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BEHIND THE STRIPES

The Eiswirth Family

By Atlanta United FC

October 27^th, 2025

A plan that was in the works for over a year. A chance for brothers to share the game they love on the pitch. An unforgettable night for the Eiswirth family.

Rick Eiswirth came to his son’s high school soccer coach asking for a favor. His oldest son, Ike, would be a senior while his youngest, Jackson, would be as a freshman at Johns Creek High school. Rick asked if there was any way the two could play in a game together.

Jackson, who was born with down syndrome, became the team manager for Ike and his teammates. He was a hype man, waterboy and equipment specialist all in one, but that wasn’t enough.

“I could tell he wanted to do a little bit more,” Ike said.

The competitive spirit, formed by his older siblings and their soccer journeys, was unstoppable. Jackson wanted to get out there and run.

That’s where Rick’s plan came into play. One night towards the end of Ike’s senior season, everything came together. At team dinner, Jackson was given a uniform. Just before the match, Jackson ran up to his dad grinning ear to ear.

“Dad! Dad! Look! I get to play!”

Anne Eiswirth sat in the stands, unknowing of what her two sons were about to accomplish. Rick was in the press box ready to announce the starting lineup. As the team walked out onto the field, he saved his two sons for last.

“Ike Eiswirth … Jackson Eiswirth”

Anne couldn’t believe it. Even Rick, who put the plan in motion, was overcome with emotion at the sight. Jackson kicked the ball off to Ike to start the game.

The Eiswirth brothers sharing the field for the first time was something untouchable. All the years of work and sacrifice that Rick and Anne put in raising their children, all of it was worth it in that moment.

Ike and Jackson are still pursuing their soccer dreams. Ike is a partner with Atlanta United Unified, and Jackson plays for Special Olympics club North Fulton United. Their bond goes way back — to the birth of brotherhood, family ski trips, cooking shows and many lessons learned along the way.

“The whole dynamic between the two of them, they're so close, and it's just amazing to watch,” Anne said. “When you see your kids thriving like that and supporting each other like that, you can't ask for more. You really cannot ask for more.”

“How could a 2-year-old know?”

Jackson’s birth was a shock to the system for the Eiswirth family.

Anne, age 40 at the time, was at a higher risk of pregnancy complications. But leading up to Jackson’s delivery, all the indicators from extra ultrasounds and testing were that things would go smoothly.

He was born, and Anne remembered feeling something was off about him. The doctors took Jackson away for six hours and came back with the news he had down syndrome.

The challenge from then on was learning. How do you take care of a child with down syndrome? Anne and Rick didn’t have the answers immediately. The reality of the condition is that outcomes vary greatly.

“It can mean you can have a Jackson whose so high functioning or you can have a lot of issues,” Anne said. “… It was heartbreaking to hear it, but I can’t imagine having Jackson not be Jackson, who he is.”

The parents brought Jackson home, and Ike immediately snapped into big brother mode. Rick and Anne said it was as if Ike understood immediately that he needed to take extra care of his little brother. Ike was just 2 years old at the time.

“The day [Jackson] came home from the hospital, you could just see that Ike knew he needed to take care of him,” Rick said. “He could just sense it right from the very beginning. It’s been that way their whole lives, he’s always been a great big brother to him.”

“Soccer, soccer, soccer”

It’s all the Eiswirth family has ever known. Soccer was the family sport. Ike and Jackson followed in the footsteps of their older sister Lexi, who got into football early.

Rick, like many young dads, jumped at the opportunity to coach his children. Since Ike was driven by Lexi’s competitive nature, he got into academy soccer at an early age, about 5 or 6 years old according to Rick. Anne carried out the logistics, driving bunches of kids every which way. Jackson calls her the “bag lady” for carrying all the equipment.

“Our parents have been a huge support the whole time,” Ike said. “Countless hours they’ve put in driving to practice ever since we were young, driving us out of state for tournaments, taking us to Atlanta United games, buying all of our gear and clothes. Both of us wouldn’t be able to play the sport without them.”

Jackson, of course, wanted to be just like his older siblings. But things were different for him. His condition meant competing like the rest of the neurotypical kids was not something he could just jump right into.

“My first thought was this isn’t fair. And not to me and Anne, we have to be parents no matter what, but not fair to Jackson,” Rick said. “That comes back all the time, still to this day. He wants to get out on the soccer field and play competitively, academy soccer like Ike’s been doing, or the high school team, or football, and it just sucks to be honest with you because it’s hard to explain to him why he can’t do those things that every other kid can do. As a parent, you have to find ways to create those opportunities for him.”

That motivation to find a space for his child to cherish the sport he loves is what led Rick and Jackson to North Fulton United. The team provides a space for athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities to play soccer competitively in an inclusive environment.

Ike, as he always has been, is supportive of his younger brother. He’s in Athens attending the University of Georgia now, but that doesn’t stop him from making frequent trips down to see Jackson’s North Fulton United games.

His presence means the world to Jackson, but Ike felt he could take it a step further. Head coach of North Fulton United Marty Jelleme was the catalyst. He told Ike about Atlanta United Unified, a team where Special Olympics athletes could come together with partners, players without intellectual and developmental disabilities, to compete together for a professional soccer team.

“The biggest thing about Unified is we're trying to make an inclusive environment,” Ike said. “For those with special needs and then the partners, playing together to show that even the kids with special needs can compete in a competitive, athletic environment. That’s probably the main thing I'm representing when I go out there, outside of, of course, [Jackson] always.”

Ike’s Unified experience with Unified has introduced him to people from around the country and continent. Jackson is right there at his side cheering him on whenever and wherever he can.

“I love my brother,” Jackson said. “I’m his number 1 fan but I’m [also] his number 1 brother.”

