While serving overseas with the U.S. Army, PFC Mardaras recognized the Iraqi children’s love of soccer, even though they were playing with tin cans and rocks. Madaras asked his family to send him a few balls so he could distribute them to the children in Baqubah; however, he never got the chance to do this.He was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on Sept. 3, 2006.He was only nineteen years old.
Kick for Nick is a 501 (c) 3 organization developed to keep Nick Madaras’ dream alive by allowing people to donate soccer balls to the children of Iraq.The University of Connecticut men’s soccer team brought in a sold out crowd of 4,407 for its BIG EAST Conference game against West Virginia as fans donated over 1,000 used and new soccer balls for Kick for NickTM.
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