Trailer Stolen from Northland recreational soccer league

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s practice as usual for the kiddos playing in La Liga KC, a recreational soccer league in the Northland.

But off the field, it’s the adults feeling the pressure for the game this weekend.

Zoee Bendall is the general manager of the league that’s made up of kids aged three-years-old to fifth grade.

“We do a lot of things to keep it affordable, and all of that gear was in this trailer that we have in the parking lot,” Bendall said.

She said over the weekend the league’s trailer was stolen from Hodge Park. In it, was $14,000 worth of equipment and materials, mainly for gameday matches and volunteer coaches.

“If we don’t have them, then there’s no real way to enforce what we are trying to do with the kids and the teams. It’s a huge bummer we don’t have the things we need now,” coach Mary Ames said.

The trailer has Colorado plates reading BNUY06 with two Apple AirTags inside. But they believe the thieves found them and threw them out.

As they wait for answers, they’re purchasing the essentials for the game time on Saturday, and asking for help.

Amber and Chris Mendez say their two kids, Jackson and Hannah, played for the league. The family was quick to answer the call for help.

“To find passion together with soccer was something that we will always have for both of them,” Amber Mendez said.

That’s because at four years old, Hannah died after battling leukemia for half of her short life. Her fight ended in May, a month after she took the field for one final time.

“She was able to get out there and practice with the team in between rounds of chemo while we were home,” Chris Mendez said.

The kids passion is what makes the theft so much harder for this community, because what was stolen may cost thousands to replace. But it’s worth every penny to make sure kids get to play and have fun doing it, just like Hannah did.

The good news is the games will go on this Saturday. There is also a GoFundMe set up that you can find on the league’s Facebook page. To donate, click here.

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