It was a brisk 28 degrees Saturday amid freezing rain – perfect conditions to take the Polar Plunge into the icy Metea County Park waters.
Fort Wayne FC’s Director of Football Operations, DaMarcus Beasley, and head coach Mike Avery were among seven staff members who jumped in to support Special Olympics Indiana.
The club raised more than $8,300 in its first year participating in the Polar Plunge, a testament to the community support of Fort Wayne FC and Special Olympians around the state.
Fort Wayne FC’s Polar Plungers included assistant coach Keelan Barker, administrators Rene Sanchez and Lucca Motta, sports performance coach Eliana Sommer and trainer Tyler Van Camp. Beasley, a four-time World Cup participant, is well known for his dislike of cold conditions despite being a native of Fort Wayne, but he fully embraced what Fort Wayne FC took to calling the “Beas Freeze.”
“As a player, I did not like even using cold tubs, so this is going to be tough for me,” Beasley said moments before jumping into the water and giving an audible scream. “This is something that’s really important to the club, to support Special Olympics Indiana, and it’s important to the entire community and to Fort Wayne. We’re really excited to be here.”
A group of Fort Wayne FC fans, including the Three Rivers Regiment, braved the conditions to cheer on the club’s Polar Plungers. Fort Wayne FC, which is readying for the 2025 season at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium, is indebted to the support of its fans as the club aligns with terrific charitable organizations such as Special Olympics Indiana.
Fort Wayne FC is passionate about its core values, community, perseverance, respect and growth, and looks forward to more events like Saturday’s Polar Plunge.
“We are incredibly grateful for Fort Wayne FC’s passion and enthusiasm in supporting this event,” said Jake Pickett, chair of the Special Olympics Polar Plunge in Fort Wayne. “It was wonderful to have Fort Wayne FC join us and we congratulate them for being our second highest fundraising team in just their first year participating, having raised more than $8,300 for Special Olympics Indiana.”
Fort Wayne FC will have exciting announcements in the coming weeks, including its 2025 schedule, while plans continue to move forward for a new privately funded state-of-the-art stadium to open in 2026 at Bass Road and I-69.
