Lyndsay Price can’t help but laugh when she thinks back to her earliest memories as a soccer player, when she was just four years old growing up in Georgia.
“I played coed when I was that young and that was back when I still thought boys had cooties,” she says in between laughs. “So I don’t think I did very well. But I just fell in love with it and have done it ever since then.”
Even as Lyndsay grew up and competitive distance running took center stage in her athletic life, she always found a way to play in soccer rec leagues in the offseason. Then came a unique school assignment: take on any project outside of the classroom and write a research project about it. She joined up with Special Olympics, and ultimately chose a path that would change her life forever.
“I wasn’t playing competitively but I didn’t want to give up soccer because I love it so much,” she says. “So I got involved with Special Olympics. It was a way for me to combine two of my passions: soccer and helping people with special needs. Special Olympics Georgia made it so easy to get involved, and I just fell in love and kept coming back.”
A semester-long commitment stretched well beyond that as she realized the impact she could make with the beautiful game.
“When I started working with people with special needs I knew for sure that was my path in my life because they are the coolest people ever. There’s a stigma surrounding these people, and even if you don’t realize it you can have little discriminations against them and think about them differently. But once you start interacting with them you realize they’re just like any other person.”
A year later, she got a call from the community outreach team at Atlanta United. The club wanted to form a special new partnership with Special Olympics Georgia, a team for kids with and without special needs. It would be called the Unified Team, and they wanted Lyndsay’s help.
“At the time, I didn’t really know what Atlanta United was because it was all still starting up. I just knew I loved soccer and Special Olympics, and I knew I wanted to extend the season, so sign me up. And then I actually went to my first Atlanta United match and realized I just happened to be joining the coolest thing ever.”
It was at an Atlanta United match where her already-strong bond with the club elevated to another level. And it all started with a surprise on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium Halo board.
“Atlanta United was starting their first ever girls camp, but since it was their first one they didn’t have many pictures of girls playing –– so they used one of me. So I was at a match and saw my face on the Halo board and that obviously caught my eye,” she laughs. “I talked to Dean Atkins who runs the camps and clinics and he asked if I wanted to get involved. I said yes, and again, I just fell in love and kept coming back.”
With soccer, with coaching, with Special Olympics, Lyndsay follows her heart. Or as she says it, she just falls in love and keeps coming back. And her passion and positivity carry her from there: she’s already turned a volunteer position into a part-time coaching job with Atlanta United’s camps, one that fits around her college schedule. It’s a culmination of a dream for her, using the power of the beautiful game to change people’s lives.
“I’ve loved soccer my whole life and I love seeing that passion for soccer sparked in other people. I’m so fortunate to be on the Unified Team, to come to the Training Ground and practice here. At our camps, I love seeing that excitement in kids, and see them realize their potential in soccer. I just love when they realize how much they love it, and who knows, maybe one of these kids is the next Josef Martinez.”
Lyndsay’s just another example of how just one club and one sport can change the lives of so many and unite a city.
“Atlanta United has given me a new family. The teammates I play with in Unified, we’re not just teammates on the field; we see each other at school or at their jobs in the real world. The girls I coach at camp are so sweet. Atlanta United has brought us all closer. This club brought all those pockets of soccer around the city and around the south together in their love for one team.”
© 2026 Atlanta United FC
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