Soccer Without Borders Blog

Ambassador Spotlight- Rachel Zanko

2012-05-18T13:58:35Z

It is estimated that the average person encounters about 4,000 advertising messages per day. That's 4,000 separate calls to action, varying in degree from a simple tagline, to a symbol of a brand, to an overt demand for attention. Amidst all of these messages, what makes a person choose to put their limited resources, time and money, toward something they can't see, touch, or experience?

Over the years, we have wondered about this question as we share the mission and message of Soccer Without Borders. Who will be listening? For whom does the mission of using soccer as a vehicle for positive change become a call to action?

Recently, I had the chance to explore these questions through an interview with an incredible young woman from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Rachel Zanko attended residential camp at Dartmouth College in 2010. That year, Soccer Without Borders had arranged with the Dartmouth staff for two of our SWB Nicaragua coaches to come to the United States to observe camp, and gain an understanding of the US culture. For both Chepe and Cesar, it was their first time traveling on a plane, their first passport, their first chance to understand where all of their American friends were coming from. Throughout their time with SWB Nicaragua, more than 150 US players and coaches had come to volunteer through SWB camps and year-round programs. It was time to turn the tables.

On the second night of camp, 200 campers filed into an auditorium, where Chepe and Cesar shared details about their program in Nicaragua alongside past SWB volunteers. After 7 hours of soccer in the heat of summer, the room was understandably full of sleepy eyes. Rachel Zanko's eyes, however, felt more open than ever.

She flew home with thoughts swimming in her head of her soccer experiences, travel experiences, and how fortunate she was to be able to just get on a plane and spend a week at a place like Dartmouth. She wanted a way to give back, and set out to define it. She writes "I was inspired by the message of what SWB tries to accomplish, which in my interpretation is using sports that we may take for granted and using them as ways to reach out to under-privileged youth. This message made me realize that I took soccer for granted and that there are young women around the country that are not even allowed to participate in any form of athletics. Through this realization I was pushed to utilize my soccer community to provoke change."

Rachel called her club and gathered her friends Dylan Fitzsimmons, Madi Killeen, Thomas Conerty and Pat Doyle to help her organize a small-sided fundraiser tournament. As a sophomore in high school, this is no small feat amidst all of the pressures of honors classes, extracurriculurs, exams, and the PSAT, but Rachel was ready and willing to add brochures, recruiting, t-shirt designing, bracket planning, volunteer management, and all of the other tournament details to her plate. In March 2011, her event came together, raising $3,500 for SWB.

"My favorite part (was) witnessing the community come together for the greater good. It absolutely amazed me just how powerful a small community truly can be and how much of a difference it can make towards the greater good," Rachel explained of the experience.

After the success and approaching her junior year with the pressures of the recruiting process on the horizon, it would be understandable if Rachel stopped there. Instead, though, she got her high school team at East Grand Rapids HS involved. She also lobbied to her club to host the tournament again in March 2012. Just two weeks away from the event after months of planning, t-shirt printing, and recruiting teams amidst a full junior-year academic load, when she learned that her event had lost the fields: they were being rented to another group. Frustrated, she fought for the event to be relocated, but hit a dead end. Despite this road block, Rachel and her friends were committed to supporting SWB again in 2012, and set out to sell the 200 shirts that had been printed for the tournament, raising over $1,000 with their persistence.

Rachel's team (pictured here) now wears the SWB shirts before games and shares the message with all who will listen. She hopes to stay involved with SWB as she transitions to college, and volunteer in the future, this summer at SWB Chicago and down the line at an international program. When asked what she would share with current or future SWB Ambassadors, she responded, "I would share that not only was this process extremely rewarding but it was an amazing opportunity to learn about the importance of giving, maintaining strong positive influences, and reaching out to those in need."

Coaches trainings in Uganda- a trip to Jinja

2012-05-14T15:50:56Z

SWB's Uganda program has begun to be noticed by local organizations who are eager to benefit from our talented staff and knowledge of youth development through sport. Wherever we go, we are constantly being asked the question: Who are you guys? Sometimes the answer we provide is greeted with a modest request for help with equipment, or the desire to arrange a “friendly” with one of our many teams, but on occasion, we meet people who have a genuine interest in trying to learn from us, and are willing to gather their staff for a coaching clinic. This was the case with our newest friend of the program, Mr. Jolly Tonny Mukooyo, and his organization – Care and Empowerment of the Vulnerable in Africa.