Ski trips and cooking shows

The Eiswirth house was a chaotic soccer hub most of the time, but the family has formed other traditions over the years that have shaped their relationships.

Ski trips were a big part of Jackson and Ike’s childhood. The countless stories remind them of times the family got through adversity together — like the time Rick tore his ACL and Ike broke his arm in the same day, or when Jackson made it down his first run all by himself. Soccer was one thing, Rick said, but skiing was a whole new level of athletic achievement for a kid with down syndrome.

“We all followed him down the hill while he skied down holding this pole,” Rick said. “We were just in shock that he was able to do that. The coolest part of that was we all get to the bottom of the hill, and everybody's rushing to get over there and hug him and high five him, and Ike takes his skis off and pushes through everybody to give Jackson a hug in the middle of the crowd everything because he skied down the hill the first time by himself.”

Jackson has many obsessions: Clemson football, John Cena, his dog Luka, and cooking shows. Rick thought having the family recreate their own version of the show “Chopped” would be a fun way to spend the days before Thanksgiving. Anne quickly brushed it off as ridiculous, knowing how much preparation and cleaning would be needed right before the busiest day in the kitchen all year. Rick said he’d do all the work himself, and his wife caved in.

“It is just this insane thing that we do the Wednesday before Thanksgiving every single year, and it is my favorite memory,” Anne said. “[Rick] created this tradition, and it's just something we'll do until we can't do it anymore. Jackson’s always the judge ... and Ike has been a chef a few times. He’s never won though.”

“It’s because the judge is horrible” Ike retorts as laugher bursts out of the Eiswirth living room.

A life of learning and new opportunities on the horizon

Moments like Jackson skiing his first hill or playing with Ike for the first time that are etched in the back of their brains, the culmination of meticulous work and lots of patience. Earlier this month, Jackson turned 18, ushering in a new era of his life. Adulthood will bring its own challenges, but he’s come so far already.

Anne took Jackson to therapy throughout his childhood, “intensive” sessions that gave her perspective about Jackson’s life with down syndrome in comparison to other kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“If you're going to have a kid with special needs, we hit the lottery,” Anne said. “… What I got to see was other parents who had kids with way worse issues and needs than him, and that gave me so much gratitude, like we have the most amazing kid in the entire world.”

As Anne explained, something that would take a neurotypical kid a couple tries may take a child with down syndrome 10 to 20. Those experiences have pushed the rest of the family to be more understanding.

“The biggest thing he’s taught me is patience,” Ike said. “It’s a little challenging for him to do certain things. That’s not his fault, but we have to work with him overcoming certain things. When I’m trying to help him out and teach him things he can’t quite get right away, I’ve learned to be patient with him and stick with him throughout the process.”

Jackson’s biggest goal at this point in his life is to attend college, and he’s all about the Clemson Tigers. The University has a program called ClemsonLIFE that is renowned for its placement of special needs individuals. His family is hoping it’s a possibility after he graduates from high school, a pathway to a more independent life.

“I want him to have a chance to pursue any dream that he wants to,” Rick said. “Clemson's high on that list, as he's talked about … We just hope he can do anything that he that he wants to do and achieve, and we want to be able to try to position for those opportunities the best we can.”

When asked what he could see himself doing after college, Jackson caught everyone off guard.

“I'll be an accountant.”

“Are you good with numbers?” asked the group.

“Oh no, not really. I just want to be like my mom.”

It’s the people closest to Jackson that he credits when he thinks about how far he’s come. He points to each person sitting on the couch next to him and attributes something he’s learned to their guidance. From mom, respect, from dad, bravery, from Ike, finding a way.

“I love my mom and my dad and my brother and my sister," Jackson said. "I just love them all, and that's family to me."

“Find a way”

That moment back at Johns Creek High School, where Jackson and Ike shared the pitch, is a feeling that Jackson and the Eiswirth family is still chasing. As Ike heads into another season with Atlanta United Unified, Jackson is training one day be a part of the team as a player. He rides his bike, according to Anne, nearly 20 miles every single day.

“I always find a way,” Jackson said. “I like to hustle, speed, and I need to work with my right foot to kick soccer balls.”

There’s always something more to improve, a fixture of the mindset Jackson has displayed his entire life. His family’s encouragement has helped shape that motivation.

“We’ve always pushed him,” Rick said. “His brother and sister push him really hard to do things like every other kid. We don’t treat him like he has a disability because we don’t want to cap what he can do and what he can achieve.”

Having now coached both Ike and Jackson with different clubs, Jelleme has developed a deep relationship with the Eiswirth family. He came by the house during Atlanta United’s interviews with the family as a surprise. Jelleme’s guidance was a key factor in Jackson coming out of his shell on the pitch.

“If you would have met him six years ago when we first started, [he was] shy, if you would believe it,” Jelleme said. “When he went to the soccer pitch, he was shy, other places he is not … If you go to the pitch now, he is the mayor, he is out there, he's running, he's meeting everybody. The growth has been just amazing.”

Ike is still being the same supportive sibling along the way. His parents have seen just how much caring for Jackson has impacted their eldest son.

“It’s changed [Ike’s] life,” Rick said. “He’s just a more compassionate person and helps other kids. You can see the way he goes out his way to do it.

“[Jackson] allows me and Anne to see the best in everybody that he engages with … a random stranger walking down the street who encounters Jackson, we get to see that person at their very best at that moment because of what he brings out of them.”

Ike will continue with Atlanta United Unified knowing his presence is representing more than just Jackson. But the opportunity to team up with his younger brother on the pitch again is still in his mind.

“It would be spectacular,” Ike said. “He's got to keep improving, but he's working hard and he's getting better every day. I can tell he's getting better and he's trying harder … Hopefully one day we can get on the field together again.”