The SWB girls' team from Ndejje, Uganda
I just graduated from the University of Illinois where I played on the Fighting Illini's varsity soccer team for four years. The past three springs, I have served as the assistant coach to Champaign Centennial's Girls Varsity Soccer Team. Additionally, I have volunteered in Rio Verde, Mexico the past three summers as a coach for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes sports camp. I have a passion for coaching and working in Mexico really opened my eyes to how blessed young players in the United States are to have the opportunities they do to participate in organized sports. For this reason, I chose to volunteer for Soccer Without Borders as a long-term intern. The values that Soccer Without Borders promotes are values that I believe are important and I look forward to working with the kids in Uganda. This is a chance for me to step outside of my comfort zone and really give back to the game that has provided me with so many incredible opportunities. To everyone who is supporting me in this endeavor, thank you so much. I will do my best to send out updates of my experiences before, during, and after the ten months I spend living in Uganda. I am very excited about this adventure, but also somewhat nervous and even a bit scared! However, I am confident that my experiences over the past four years have prepared me well for what is to come and hopefully I will make a difference in the lives of the kids I will be working with!















Friday, April 22, 2011

The Holiday Program

The first term for primary schools in Ndejje has finally drawn to a close and the kids have all officially started their five-week break. The holiday breaks are much more enjoyable for us because we have so much more access to the kids than we normally do during their school year. As such, we now have programming at the Youth Center, as well as football training almost daily.

While I enjoy the different activities that we do at the Youth Center itself, the thing I look forward to the most each day are the football trainings. I love coaching the kids, and even though we have a hodge podge of ages and talent levels in attendance, the kids who come consistently form a really great group of players to work with. They are accustomed to Ugandan coaches simply tossing a ball out onto the field and then just having them play a match, so when we introduce new games and drills to them to break up the monotony, they really get into them and enjoy them. I love watching the kids compete, and it has been very satisfying to have witnessed strong player development in some the kids we have coached over the past eight months.

We also have a new addition to our SWB staffing. Alison, an American, has been travelling throughout Egypt, Jordan, and Namibia over the past year doing a research project on sports and development. She has joined us for the next two months in Ndejje to help as needed and observe the different sports programs available to youth in Uganda. It has been so interesting hearing about her experiences in other countries and how it compares to what we have been dealing with here in Uganda. It has been very helpful to have another person around as well, especially now that break has begun and we have a large influx of kids at the center every day and running around at football trainings. Poor Adam is constantly surrounded by female companions, but he has managed to put up with us all very well!

My time here is drawing to a close as I approach the six week mark until my return trip home! I can't believe that time is flying by so quickly, but I have definitely been enjoying myself here over the past couple of weeks. Well, that's all for now, I will try to post again soon!
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