For the Homeless, a Playful Reprieve
When a co-worker at Arts and Education first approached me with the idea of participating in a street soccer team, I could only laugh. I felt I had as much chance of winning the lottery as I had in playing on a soccer team of any sort. However, my co-worker was persistent, and in the end, I decided to give it a try. Not having played soccer for 39 years – since my sophomore year of high school, to be precise – I had no illusions about my level of ability, and I was more than aware that it was going to be an embarrassing experience, to say the least. It was with this mindset that I went to my first practice.
To describe the way things progressed for me, I would have to tell the story of how my high school band director instructed us when we first started marching band. He said to us, “To do the high-knee step, you must lift your legs high to be parallel with the ground before setting your feet down onto the ground with each step. At first you will feel and look ridiculous. After a while, the feeling will pass. Then you will only look ridiculous.” That statement pretty much sums up my experience as I started out playing with the team. Still, I did not let that stop me. Seeing that I was playing the position of goal keeper, I wasn’t expecting to look particularly elegant, especially when a ball smacked me in the face at 90 miles an hour, as it did in one of the games; that one I’m not likely to forget any time soon.
On July 19, the team traveled with the coaches and some other involved persons to Charlotte, North Carolina for a conference where we played against other teams comprised of homeless individuals. On July 20, there was a series of lectures designed to help various communities who want to begin street soccer teams of their own, as well as for representatives from cities that want to start street newspapers of their own.
The camaraderie that existed among the players during the conference was a world apart from the dog-eat-dog world of the street that is the reality of homelessness in an everyday life situation. There was something about the way that playing together generated a chemistry that offset the predatory nature of homelessness for the participants. I am usually very cynical about such things, but I couldn’t ignore what I saw.
The theme that was often repeated during the four days that I was in Charlotte was that street soccer is a great tool for giving a face to homelessness different from the traditional stereotype and helps the participants to rebuild their lives. In the film that we saw on July 20, persons from countries around the world testified as to what a difference participation in street soccer had made in their lives. Guest speakers appeared to speak of the positive impact that the program has on the community. And, of course, there is also the game itself and the skills that the players acquire while playing, which poses an ongoing challenge as the players strive to achieve higher levels of prowess in soccer.
I would be amiss if I did not mention the coaches and other involved persons that accompanied us on the trip who formed a team of their own in the mini-tournament. Billed as the Advocates, they gave a very impressive performance, especially Street Sense’s own Laura Osuri, who earned for herself the nickname “the Wall” from the commentator at the games for her outstanding execution as the team’s goal keeper. She faced a task far more daunting than the one I faced playing the same position, and she carried it off with finesse. One of the coaches, Philip Ruzycki, took a large number of photographs to preserve the memories of our experiences at the conference, which he posted on the Internet for the rest of us to view.
It was an enjoyable change of pace and scenery for all of us. From the warm hospitality we received down to the final ceremony, the conference was an event that was well worth the effort. The DC team walked away with the Fair Play Award, which was a pleasant ending for a most pleasant reprieve from the world of homelessness.
To describe the way things progressed for me, I would have to tell the story of how my high school band director instructed us when we first started marching band. He said to us, “To do the high-knee step, you must lift your legs high to be parallel with the ground before setting your feet down onto the ground with each step. At first you will feel and look ridiculous. After a while, the feeling will pass. Then you will only look ridiculous.” That statement pretty much sums up my experience as I started out playing with the team. Still, I did not let that stop me. Seeing that I was playing the position of goal keeper, I wasn’t expecting to look particularly elegant, especially when a ball smacked me in the face at 90 miles an hour, as it did in one of the games; that one I’m not likely to forget any time soon.
On July 19, the team traveled with the coaches and some other involved persons to Charlotte, North Carolina for a conference where we played against other teams comprised of homeless individuals. On July 20, there was a series of lectures designed to help various communities who want to begin street soccer teams of their own, as well as for representatives from cities that want to start street newspapers of their own.
The camaraderie that existed among the players during the conference was a world apart from the dog-eat-dog world of the street that is the reality of homelessness in an everyday life situation. There was something about the way that playing together generated a chemistry that offset the predatory nature of homelessness for the participants. I am usually very cynical about such things, but I couldn’t ignore what I saw.
The theme that was often repeated during the four days that I was in Charlotte was that street soccer is a great tool for giving a face to homelessness different from the traditional stereotype and helps the participants to rebuild their lives. In the film that we saw on July 20, persons from countries around the world testified as to what a difference participation in street soccer had made in their lives. Guest speakers appeared to speak of the positive impact that the program has on the community. And, of course, there is also the game itself and the skills that the players acquire while playing, which poses an ongoing challenge as the players strive to achieve higher levels of prowess in soccer.
I would be amiss if I did not mention the coaches and other involved persons that accompanied us on the trip who formed a team of their own in the mini-tournament. Billed as the Advocates, they gave a very impressive performance, especially Street Sense’s own Laura Osuri, who earned for herself the nickname “the Wall” from the commentator at the games for her outstanding execution as the team’s goal keeper. She faced a task far more daunting than the one I faced playing the same position, and she carried it off with finesse. One of the coaches, Philip Ruzycki, took a large number of photographs to preserve the memories of our experiences at the conference, which he posted on the Internet for the rest of us to view.
It was an enjoyable change of pace and scenery for all of us. From the warm hospitality we received down to the final ceremony, the conference was an event that was well worth the effort. The DC team walked away with the Fair Play Award, which was a pleasant ending for a most pleasant reprieve from the world of homelessness.
posted by MasterWriter at 3:30 p.m.
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