{"id":37895,"date":"2026-07-01T20:03:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/01\/how-hershey-pennsylvania-shaped-christian-pulisic\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T20:03:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:03:31","slug":"how-hershey-pennsylvania-shaped-christian-pulisic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/01\/how-hershey-pennsylvania-shaped-christian-pulisic\/","title":{"rendered":"How Hershey, Pennsylvania shaped Christian Pulisic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Hershey may be known as “The Sweetest Place on Earth” thanks to its chocolate-filled origins, but the Pennsylvania community has… Christian Pulisic<\/span> \u2014 The most accomplished and well-known player on the U.S. national team, which has big dreams as a World Cup co-host.<\/p>\n
“Hershey is everything to me. It’s where my family is from and where I grew up,” Pulisic recently said in his own interview. instagram account<\/span> He promoted the Hershey Company’s limited-edition Pulisic milk chocolate bar, which features a custom wrapper signed by him. “This is where I learned how to play. It’s truly home.”<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
A billboard featuring American soccer player Christian Pulisic is photographed on the side of the Hotel Figueroa in Los Angeles on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
A billboard featuring American soccer player Christian Pulisic is photographed on the side of the Hotel Figueroa in Los Angeles on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Add AP News to Google <\/p>\n
\n See more stories on Google by adding AP News as your preferred source.<\/p>\n
Pulisic grew up in this south-central Pennsylvania community surrounded by farms and rolling countryside. There, even the streetlights along Chocolate Avenue are shaped like Hershey’s kisses. The community was founded in 1903 by American businessman and philanthropist Milton S. Hershey, who also built housing for workers, a hotel, and a theme park where Pulisic often visited with his family. <\/p>\n
More than 120 years later, the Hershey Company remains an economic powerhouse in Chocolatetown, USA. But “the man behind the chocolate bar” now shares honor as a local hero with the soccer player known as “Captain America.”<\/p>\n
Pulisic inspires Hershey’s young soccer players<\/h2>\n
Pulisic has deep roots in his hometown, and his community rallied around him during the World Cup as the United States played some of its most exciting soccer ever.<\/p>\n
“It’s really amazing that he’s from Hershey and played for my club,” said Cecilia Stefanelli, a freshman at Hershey High School. She scored a goal for her father on a recent afternoon by kicking a ball at the field where Pulisic was playing.<\/p>\n
Americans will try to win their first World Cup elimination match<\/span> They will play Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 on Wednesday night in Santa Clara, Calif., for the first time in 24 years. They need a healthy Pulisic, as he missed the second group stage game with a calf injury and only played 33 minutes as a substitute in the final group game against Turkey.<\/p>\n
“I’d be happy if the U.S. won the World Cup. That makes me happy,” said Stefanelli, a center back who also plays for the Pennsylvania Classic Soccer Club. Pulisic has often credited the structure and coaches at PA Classics, where he played for eight years, for helping him develop his skills. In 2021, he returned to the club for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new field he helped fund and design. It is now known as Pulisic Stomping Ground.<\/p>\n
The club is located in Lancaster County, surrounded by poultry farms and dairy farms that emit the pungent smell of fermented feed and manure.<\/p>\n
On a recent day, Liam Gustafsson and Moussa Omaro juggled soccer balls and passed them back and forth as they warmed up for a workout in front of a giant collage of photos of Pulisic, tracing him from his childhood training to his time with the United States at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
“It’s really special to see players from this region where we live play in the World Cup,” said Gustafsson, a 17-year-old forward who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player and calls Pulisic his role model. \u201cIt\u2019s really inspiring to see someone pave the way for me to be able to do that one day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pulisic’s path to USMNT stardom took him through Hershey.<\/h2>\n
of The road to soccer was paved early on.<\/span> Pulisic followed in his parents’ footsteps. He was born on September 18, 1998 in Hershey to Kelly Pulisic and Mark Pulisic, former college soccer players at George Mason University. His father went on to play professional indoor soccer for the Harrisburg Heat. The family moved to England for a year, where the seven-year-old rising star played for Brackley Town’s youth teams, while Pulisic’s mother completed a Fulbright teacher exchange.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n\n
<\/p>\n
\n
