{"id":233272,"date":"2026-07-01T23:05:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T23:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/233272\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T23:05:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T23:05:44","slug":"from-chocolate-avenue-to-the-world-cup-how-hershey-pennsylvania-shaped-christian-pulisic-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/233272\/","title":{"rendered":"From Chocolate Avenue to the World Cup, how Hershey, Pennsylvania, shaped Christian Pulisic"},"content":{"rendered":"

HERSHEY, Pa. \u2013 Hershey may be known as the \u201cSweetest Place on Earth,\u201d thanks to its chocolate-drenched origins, but the Pennsylvania community is also home to Christian Pulisic<\/a> \u2014 the most accomplished and famous player on a U.S. national team that’s dreaming big as it co-hosts the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cHershey to me is everything — it\u2019s where my family is from, it\u2019s where I grew up,\u201d Pulisic recently said on his Instagram account<\/a> as he promoted limited-edition Pulisic\u2019s Milk Chocolate Bars by the Hershey Company that feature custom wrappers with his signature. \u201cIt\u2019s where I learned how to play. It\u2019s just home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulisic grew up in this south-central Pennsylvania community surrounded by farms and rolling countryside, where even the streetlights along Chocolate Avenue are shaped like Hershey\u2019s Kisses. The community was founded in 1903 by Milton S. Hershey, the American businessman and philanthropist who also built homes for workers, a hotel and a theme park that Pulisic often visited with family. <\/p>\n

More than 120 years later, the Hershey Company is still the economic engine of Chocolatetown, USA. But the \u201cMan Behind the Chocolate Bar\u201d now shares the hometown hero honor with the soccer player nicknamed \u201cCaptain America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulisic inspires young soccer players in Hershey<\/p>\n

Pulisic\u2019s hometown roots run deep, and during the World Cup, his community has rallied around him as the U.S. plays some of its most exciting soccer ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing that he came from Hershey and played for my club,\u201d said Hershey High School rising freshman Cecelia Stefanelli who, on a recent afternoon, kicked a ball to score a goal on her father at a field where Pulisic played.<\/p>\n

The Americans will attempt to win their first World Cup elimination game<\/a> in 24 years on Wednesday evening, when they face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, California. They should have a healthy Pulisic after the star missed the second group-stage game with a calf injury and played only 33 minutes as a sub in the final group match against Turkey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love if USA won the World Cup; it\u2019d make me happy,\u201d said Stefanelli, a center back who also plays for the Pennsylvania Classics soccer club. Pulisic often credits the structure and coaches at PA Classics, where he played for eight years, with helping develop his skills. In 2021, he returned to the club for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new fields that he financed and helped design. It’s now known as the Pulisic Stomping Grounds.<\/p>\n

The club is located in Lancaster County, surrounded by chicken and dairy farms that give off a pungent odor of fermenting feed and manure.<\/p>\n

On a recent day, Liam Gustafson and Moussa Oumarou juggled a soccer ball and passed it back and forth as they warmed up for training in front of a huge collage of photos of Pulisic that trace from his childhood training to starring for the U.S. at the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really special to see someone from around here, where we live, playing in the World Cup,\u201d said Gustafson, a 17-year-old forward who dreams of playing pro soccer and calls Pulisic his role model. \u201cIt\u2019s really inspiring to see someone who paved the way, so that we can do that someday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulisic’s path to USMNT stardom ran through Hershey<\/p>\n

The road to soccer was paved early<\/a> as Pulisic followed in the footsteps of his parents. He was born in Hershey on Sept. 18, 1998, to Kelley and Mark Pulisic, both former collegiate soccer players at George Mason University. His father went on to play pro indoor soccer for the Harrisburg Heat. The family moved to England for a year while Pulisic\u2019s mother completed a Fulbright Program teacher exchange and their 7-year-old rising star played for the Brackley Town youth team.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark and Kelley could write a playbook on how to raise a humble, smart, kind superstar, while maintaining family relationships,\u201d said Tara Seymour, a family friend and retired health and physical education teacher at Hershey Middle School. She met the family at a soccer camp and became close friends with Pulisic\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe just quietly said to me one time, \u2018We have never seen anything like this.\u2019 This is a kid who could juggle the soccer ball hundreds of times when he was in elementary school,\u201d Seymour said. Pulisic, she said, would practice in his backyard for hours, trying to emulate the moves of pros he saw on TV. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe has an intensity that couldn\u2019t be taught,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI think he had the opportunity to go pro earlier or go to Europe earlier and they held back just to make sure emotionally and maturity-wise he was ready.\u201d <\/p>\n

When the family returned to Hershey, Pulisic joined PA Classics at the age of 10. The club’s president and co-founder Doug Harris said Pulisic’s talent allowed him to play with older age groups, and he was often the smallest player on the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if you were to pull kids in the world who want to achieve the level of Christian Pulisic, you\u2019d have millions that would step up, raise their hand. They\u2019re all gifted; they all can play,\u201d Harris said. \u201cBut there\u2019s something fundamental about what Christian has been able to do and I\u2019d credit Mark and Kelley Pulisic with a lot of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking forward to the future of American soccer<\/p>\n

The Americans’ only World Cup knockout win<\/a> came on June 17, 2002, when they defeated Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16 in South Korea. Pulisic has said the team’s approach won’t change<\/a> in this round and the mood remains light despite the high stakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just special to be here,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just don\u2019t want it to end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead of the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina<\/a>, PA Classics coaches Brittney Jakobson and Nick Jakobson took their children, Declan and Camden, to kick a ball at Pulisic\u2019s former club. The Americans, they said, have a shot at winning the tournament. But their legacy goes beyond the trophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir goal is to inspire a generation and it\u2019s really fun to see that happening in real time \u2026 to hear people going out and watching the games, to see people buying the jerseys,\u201d Brittney Jakobson said. <\/p>\n

\u201cPulisic, obviously, in the short term is a great kind of figure to follow,\u201d said Nick Jakobson. \u201cBut he does very much encourage that it\u2019s not just about him. It\u2019s not about just these four years. It\u2019s about the next eight, 12, 16. It\u2019s forward-thinking, and they\u2019re laying a good foundation for what we can build on.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\nSee more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n