’t think my son had ever washed a car before this fundraiser. Working together, we’re creating memories.”

His 10-year-old son, Myrt Price III, first tried soccer at the age of 3. But, like many children, crying spells and hand-holding on the field meant the child also “retired at 3,” he said.

But at the age of 6, his son returned to the pitch, steadily improving his skills and seriousness about the sport.

When this opportunity arose, Price said that team members agreed they would double down on work on the field — and off, raising money.

Over many months, the team sold raffle tickets, did pushups for a dollar in Publix parking lots, washed cars and even collected shoes for an organization which sells them in impoverished places around the globe. The team collected more than 1,700 pairs and in return, got some money.

“It’s been great seeing my son, but also all of his friends on his team, all out working hard so they can accomplish their goal,” Price said. “It’s not one of those things that, ‘Oh, the parents are handling it.’ The kids are actually doing it themselves, and I feel like it’s teaching them life lessons.”

While the team fell short of its $45,000 goal, bringing in around $11,000, Price said it was those life lessons — setting a goal, steadily working toward it — that the young soccer players will take with them to France and beyond.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our boys,” he said. “We’ll be able to look back years from now and say, ‘Remember when we got a chance to go to Paris'?”