Stefan, Nick, Rapha, and myself arrived in Jinja late Friday night with the plan of grabbing some dinner in town, then heading to Rapha's cousin Raoul's house to stay overnight before we met Tonny for the clinic the next morning. The late-night dinner options were slim, however, we managed to get Rapha into an Indian restaurant where he tried his first ever plate of “Delux Thali”, which he now recommends we eat as the goodbye dinner for the interns in late May. Afterward, we took a pair of boda boda's out to Raoul's house just outside of town to tuck in for the night. Something to note about making arrangements for events here in Uganda is that you can only plan so much. We had a place to stay, we knew where we were supposed to go, we knew what time we planned to start, and we knew what our clinic was going to consist of, but in reality, the only thing we were sure of was that our plan was about as solid as a Kampala sidewalk.

The next morning we were met at the gates of the house by Tonny and were whisked away to his office outside of Jinja town where we would host the day's program. We had planned to start at around 9am so that Rapha could make it back to Kampala by the early afternoon for the wedding of one of his friends, but ended up reaching the office at about 9:15am. The first obstacles of the day were the fact that there was only one coach waiting for us and we had no equipment (or a pitch) to run the clinic with. Tonny assured us that the others were coming, so we took the time to talk shop about the challenges community-based organizations face in Uganda and how we could potentially share some contacts to help both SWB and CAEVA access resources from various larger aid organizations. The interns and Rapha also made a few game-time decisions on how we were going to adjust the clinic to accommodate the lack of equipment. As we reached 10am, there were about seven coaches assembled and ready for the clinic, with the promise of about another five that were on their way, so we decided to get started.

Rapha began this clinic by addressing a question to the group regarding what makes a good leader. After several minutes of receiving answers, Rapha had built a long list on the piece of paper taped up on the wall, and he went through each of them explaining how they pertained to coaching. This method of opening the clinic with something that involves participation from the group is a great way to get everyone engaging and talking, and it definitely worked with this group. The composition of the men in the room had grown to include a group of around 15 that were either the coach of their team, captain of their team, or in one case, a teacher from a school who wanted to learn how to improve their sports programming. Rapha swiftly moved the group into the next section of the clinic that covered how to use soccer as a tool for youth development. This section is usually the first area that takes a bit of explaining to get everyone in the room to understand, as was the case that day. Many of the soccer programs for kids around Kampala, and I imagine Uganda in general, are designed to be academies where players are developed, and then sold to clubs. We try to explain that our coaching method, while improving the quality of each player, is not designed to be so rigorous that we expect to be churning out Drogba's in a short period of time. Rapha explained that we are looking to develop our participants as people so that they can become contributing member's of society, find their voice as an individual, and make friends in a positive setting, all while learning the sport of football. There were still a few blank stares going around the room as we wrapped up that portion of the clinic and headed outside to go over some on pitch methods.

Our “pitch” for the day was the grassy area behind the office, normally inhabited by one large cow and several of the neighbors kids, but today it was transformed into our imaginary football grounds. We began the session by arranging a check-in circle and explaining to the guys that you should begin each training by talking to your players about your plans for the day. The check-in circle with the coaches attending the clinic was the first time that you could see everyone was really making an effort to soak up what was being taught. Rapha ran everyone through a quick warmup, and then moved into explaining how you can turn one drill into many, as well as what the difference between a drill and a game is. Without a ball or cones, I think the outside portion went as well as it could go. We were all going over different aspects of SWB's coaching method and the guys all seemed to be loving it. Tonny was all smiles as we gathered the group into our closing circle and explained the next steps of the clinic, which were to have everyone work in teams to create their own original practice plans.

