Over the past 3 years it has been amazing to watch the changes in the lives and development of the youth on our soccer team.  I was reminded of just how far our players have come today while I watched our newest group of boys at practice.  The boys were still living in survival mode, constantly trying to rip the ball out of their team mates hands, shoving, and cutting in line.  I’m sure you think this is typical behavior for 8-11 year old boys.  But I can ensure you, the level to which this was happening, was not normal or healthy.  At least not to our US standards.

In addition to the fighting, their coach was trying to get the boys to do a relatively easy drill where they weaved in between cones; however this seemingly easy task proved to be quite difficult for the players.  It took a significant amount of time to explain and show what was being asked of them before the players were able to mimic the drill.  I remember when we first started with our other teams that we had these same struggles.  Now our seasoned players can quickly understand what is being asked of them and preform it effortlessly.

So why is this?  Why do new players struggle so much?  I’m sure part of the reason is that they’ve never had any experience playing on a team before.  They’ve never had recess, PE, or exposure to youth sports.  Many maybe have never even had the opportunity to play with a real ball  However, I believe it’s more than that.  

When kids live in survival mode, they can only think of themselves and meeting their need as quickly as possible.

Our new boys have not yet learned that there are more than enough balls for each of them and that they will each have a turn.  Instantly their flight or fight mechanisms turn on, and they choose to fight.  Some of these drills use both sides of the brain and crossing over that bridge, is something that some kids haven’t had a lot of exposure to.

The New Roots Soccer team is not only fighting to help children pull themselves out of survival, but is also changing how their brain develops.  I believe strongly that allowing the children to have a designated time several days a week where they can forget about surviving and instead just play and be typical kids, will change their overall life course.  It’s giving them tools that will help them be healthier adults, more compassionate parents, and more ready for the work force.

This fall we will be opening our new community center, and, Lord willing, we will be adding a child psychologist to our team.  We are so excited to keep training in our coaches on how to meet childrens emotional needs as well as doing group and individual sessions with the youth. The past two weeks we have had a Haitian Child Psychologist come in and do training with our coaches.  We learned about mentorship, learning styles, and trauma.  I was so encouraged to hear how excited Cassie (the psychologist) is about our upcoming center.  Several times she told me that this program is going to have such an important impact, not only on the lives of the youth directly in our program, but on the community at large.

We are currently searching for the perfect Child Psychologist to join our team.  One who will train in our staff, work directly with the youth, and do parenting classes in our community.  Will you join us in prayer that the perfect candidate is found.

We are also looking for monthly sponsors to help cover this position.  If you would like to help.