PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A shots-fired situation Sunday afternoon turned a soccer game into a nightmare. Metro 911 received calls that multiple shots were fired around the Shawnee Sports Complex in the Institute area of Kanawha County.
When deputies arrived, they found evidence that shots were fired, but no victims or injuries were found.
Since the game was cut short, the soccer club decided these kids still deserved their moment on the stage — receiving their hard-earned trophies and medals just a few days after.
Steve Gaydoze is one of the head coaches for the soccer teams and said “these kids you know- this whole weekend talked about winning a trophy and winning medals … so being able to come here as a community … I think it’s going to go a long way in helping these kids heal- being able to hold that trophy as a team and move forward with some happiness.”
The community came together Thursday night to create a moment that was almost lost.
“It’s a lot. It’s something we don’t wish anyone to go through especially when you see your own children and players that you see as your own children as a coach. As Coach Jones has always said, ‘they trust you’ and to have to go through that, it’s really traumatic so we’re really hoping, you know… the kids are playing, having fun, you know, just kinda get back to being a kid and realizing that this is just soccer. We’re here to have fun and make friends,” Gaydoze said.
Derek Jones is another head coach who hopes the kids can start to move past what happened.
“Yeah just bringing it back to normalcy for ‘em is the biggest thing and, you know, the first thing that obviously went through our minds as coaches is obviously being a parent and grabbing your kid and making sure that they’re safe. And there were thousands of kids there that day and you can’t grab ‘em all but, we did everything we could to get our team out of there as quickly as we could, with safety being the number one concern,” Jones said.
This is just one stop on the road to recovery as these kids can finally take a moment to be rewarded for all their hard work.
This ceremony was a joint effort between Great Teays Soccer Club, Shawnee Sports Complex and the West Virginia Soccer Association.
For previous coverage >>> Three people have also been arrested in connection with the shots fired near the athletic complex
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