The weather might be a bit chilly outside, but that didn’t stop members of the Our Lady of Grace, Howard Beach, Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) soccer program from taking to the field – the indoor field that is.

On Feb. 15, team members joined with the North American Soccer League’s New York Cosmos, the Adelphi University, Garden City, L.I., women’s soccer team and the St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, men’s soccer team to provide a fun-filled day of indoor soccer with their friends from New York Families for Autistic Children (NYFAC).

The event took place at Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn and was coordinated by Jon Rosen, a director for Our Lady of Grace’s soccer program which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the CYO.

First-team players from the Cosmos, Paulo Mendes and Hagop Chirishian, were in attendance and spent time showing their soccer skills to the NYFAC members.

“It may be snowing outside, but the kids warmed everyone’s hearts inside,” said Jack Gaeta, manager of team operations for the Cosmos, which provided all the participants with official Cosmos backpacks.

“Helping out at an event like this is truly rewarding for both the coaches and our student-athletes,” said Adelphi Panthers’ head women’s soccer coach Chris Armas. “We were able to meet some really great people in those attending the event and assisting as well.”

The Adelphi players have been assisting Our Lady of Grace soccer by conducting training sessions on Friday evenings and also refereeing games in the program’s first annual CYO indoor soccer tournament this past winter.

The Terriers from St. Francis participated in scrimmages with Adelphi at the event. The relationship between the Our Lady of Grace’s soccer program and St. Francis spans several years, with many of the Terriers helping to train the young athletes in years past.

The Our Lady of Grace soccer family cherishes these relationships, as they provide a clear goal for the children – helping others.

In addition, the NYFAC event not only gave the players an opportunity to teach their NYFAC friends about the basics of soccer, but it also taught the players how to work with children with disabilities.

Work with the NYFAC will continue throughout this anniversary, as will the indoor soccer tournament that wraps up in March for CYO teams from second through seventh grades. This summer, Our Lady of Grace will hold its annual soccer camp in conjunction with the Cosmos.

To learn more about registering (kindergarten through seventh grade) for the upcoming CYO spring soccer season, visit www.olgsoccer.com.

“Like” the group’s Facebook page (facebook.com/olgsoccer) to stay informed about these upcoming events.