The practice plan is something that is tricky to explain to coaches who have rarely prepared much before heading to the pitch. The idea of having a theme of the training that is focused on through each and every activity you do in that training was difficult to get across to the guys as we sat in our groups working to create the plans. If the coaches take away one thing from the whole day, I hope it is the idea that you don't need to have 20 bibs, 20 balls, and 20 cones to run a good practice. A huge part of the practice plan portion was to explain how it is the use of the equipment that you do have that makes a training worthwhile, not the quantity of equipment you think you need. After all the groups had finished their plans, we had each one present theirs to the room and briefly discussed the good points, and what they could work on in the future.

From where we started that day to where we ended was a giant leap. We began with a few guys gathered in the room awkwardly shuffling about on the benches in CAEVA's office, to a room full of coaches who were beaming with pride at the new knowledge they had gained. The SWB staff could not have been happier with the way everything turned out thanks to the planning put in place by Tonny and the thirst for improvement that all of the participants had brought to the table. We made a tentative follow up plan to return to Jinja after a few months time to check in on some of the coaches and to actually observe them running their own trainings. SWB Uganda hopes to continue to run these clinics to help raise the level of coaching quality focused on youth development around the country. We have already made a note to bring a ball to the next one!

A big thank you!

2012-05-01T02:07:08Z

We'd like to send a big thank you to the Stars of Massachusetts Soccer Club for their incredible equipment drive! During the month of March, Stars of MA players and families collected a wide range of new and gently used gear with the intention of supporting our new program in East Boston. Their efforts went so far above and beyond, that the equipment will also be used to support our programs in Granada, Nicaragua and Kampala, Uganda. Thank you to everyone at the Stars of Massachusetts club!

A Unique Story to Share: Episcopal HS standout visits SWB Baltimore

2012-04-30T00:06:16Z

by Gina Gabelia

SWB Baltimore has had a busy season focused on building solid academic and athletic skills to prepare the boys for college and the future. In addition to drills and activities designed to improve study habits, fundamental skills, and athletic dexterity, we've been actively exposing the boys to colleges with a big group visit to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and small group visits to Johns Hopkins University. We realigned our Soccer School infrastructure to incorporate Academic Coaches from Loyola University and Towson University, who support the boys with academic concepts and fundamental skill building.

One of the most exciting pieces of our future building spring was a site visit from Schillo, a regionally and nationally recognized soccer player at Episcopal High School, in Alexandria, Virginia, who is originally from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and will play for the University of Maryland, College Park in the fall. I first encountered Schillo when he was named the Washington Post All Met Soccer Player of the Year for Fall 2011 and immediately thought “I have to get this guy to come talk to the boys!” I dug through personal networks to contact Episcopal's Head Soccer Coach, Rick Wilcox, who graciously accepted our invitation for Schillo to speak to SWB about his experiences.

Schillo and Coach Rick came up to Baltimore on a sunny, Saturday morning and kicked the day off by playing soccer together. Our boys were immediately impressed by Schillo's friendliness and soccer skills, and Coach Rick and Schillo both commented that some of our players are “very good.” After an hour of soccer, Schillo shared his incredible story. Several years ago, one of the Episcopal soccer coaches traveled to Zimbabwe with a friend who had founded Grassroots Soccer. While in Zimbabwe he met and recruited a young soccer player, Gift, to play for Episcopal. Gift succeeded in his new environment, and his younger compatriot, Shadow, was also recruited to Episcopal. Schillo and Shadow played soccer together in Zimbabwe, and Schillo saw an opportunity to study in the United States and was inspired to achieve that goal. Schillo was already a talented athlete, playing for the youth national team, but realized he needed to focus on his academics if he wanted to study in the United States and pursue his dreams: to play soccer in Europe's premier leagues. Despite political turbulence in Zimbabwe, and a year long teacher strike, Schillo's hard work paid off and he was accepted to Episcopal High School, but then faced the tough decision of playing for the Zimbabwean national team, or going to school in the United States.

Schillo's first year at Episcopal presented new challenges, from communicating in English, to studying in the American education system, to playing a more physical game of soccer, to homesickness. Shadow, Episcopal's compassionate and talented teachers, and Schillo's host family, supported him through the tough transitions. Schillo's passion, perseverance, and focus on his goals helped him conquer the obstacles to succeed in his new environment.

