1. Ellery, my roommate of four years and best friend from college, came down for a 6 week stay to be our program's soccer guru and develop a strength, conditioning, and technical session for all the girls in the program that now happens weekly. She spent her fall in Sweden playing on a professional Division 1 women's team, so she was well qualified for this job to say the least. As she does no matter where she goes, she had an immediate impact on everybody around her. Positive energy, great ideas, a listening ear, humor, grace, and the ability to inspire everybody to be better. It was amazing to be able to share this place with her; to have impromptu sing alongs and dance parties with her at Tres Pisos, to hit the town with her just like we did in our glory days, and mostly to share a soccer field with her again is a feeling I can't put in to words very well but it was something special. I was sad to see her go, but we'll be reunited somewhere in the next chapter of our lives somewhere soon.2. In late February, we hosted the first part of an Intercultural Exchange for Fútbol Femenino. Thanks to a grant we received, a team of ex-collegiate female soccer players representing all different Divisions was able to travel down here for a week to run clinics and play in a showcase game against the Nicaraguan women's national team in an attempt to promote and spread women's soccer throughout the country. They spent time in Diriamba, Managua and ended their week here in Granada. I could only participate in parts of it because we still had normal programming going on in Granada all week, but I was able to go to the first clinic held in Diriamba. I went in to the afternoon with no expectations but quickly became nervous when only three girls had showed up ten minutes after the clinic was supposed to start. Then, as if the clouds decided to open, buses full of girls that wanted to play showed up to the stadium. Around 150 in total. We scrambled to record all of their names, ages, hand out our t-shirts, and herd them in to the stadium. We had them form a circle so we could say our welcoming statement and explain a bit about the day. It was one of the biggest circles I've ever been a part of (literally and figuratively), and seeing the girls in their school uniform skirts and black flats who, despite the lack of athletic resources, were so excited to play was an overwhelmingly emotional moment for me. Soccer truly is a beautiful thing.
On more of a personal note, I was able to play in the showcase game against the Nicaraguan national team at the national stadium in Managua. We bussed all of our participants and their families from Granada to have them come watch us play. I hadn't played in a very official game for quite a while, but as luck would have it I ended up with a starting position due to a lack of defenders on our squad. We chose 22 of our participants to walk the starting players on each team out on to the field for a small opening ceremony. Esther (a Mariposa) was holding my hand and unabashedly told me that my hand was very sweaty, and she let go for a moment and wiped it on my uniform. I guess I was pretty nervous. After a few pictures and a quick team huddle, the game was under way. We went down by a goal in the first half, but ended up tying them thanks to a clutch second half goal from Ellery (shocker.) The FSF girls started a crazy sideline cheer battle against young girls from a school in Managua. Our girls were cheering "U-S-A! U-S-A!" against their shouts of "Nicara-gua! Nicara-gua!" Though it got heated, the tension was settled with a post-game question and answer session where we were able to share with the Nicaraguan players our similar experiences with playing soccer despite growing up in radically different places. If possible, my connection with this sport grew even deeper.
3. The week following immediately after happened to be the program's 5th anniversary. Past volunteers, coaches and board members travelled to Granada for a special week long celebration of the progress that has been made and the big ideas that are right at our fingertips for future change and development. The video compilation of the past five years was an incredible way to see all that has been accomplished and see how the girls who have been involved for that amount of time are our most confident, best skilled participants, and the true leaders of the program. So this stuff does work, and that was so encouraging to see and celebrate. We ended our week with a field-day type of celebration for the participants and their mothers to celebrate International Women's Day (Día de la Mujer) which is a special holiday here. We sent up many different games in the courtyard of one of the schools in Granada, blasted music and had a goofy time with a photo booth. The happiness of the day was very contagious and a perfect ending to such a special week.
4. My family was able to travel down to Granada for a few days right before my Easter break. Unfortunately, they came at the hottest time of the year (if you can imagine that some days here are hotter than others.) However, that didn't take away from the joy of hearing the Estrellas chant all of their names to enter the middle of our dance circle during our summer party on activity night, or see their reactions to all the quirky things about life here, or have them watch yet another one of my soccer games (and the first time they were able to see me coach.) Plus we were able to cool down in the ocean after the week was done and explore the beautiful Pacific coast line of Nicaragua. I loved having them here and I will be happy to see them all again in June..jpg)
5. For Semana Santa (Easter week) I traveled to Catalina Island where Connor works to experience the job that he loves doing as he was able to travel here twice to experience mine. It was a much needed break from the heat and a wonderful opportunity to see him in his element and meet all of his great coworkers and new friends. I saw sharks, dolphins, a whale, mola molas (rare ocean sunfish!) sea stars, urchins and anemone galore, and plenty of other crazy ocean creatures that I've never even heard of. Talk about different interests, but it sure keeps it exciting!When I was asked about my job by his friends, something hit me hard in the gut. Normally I say I'm working in Nicaragua for a year for Soccer Without Borders and I coach a team of young girls and we use soccer as a way to improve their teamwork, confidence and leadership skills. But I no longer will be working here for a year. Now it's 2 and a half months until I fly home at the end of this crazy journey. Yes, I have learned a lot and gained so many skills that will help me greatly with my next job in the fall. But am I ready to leave? Have I lived up to all the expectations I had for myself going in to it? I don't know. This job has so perfectly combined all of my passions into one, and there will always be a piece of me that's never ready to leave and will never feel like I've done enough. The good thing about leaving for a short while was that it gave me a refreshed perspective and drive to finish strong, despite the heat and other frustrations that come along with it. The girls I work with are going to grow up to be incredible people; I know this from seeing how far they have already come in the past five years, and if soccer has anything to do with it they will make friendships like I've made with Ellery, be able to better connect with other people from different backgrounds, gain a healthy competitive spirit to push them to achieve more in life, keep them active and focused, and allow themselves to find a perfect balance between work ethic and fun. I am dedicated more than ever to sparking this passion in all of them, and keeping their obstacles to be able to play small and beatable. The game has been one of the greatest gifts I've ever received.
Amor, Paz, y Fútbol
KPope
No comments:
Post a Comment