A Denver Summit FC fan is set to present defender Carson Pickett with a national sports award, the latest chapter in a story that began when a young fan with a limb difference found an unlikely hero on the Summit's back line. The presentation, reported by 9News, centers on Pickett's nomination for a national honor tied to her advocacy for children with limb differences across Colorado.
Pickett, a Summit FC defender according to the seed facts behind 9News, was named Denver Summit FC's nominee for the 2026 Lauren Holiday Impact Award presented by Nationwide. According to denversummitfc.com, the nomination recognized her exceptional commitment to service and her dedication to supporting children with limb differences.
Pickett was born without her left arm below the elbow. As she put it in comments shared through the same team release, “Growing up without my left arm from the elbow down has shaped how I see the world.” That perspective is what connected her with a young Summit fan named Hayden Stine, who was born without most of her right arm, per cbsnews.com's reporting.
A Bond Built on Shared Experience and a Love of Soccer
Stine and Pickett connected over their limb differences and a shared love for soccer, the seed facts note. CBS News describes the meeting as happening at the team's home opener last month at Mile High Stadium, while the seed facts place that connection at Denver Summit FC's home opener in March 2026 — a discrepancy the available reporting does not resolve. Stine's age is similarly unsettled in the record: CBS News quotes her at age 9, while the seed facts list her as 10.
Stine has said she dreams of following in Pickett's footsteps. “I want to be a professional soccer player when I grow up,” she told the outlet in comments reported by cbsnews.com. Pickett, for her part, has made supporting kids like Stine central to her platform in Denver, holding hands-on events rather than simply offering encouragement from afar.
Hand Camp Colorado and the Infinity Park Meetup
Pickett's chosen charity partner for the award is Hand Camp of Colorado, and Nationwide planned to donate $5,000 to the organization as part of her nomination, according to denversummitfc.com. That commitment followed an event Pickett held at Infinity Park on June 4, 2026, where kids ages 5 to 8 took part in drills and interacted directly with the defender, as reported by the Denver Gazette.
The Gazette also notes that Pickett was the first player with a limb difference to play for the U.S. Women's National Team, a distinction that underscores why her nomination resonated beyond Denver. The newspaper's reporting frames her Hand Camp work as a natural extension of that trailblazing role, connecting her playing career to the mentorship she now offers young fans with similar physical differences.
How the Lauren Holiday Impact Award Works
The 2026 Lauren Holiday Impact Award featured 16 NWSL player nominees league-wide, according to news.nationwide.com. Each club was expected to recognize its nominee and local community partner during a match, with a $5,000 donation made to the chosen nonprofit in every market the nominees represented.
Fan voting ran Aug. 14-29, with the voting winner receiving $10,000 toward their chosen community organization, per denversummitfc.com. The overall award winner was set to receive $50,000 for a partnered charity, the site reported — a prize that would substantially boost whichever cause the eventual honoree champions.
What is clear is that the recognition traces directly back to a relationship built on the field and off it — between a professional defender who changed how the sport sees limb differences and a young fan who found in her a reason to believe she could do the same.