I have never seen our boys as transfixed as they were during Schillo's talk. Their eyes did not leave Schillo for the hour he spoke, and they asked intuitive questions, such as “Would you play soccer for Zimbabwe or the U.S.?” and I could see that Schillo made his way into the boys' hearts when he said he wanted to play soccer for his country, Zimbabwe. Schillo emphasized that his success came in large part from working hard through challenges and taking advantage of opportunities and offers for assistance, along the way. We've spent a lot of effort focusing on college and the future, but the experience of meeting and playing soccer with someone who looks like them, comes from a similar background, and succeeded in American schools to earn the elusive scholarship to a Division 1 university showed the boys that their dreams are a real possibility.

Ahmed from Somalia said Schillo's story is “the dream of America.” Birendra from Nepal said “he showed us that what you are right now is not what you can become.” Kaltum from Eritrea said “Schillo's life was really bad when he was in Africa but when he came to U.S.A. he got backup and he got a better life which is awesome and he start helping to his parents who live in Africa. So never quit if you start it and the more you try the more you get better.” Warshan from Iraq said “I learned from Schillo that you have to fight for your dream and never give up. You have to keep working hard even though you live in poor country or country with a lot of problems and listen to other people because they always help you. If you want to be a soccer player you have to be good in school and in college because coaches want soccer players playing soccer but they have to be really, really good in school too. I learn that even you have hard life soccer can really change that and make it better for you and your family.”

Personally, Schillo's visit was one of the best days I have ever had with SWB because I felt so incredibly lucky and blessed to witness the SWB family welcome a new member, and to see my boys understand that their dreams are attainable with passion, perseverance, hard work, and humility. Thank you Coach Rick and Schillo, and once again, welcome to our SWB family!

Check out the Episcopal HS story on the visit.

Envision. Embark. Excel: SWB at the Urban Soccer Symposium

2012-04-24T19:13:11Z

by Jill Pardini, SWB Baltimore

This was my first exposure to the Urban Soccer Symposium, and it was an event that I didn’t know quite what to expect. Held at the historic Georgetown University Campus in the Nation’s Capitol, after six years the U.S. Soccer Foundation really knows how to take care of their conference attendees. The line-up of keynote speakers was impressive including former Olympians and National Team Players like Monica Gonzalez and Angela Hucles, to White House Advisors and International Soccer Game Changers like Juergen Griesbeck founder of StreetFootballWorld. The workshop themes ranged from direct coaching topics to organizational management strategies to teaching theory and best practices around sport and youth development. Often I found myself wanting a clone to attend a session on “Positive Coaching Techniques for the Whole Athlete Development” so that I could sit in on a session to gain much needed strategies around “Fundraising Plans: Instructions for Grassroots Organizations.” Fellow attendees and the U.S. Soccer Foundation staff created an atmosphere energized about making positive changes in the lives of underserved youth through the game of soccer and with the delicious food prepared by the Georgetown Faculty Club this was a recipe for success! After four solid days of speakers, workshops, events, and networking, the contacts and information obtained will go a long way in improving and informing Soccer Without Borders domestic sites as we continue to make large strides and improvements in the programming we provide. In closing, I would like to echo the motto of the 2012 Urban Soccer Symposium to encourage you to: “Envision. Embark. Excel.” in whatever ways you contribute to the Soccer Without Borders mission, vision, and goals this year!

Entrepreneurship Workshop in Granada- Video blog!

2012-04-15T00:15:46Z

Brittany Lane, Team Leader of the Mariposas, has devoted a portion of her time to focusing on Spring workshops. Hear about it in her words and also check it out through the video created by fellow Team Leader Alex Warren thanks to filming by Alex Board.

"My goal for the workshop was to create a longer-term, mentally challenging exercise masked in a fun activity to give the girls a chance to think in an entrepreneurial and creative way. I structured it to last two weeks and divided it into two parts. The theme of part one was the importance of planning the steps necessary to ensure the quality and consistency of any given product. We invited a woman who cooks and sells gallo pinto (rice and beans, a standard Nicaraguan dish) to come to the office and simulate the steps of cooking the dish from start to finish, following instructions that the girls came up with in small groups. The woman couldn't interject if the girls missed any steps until the end of the exercise. Because they had to think on the spot, they naturally forgot a few important steps, demonstrating the need to make a detailed plan in advance.