U.S. National Soccer player Christian Pulisic hones his skills in Manheim, Pennsylvania, Monday, June 29, 2026, and Pennsylvania Classic players Moussa Omaroo (left) and Liam Gustafsson (right) juggle balls before training with their club. (AP Photo\/Luis Andres Henao)<\/figcaption><\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
U.S. National Soccer player Christian Pulisic hones his skills in Manheim, Pennsylvania, Monday, June 29, 2026, and Pennsylvania Classic players Moussa Omaroo (left) and Liam Gustafsson (right) juggle balls before training with their club. (AP Photo\/Luis Andres Henao)<\/p>\n
\n
\n
Add AP News to Google <\/p>\n
\n See more stories on Google by adding AP News as your preferred source.<\/p>\n
Hershey High School freshman Cecilia Stefanelli kicks the ball and scores a goal against her father, Justin Stefanelli, on the field where U.S. national soccer team star Christian Pulisic played as a student, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo\/Luis Andres Henao)<\/figcaption><\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Hershey High School freshman Cecilia Stefanelli kicks the ball and scores a goal against her father, Justin Stefanelli, on the field where U.S. national soccer team star Christian Pulisic played as a student, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo\/Luis Andres Henao)<\/p>\n
\n
\n
Add AP News to Google <\/p>\n
\n See more stories on Google by adding AP News as your preferred source.<\/p>\n
“Mark and Kelly could write a script about how to raise humble, smart, kind superstars while maintaining family relationships,” says Tara Seymour, a family friend and former health and physical education teacher at Hershey Middle School. She met the family at a soccer camp and became close friends with Pulisic’s mother.<\/p>\n
“She said to me once, quietly, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this.’ This is a kid who could juggle a soccer ball hundreds of times when he was in elementary school,” Seymour said. She said Pulisic practiced for hours in his backyard, trying to imitate the moves of the pros he saw on TV. <\/p>\n
“He had a strength that you can’t teach,” she recalled. \u201cI think he had an opportunity to go pro sooner or go to Europe sooner, but they held back just to see if he was ready mentally and maturity-wise.\u201d <\/p>\n
Pulisic joined the PA Classics at age 10 when his family moved back to Hershey. Club president and co-founder Doug Harris said Pulisic’s talent allowed him to play with older players and was often the smallest player on the field.<\/p>\n
“If you bring in kids from all over the world who want to get to Christian Pulisic’s level, you’re going to have millions of kids stepping up and raising their hands. They’re all talented and they can all play,” Harris said. “But there’s something fundamental about what Christian accomplished, and I think a lot of that goes to Mark and Kelly Pulisic.”<\/p>\n
Looking forward to the future of American soccer<\/h2>\n
The only World Cup for Americans Knockout win<\/span> On June 17, 2002, they defeated Mexico 2\u20130 in the round of 16 in South Korea. Pulisic said: The team’s approach remains the same<\/span> The atmosphere remains upbeat this round, despite the high stakes.<\/p>\n
“It’s special to be here,” he said. “I just don’t want it to end.”<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
Pennsylvania Classic coaches Brittney Jacobson (left) and Nick Jacobson (right) look at a banner for U.S. national soccer player Christian Pulisic at the club on Monday, June 29, 2026. The children, Declan Jacobson in an Argentina jersey and Camden Jacobson in a Portugal jersey. Pulisic was honing his skills on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Manheim, Pennsylvania. (AP) Photo\/Luis Andres Henao)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Pennsylvania Classic coaches Brittney Jacobson (left) and Nick Jacobson (right) look at a banner for U.S. national soccer player Christian Pulisic at the club on Monday, June 29, 2026. The children, Declan Jacobson in an Argentina jersey and Camden Jacobson in a Portugal jersey. Pulisic was honing his skills on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Manheim, Pennsylvania. (AP) Photo\/Luis Andres Henao)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Add AP News to Google <\/p>\n
\n See more stories on Google by adding AP News as your preferred source.<\/p>\n
Before the match with Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/span>PA Classics coaches Brittney Jacobson and Nick Jacobson took their children Declan and Camden to kick a ball at Pulisic’s old club. They said the Americans had a chance to win the tournament. But their legacy goes beyond trophies.<\/p>\n
“Their goal is to inspire a generation, and it’s really fun to see that happen in real time… hearing people go to games and buy jerseys,” Brittney Jacobson said. <\/p>\n
Nick Jacobson said: “Pulisic is obviously a great player to follow in the short term.” “But he’s very encouraging that this isn’t just about him. This isn’t just about the last four years. It’s about the next eight, 12, 16 years. This is something positive and they’re laying a good foundation that we can build on.”<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n