Sports
How one nonprofit is helping young soccer players change their lives
Adversity was on the schedule every week for the South Los Angeles Legends, a soccer team of 11- and 12-year-old girls, many of whom were growing up in underserved communities.
“We were trying to navigate a pay-to-play system that had basically outpriced our community,” said LaShon Wooldridge, the team manager and single mother of its goalkeeper.
That was not the only thing that made the Legends, well, legendary. In what is largely a white suburban sport, especially at the youth level, the Legends’ roster was made up entirely of Black youths from South L.A., girls who had to fight for access and equality before they got close to a playing field.
Yet they didn’t lose a game, going unbeaten in 96 matches en route to an AYSO national championship.
That was five years ago and those pint-sized trailblazers have become high school seniors. For most of them the skills, self-assurance and success they developed in that magical summer on the field have followed them into the classroom, where they have continued to excel and defy expectations.
“It definitely gave me confidence,” said Ameerah Kolleff, 17, an honor student who also plays soccer at the academically challenging Girls Academic Leadership Academy, the only public all-girls STEM school in California. “It showed me that if we fight hard enough, we can get what we want.”
Soccer is also opening doors and opportunities for Sidney Wooldridge, Kolleff’s 17-year-old club teammate at SoCal United who is also an honor student at GALA, where she has won two L.A. City championships.
“I think it started my journey and gave me the idea that I want to continue in soccer in college,” she said. “Having that support system around me, the same people who were there in 2019, having the same people now gave me the reassurance that I can do it.”
To take that success to the next level, both girls have expanded their support systems to include ACCESS U, a nonprofit foundation that provides students from underserviced communities who stand out in soccer and academics with the resources and guidance they need to negotiate the college recruitment process. The foundation was established in 2016 by Joaquin Escoto, now executive vice president of MLS expansion club San Diego FC, and Brad Rothenberg, son of Alan Rothenberg, a former U.S. Soccer president and the man behind the 1994 World Cup, the only one held in the U.S.
The program is not designed to turn young players into pros. Rothenberg said few of the kids currently in the program have the skill or desire to make a living playing soccer. But many, such as Kolleff and Wooldridge, are good enough to get a college scholarship and that alone can be life-changing.
“I’m perfectly happy to help them get to college. So I really think of it as an education program that filters through socio-economic challenges and finds kids,” he said. “By just helping them connect the dots to college coaches and scholarships … these kids are going to elite schools that they didn’t know was in their grasp.”
And they’ll graduate from those schools with little to no debt.
Before launching ACCESS U, Rothenberg was co-founder of Alianza de Futbol, a nationwide program focused on creating soccer opportunities for Hispanic youth, who often found their entry into the game blocked by the same pay-for-play system that frustrated the South Los Angeles Legends.
“Passionately devoted to equity in soccer,” reads the bio on Rothenberg’s LinkedIn page.
ACCESS U provides its student-athletes with as many as 80 hours of one-on-one tutoring, a 10-week test-prep course and college counseling services for free. Some players are also sent to so-called “ID camps,” which can be a crucial part of the recruiting process because they offer a competitive environment for players to experience what college is like while also giving them entry to coaches and schools.
To be admitted to ACCESS U, players must have at least a 3.2 grade-point average and be good enough to compete at the college level, but not necessarily beyond that.
Rothenberg tells the story of Noel Ortega to illustrate the influence his program can have. An excellent student and the City Section player of the year at Birmingham High, Ortega was headed to Cal State Northridge before ACCESS U intervened and helped get him a scholarship to Cornell. He started 11 games in three seasons, scoring just once, but he won an academic All-Ivy League award before graduating into a job as an analyst with Goldman Sachs.
“We have two kids at Harvard, one on his way to Penn,” Rothenberg said. “For these kids that does matter. It’s a resume-maker for them.”
There are a record 66 soccer players — 62 of them girls — currently in the program, said Rothenberg, who would like to see that number grow to four times that many by 2026. To do that, he says the $500,000 budget he had this year will have to triple.
“I went to an Ivy League school,” said Rothenberg, who graduated from Brown “and a lot of my friends have done very well for themselves. They know I’m coming after then. They’re hiding but I’m coming to get them.”
Kolleff hopes her resume eventually includes a degree from Howard University, a historically Black college that recently replaced Stanford as her top choice.
“I wanted to be on a team that looked like me,” she said.
Wooldridge’s mother said her daughter is considering Chicago University, Greenville University and Texas Southern, among other schools.
“I’m a student before I’m an athlete. So in order to succeed on the field I now have to succeed in school as well,” said Sidney Wooldridge, whose club soccer obligations not only include excellent grades but community service hours as well.
“They set the bar high for the younger of girls generation following them,” LaShon Wooldridge said.
ACCESS U graduates will have little influence on the world of elite soccer that Rothenberg’s father has long moved in. Yet it can make a life-changing impact on the families of people such as Ortega, Kolleff and Wooldridge. And the value of that hasn’t escaped the elder Rothenberg, who has the most successful World Cup in history on his resume.
But his son, he said, might be doing more important work.
“He’s provided smart, talented kids the opportunity to receive a college education without debt,” he said. “I’ve always felt organized soccer has left so many behind because of economics, the pay-to-play system. ACCESS U is filling that gap.
“Needless to say, as Brad’s father I have immense pride in what he’s dedicated his life to.”
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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