Part two lasted the next week and a half, and the goal was to put the importance of planning into action by choosing a product and creating a video advertisement for it. On the first day of the part two series, a man involved in the publicity side of Movistar (cell phone company) visited the office to talk about important things to think about in order to sell a product: the targeted audience, unique qualities of the product, etc. Then we split the girls into five small groups to pick their products and start planning. The following Tuesday began the process of recording the advertisements. To amplify excitement, we turned the project into a competition by creating a panel of judges, including a professional female journalist in Granada, to select the most convincing and best overall presentation that Thursday. By filming and also turning it into a contest, I hoped to increase the pressure a little bit so that the girls felt there was something at stake depending on their performance. This urged them to demand more of themselves and reach beyond just acceptable. Overall I think the taller activated the girls' imaginations and urged them to step out of some of their comfort zones. They enjoyed seeing themselves on camera and I believe they understood the major themes. I think it was a great way to end the first half of the season leading into Semana Santa and feed their desire to return the following week ready for more interesting and creative activities."

"A Birthday-sized Donation" from Stefan

2012-04-11T02:06:58Z

Katz Kadlic has a rare gift that cannot be taught, the Wellington School Middle School student opted for SWB donations rather than birthday presents. Being an alumnus from The Wellington School (Columbus, OH), I am aware of the bright future the students behold, including their potential to become philanthropists. However, for me, it was so impressive to see a strong-willed young individual thinking “out-of-the-box”.

I happened to run into Katz and his family at the Columbus International Airport, prior to boarding my plane to Uganda (in November). I had a brief opportunity to inform them on what SWB’s mission was and the tasks I would be assigned while here. From what the Kadlic family heard, Katz felt inspired enough to follow what I was doing here, all stemming from his love for the beautiful game.

Pitching an endearing argument to his close peers, while favoring donations rather than presents, Katz was able to raise a generous three hundred dollars. Sacrificing his birthday presents to help the kids here (in Nsambya) did not come as a significant surprise to me. Having coached him at summer soccer camps, he seemed quite keen on making sure others around him were having more fun than he was. Near the end of his birthday celebration, Katz and his friends composed a very thoughtful and colorful note commending my work here. Folding up the note, along with the noble donation, he made sure the valuables were in my mom’s possession prior to her visit here, a few weeks back.

Katz requested that the money go towards what was needed the most – ultimately decided by the interns and local staff. Following our new acquisition of the office space next to the Nsambya youth center as our new classroom, a recent coach’s meeting was spent compiling a list of items the new space needed. Based on priority and what is deemed as essential, a filing cabinet, chairs, bench-tables, and a white board highlight the list the SWB staff feels is key to making our new space complete and marvelous.

Thanks to one young bright-minded adolescent, the Nsambya site is fortunate enough to make some much-needed modifications, so our youth can enjoy an enhanced learning environment. I'm so proud to share Katz’s story!

Meet the Newest Staff Members in Granada

2012-03-28T16:19:42Z

Helen Ramirez Montiel and Hassell Chavez Bustamante

Two recent graduates of Fútbol Sin Fronteras Granada are also the two newest members of our Nicaraguan staff. Helen Ramirez Montiel and Hassell Chavez Bustamante, previously dedicated members and leaders of the Nicoyas, graduated from the program in January and swiftly made the transition from participant to coach as counselors in our Fifth Annual TEAM camp. Both brought great energy, new ideas and an ability to engage and earn the trust of younger participants during the week of camp. Since January, both women have begun working as assistant coaches, Hassell with the 7-10 year old Mariposas and Helen with 11-14 year old Estrellas.

Helen was one of the first-ever participants of FSF. A member since 2007, Helen quickly emerged for her commitment to programming on and off the field and became a leader among both her peers and younger program participants. Hassell had never played soccer before she joined FSF in the Fall of 2010, but quickly developed a love for the game and ability as a defender. She has already become an integral part of the Mariposa team; going on house visits to get to know families, helping to lead activities in the office and on the field, and speaking about the program on a local radio show.

