Newtown kids get visit from U.S. soccer stars

• 1,000 Newtown residents turn out for soccer event
• 40 professional soccer players lead clinics, sign autographs
• San Jose's Marcus Tracy returns home

NEWTOWN, Conn. – Amid a brilliant afternoon sun in this picturesque Connecticut town that now needs no introduction, school buses filled the winding streets, a reminder of ordinary life that is now less so.

On Main Street, commemorative white and green ribbons hugged trees and poles. On Dickinson Drive, where the horror of Dec. 14 took place when 20 children and six staffers were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, yellow police tape remained stretched across the street.

Legendary U.S. soccer player Kristine Lilly grew up in Wilton, Conn., about 20 minutes away. When she drove into town Monday with her good friend and former teammate, Mia Hamm, to be a part of "Soccer Night in Newtown," she turned off at an exit she had passed thousands of times. Then, Newtown was just a sign, a blur outside her window on her way somewhere else. "I saw that exit forever, now the name changes … " Lilly didn't finish the sentence, but it's clear that everything has changed.

Newtown now stands for tragedy and unimaginable grief, but it also stands for other things too – resilience and community. "You drive through town and you see the signs that read 'Strength' and 'Remember' and 'Keeping Strong,'" Lilly said.

Newtown also stands for afternoons like the event that took place at the Newtown Youth Academy Sports & Fitness Center on Monday. Forty soccer players, including arguably the greatest U.S. male and female players in history, Landon Donovan and Hamm, put on a soccer event organized by Houston Dynamo president Chris Canetti, a Connecticut native, and funded largely by the MLS' charitable organization.

The event's mission, according to the organizers: "to bring smiles to the faces of Newtown children, provide a brief diversion from the awful realities facing their community, and create positive lifelong memories."

The result: A success. Just ask the Gerace family.

For 5-year-old Marcus, the best moment was jumping in the bounce house.

For 7-year-old Isabella it was meeting Hamm. Why? "Because I knew she was the captain of the USA Olympics and I just really love her."

For 9-year old Julia: "It means a lot. Newtown has never been noticed before. I think it's good for all these people to come and help us out. It means that a lot of people will feel good about us as well as feel sorry for us because of what bad happened."

The players signed autographs, played mini-games, stood in goal as kids took shots and mingled with the more than 1,000 Newtown residents who came to the two sessions.

Donovan, who is taking a break from soccer and is noncommittal about his return, didn't speak to news reporters. But he gladly answered questions from kids.

One favorite: "Would you ever play for Man U?"

"I would love to but I don't think that's in the cards. Can you talk to Sir Alex for me and tell him I'm interested?" Donovan said with a smile, referring to the famous English Premier League club and its manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

For the San Jose Earthquakes' Marcus Tracy, the event was particularly meaningful. Tracy grew up in Newtown and his mother once taught at Sandy Hook Elementary. "It's awesome," he said. "It's good to see a lot of familiar faces and be back home."

The line for Hamm's autograph stretched the longest, from sideline to sideline, even though she hasn't played since retiring after the 2004 Olympics. Hamm put her arms around hundreds of small shoulders and signed ball, after shoe, after shirt, after ball.

"Your shoes don't smell, do they?" she would joke.

"I think we're just trying to put some smiles on some kids' faces," Hamm said. "Not only as a player of this game but as mom (to twins in kindergarten and an almost one-year old), I've been impressed with how everyone is taking care of one another. We really appreciate the community letting us come in and share the game we love with their kids."

For mother Kara Gerace, it couldn't have gone any better. "Everything has been amazing. It was so fun to be someplace safe, and everyone around you was caring for you and helping you out and helping your town and offering such wonderful gifts for these kids just to have fun and play."

"That's why we're here," Hamm said. "I don't want to do it a disservice, I don't want to make my impact greater than it is. There is still a lot of healing and pain, but what we need to keep in mind is to keep revisiting them because the grieving process takes time. We're through the holidays then they'll be birthdays … I want us to keep reaching out."