KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.
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Chase Hitchcock has loved soccer since the moment he stepped on the field for the first time. This summer, that love took him somewhere he never imagined — the FIFA World Cup.
The Platte County High School senior was selected by Coca-Cola to serve as a flag bearer before the Colombia-Ghana match, one of a few chosen for the honor.
"I got to hold the flag for Colombia," Hitchcock said.
Along with the experience, he walked away with some gear to remember it by.
"Flag bearer, I got clothes, the hat, clothes and jerseys," Hitchcock said.
Hitchcock has spent years building his soccer career, playing for Platte County High School as a Pirate and earning a spot on the Sporting KC Unified team.
"Platte County High School soccer wants me to be a better soccer player," Hitchcock said.
His biggest cheerleader watched from the stands as he took the field on a world stage.
"Any kind of opportunity that he's afforded is amazing to me. The inclusion that we've had with soccer has been beyond what I could have imagined," mom Dee Hitchcock said.
The moment was not lost on those watching him.
"I don't think he quite understood the magnitude of the entire evening, but it's overwhelming. It was phenomenal," Dee said.
And while many would call it a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Hitchcock already has his sights set on the next one.
"I want to do the World Cup for the Argentina flag," Chase said.
If soccer does not quite work out, he has another dream waiting.
"I'm gonna be a WWE superstar," Chase said.
As the school season begins next month, Hitchcock says he is excited to try out for this year's high school soccer team.
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