SWB is really excited to welcome Hassell and Helen to the FSF staff. Both women bring a wealth of experience and essential perspective as FSF graduates as well as innovative ideas as new staff members. We look forward to hearing more from both of them as the second half of the Spring season unfolds in Granada.

Tide-pools, Farms and Gardens: Oakland Teams Visit Slide Ranch

2012-03-19T22:11:01Z

Muir Beach, CA

When there is not a scheduled game or activity planned on a particular weekend, and we ask our players in Oakland about their plans for their weekend, they often say, 'watch TV, sleep, do nothing' with a smile on their faces, half-joking, but half serious as well. Given the lack of safe public spaces in their neigborhoods and the difficulty of accessing regional parks on public transportation, there are few alternatives to indoor activities available to them. Within this context, the program leaders have been trying to find creative ways of connecting our youth with the tremendous natural beauty that exists here in the Bay Area.

This search for positive outdoor programming led us to form a partnership with Slide Ranch who graciously hosted our middle school boys team in March 2012 and our girls team at Oakland International High School in the Fall of 2011. The trips to Slide Ranch, located just North of Muir Beach, California on one of the most beautiful stretches of highway anywhere in the world, offered our players an exciting chance to connect with nature and learn about organic gardening, marine life, life on a farm, and sustainability. Activities throughout the day including milking goats, feeding chickens, stomping in the tidepools, and sampling/identifying organic vegetables and fruits in the garden. In addition to the educational value of these activities, the trips also created valuable team-building opportunities, as players got to spend time together and connect across langauge and cultural barriers. We would like to extend a big thank you to Slide Ranch for hosting our teams and for all the great work they do to provide youth in the Bay Area with opportunies to connect with nature.

Hiking to the tidepools

Learning about rhubarb and the other vegies in the garden

Making lemonade with mint and lemons from the garden

Dia de La Mujer with Futbol Sin Fronteras Granada

2012-03-15T20:29:01Z

Last week on March 8 during an activity, the coaches, girls, and some of their female family members of FSF Granada commemorated Dia Internacional de la Mujer. An annual United Nations sponsored celebration running for over 90 years, people all over the world gather to honor the efforts of women who have fought for equal rights, reflect on the progress made, and discuss other potential ways to promote justice, peace, and development.

We started preparing days in advance and made flyers for the girls to invite female family members. The Mariposas took charge of the decorations, each customizing cutouts of the official female symbol with nice messages, colors, and ribbons. They taped colorful balloons all over the first and second floors as well. In addition, the coaches chose four of the older, more outspoken girls in the group to present brief facts about several prominent women in the world along with their pictures on a PowerPoint. Those recognized included Mother Theresa, Brazilian soccer star Marta, the first female president of Nicaragua and in all of Central America Violeta Chamorro, and the famous Nicaraguan poet Gioconda Bell. A traditional folkloric dance by four of the Mariposas followed.

The Estrellas and Nicoyas planned to explore Granada for businesswomen to interview. On the Tuesday before, they recorded on video an interview with the owner of the Eskimo ice cream shop on the main street, asking intelligent questions about how she worked hard to earn the position and what it takes to be successful. They also spoke with a woman who operates a Pulperia from her home, selling miscellaneous goods daily. To present their findings, the girls made a couple of elaborate posters, a PowerPoint, and showed the two video interviews.

We were pleased to see a large turnout of mothers, aunts, sisters, and grandmothers filling the chairs on the second floor. After the presentations we provided snacks and refreshments and time to mingle. We also used this time to announce a parent meeting we plan to hold at the office at the end of the month to stimulate more parent involvement, and the response was positive.

Approaching the midpoint of this season, the whole staff has been reflecting on the status quo of the program, noting our strengths and seeking avenues for improvement. We chose “compromiso,” or commitment, as the theme for this week to emphasize our focus on attendance and loyalty to the team. After the Semana Santa vacation at the beginning of April, we plan to shift our energy into more outreach efforts in the greater Granada community. Our goal is to increase visibility and awareness of the program, attracting committed girls who want to learn, play, and love soccer with us.