Sheila Rzepcki’s voice cracked when she talked about what Minnesota United has done for her son, Patrick, a 19-year-old with Down syndrome.

“So thankful,” she said. “I think you are one of the first teams to do this.”

The Loons are the first Minnesota pro team to have a formal partnership with Special Olympics Minnesota’s unified sports initiative, which intertwines people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team, said Lisa Hanson, the unified soccer team’s head coach with 23 years experience with Special Olympics.

The concept was introduced in the U.S. in the late 1980s to engender understanding and friendship between people with different backgrounds. Unified sports have been in Minnesota for six years, and participation numbers have doubled the past few years, said Nick Cedergren, coordinator of unified programs for Special Olympics Minnesota.

Overall, unified sports participation grew 15 percent in 2015-16 to nearly 1.4 million participants, the Special Olympics reports. The NBA and NCAA are the only two major U.S. sports organizations to partner with unified events. Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns was an honorary coach of the fifth annual NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified Game at the league’s All-Star Game in Toronto in 2016. Related Articles Houston Dynamo scores twice in 2nd half to tie Minnesota United

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On May 24, a mix of 11 Edina teenagers were invited to United’s training grounds at National Sports Center in Blaine to sign contracts. Rzepcki’s son Patrick and his Minnesota United Unified teammates will play the Houston Dynamo Unified team after their respective MLS clubs play in a league match at 7 p.m. Wednesday at TCF Bank Stadium.

The unified teams will have a rematch Sept. 30 when the Loons play at Houston.

Hanson, her six Special Olympics athletes, five volunteer teen partners and their parents didn’t know how involved the Loons would be with the community-relations concept. “I don’t think we realized how big a deal it was,” Hanson said.

The unified team received VIP treatment from United. Loons Sporting Director Manny Lagos greeted them and handled the players’ paperwork. TV commentators Kyndra de St. Aubin and Jamie Watson pumped up the activities with encouraging words.

Lagos quizzed the players on their positions and loved it when volunteer partner Henry Gustafson said he would play wherever necessary. He has an intimate understanding of unified’s impact, and how it allows Patrick Rzepcki to remain connected once he gets off the school bus in the afternoon.

“You see the impact of integrating sports has on the kids,” he said.

After the unified team’s signing and photo-op in May, the players toured United’s players lounge and got to meet leading scorer Christian Ramirez. They played ping-pong with Loons defender Jerome Thiesson and midfielder Miguel Ibarra.

The unified team plans to attend Tuesday night’s Twins-Yankees game at Target Field and are expected to visit the Minnesota Zoo ahead of Wednesday night’s match.

“Patrick is going to be 20 years old, and I can’t believe in 20 years how far we’ve come,” Sheila Rzepcki said. “When you find out you are going to have a child with a disability, you think the worst, in my experience. We were never exposed to it. We kept everything away. To have them standing here just brings tears to my eyes because it shows how they are being accepted.”