When home-town sports hero Matthew Olosunde visited Trenton City Hall recently, he came bearing a soccer ball to sign and a worthy agenda to promote.

The teenage soccer phenomenon was meeting with Mayor Eric Johnson to talk up a cause close to his heart: the partnership linking the city's recreation department with PLAY SOCCER Nonprofit International.

The global organization sponsors a network of programs that weave together physical, health and social skills into an action-based curriculum for young people.

The new cooperative program will run twice weekly from July 10 to Aug. 10. Players can sign up that first day at Cooper Field or George Page Park.

If you haven't heard of Matthew Olosunde, wait a bit. You will.

The 19-year-old signed with the legendary Manchester United soccer powerhouse in January 2016 after beginning his career at the New York Red Bulls Academy.

When he joined the team, Nicholas Butt, head of coaching at the Manchester United youth academy, told the Manchester Evening News: "He's a good player, a nice lad and a really good athlete. Hopefully, we'll see a lot from him in the coming years, because he's someone we're really excited about."

Even before that, Olosunde started for the under-17 United States national team at the World Cup in Chile, and appeared in 22 matches with the United States.

And it all began, he says, during his days with Mooch Soccer, a Trenton-based program designed to provide positive life experiences for under-served children through educational and athletic opportunities.

American-born of Nigerian descent Matthew Olosunde “very happy” with his progress at… https://t.co/szbscvZECV pic.twitter.com/fy8RGVkJP0 — Sports Ration (@SportsRation) June 19, 2017

Trenton native Glenn "Mooch" Myernick was a beloved soccer coach who worked with generations of emerging talent. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2015, nine years after he died of a heart attack at the age of 51.

Two of his friends, Charlie Inverso and Mike Van Wagner, launched the Mooch Soccer program in his memory, providing an outlet for players like Olosunde to nurture their skills - and expand their horizons.

Other "alumni" of the program who have made names for themselves are Gerson Leiva, a graduate of Princeton University, and Emmanuel Tehmeh at St. Joseph's University. Tom-Tom Johnson went on to become an All-American at Monroe (N.Y.) Community College.

While soccer has not yet stoked the fires of Yankee imagination as it has in Europe and South America, tons of fans wake up at ungodly hours to catch live broadcast of World Cup matches. And the sport ignites the passions of American youths, who yearn to "bend it like Beckham" or score like Pele.

Cheers to Matthew Olosunde, who finds it in his heart to give back to the local program that gave him his start.

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