Sporting Communities

During Media Day in Blantyre, Malawi, Sophie was the center of attention for her thoughts on how soccer can change and improve the lives of young girls.  Focusing on her own life that led her from Belguim to France and now to Harvard University in the US, Sophie conducted a number of radio and press interviews and talked about how Coaches across Continents has helped young girls to choose their futures by giving them a voice.  She spoke clearly about how young men change their views on women in developing communities when they are able to share time on the field and how attitudes and teenage pregnancies have dropped in Blantyre due to the success of the after school football program.

Sophie is working at the PLAY SOCCER Malawi program with Coaches across Continents.

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This photo taken in Blantyre, Malawi on July 1st 2009, captures the challenge faced by young females in developing countries.  While Nick from Coaches across Continents watched on at a session with PLAY SOCCER Malawi, the young girl, aged 6, walked across to join her group with her young brother tied to her back.  She joined in the 'movement and balance' part of the day and happily hopped and skipped and jumped with her brother on her back.  Her mother had asked her to take care of her brother and she didn't want to miss soccer, so she brought him along. This is a common sight in Malawi and throughout Africa as young girls cope with traditional family demands in a modernizing society. 

Coaches across Continents is working with partner groups throughout the world to create safe environments for girls to join in soccer programs. 

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Murray is now in a place that he has not faced before at Wimbledon and hopes to become the first Briton since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the men's title as he swept aside Juan Carlos Ferrero in the last eight.

"It doesn't make any difference to the way you perform, the hype," he said.

"If you ignore it you don't realise it's happening. I don't read it because 90% of the stuff's going to be pretty much untrue anyway. It's been fine."

Murray will meet two-time finalist Andy Roddick in the semi-finals on Friday after the American overcame Lleyton Hewitt in a five-set dog fight.

Having beaten Roddick six times, including a straight-sets win at Wimbledon in 2006, and only lost twice in eight matches, Murray will go into the match full of confidence.

Who knows with the form that he is showing Murray may realise his and the British dream!?

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Arlington Camp this week was OUTSTANDING - the children really enjoyed themselves

For me the best day was Friday. In the morning we had a review of the
skills the children had learnt during the weekand then in the afternoon
we had our parents "Pass It" game. The kids had been looking forward to
the game all week and some of the parents even more so. There was an
excellent show from the parents an the ones that decided not to play did
their best to support everyone from the side. The weather held off and
we got the game played outside which was fantastic. The game lasted
longer than planned with everyone having so much fun but it was the kids
in the end that won the day. It brought an end to an outstnading camp.

One specific highlight for myself was our 'word of the day' game. At
camp we had children from all over the world and so we used this to our
advantage and had a different word each day. For example on Monday we
had the word "PLAY SOCCER" in French which came out as "Joue en foot".
Everytime the kids we asked to freeze they had to reply by shouting out
our "word of the day". The children through out the week were very
enthusiastic about this and researched the words daily. They were also
very keen on checking the PLAY SOCCER videos on the website, they would
come to us in the morning asking us to do the skills they had seen on
the video.

Camp Director - Sian Gallagher
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PLAY SOCCER coaches start the summer in Vermont to great reviews. Our new curriculum, unveiled for the first time was designed not only develops soccer skills but also to educate our campers about community, health and wellness, movement and balance and soccer for choice. It was met with enthusiasm and excitement and once again our PLAY SOCCER coaches proved why they are the best on the East Coast. Not only do they provide soccer coaching second to none but they offer it in a way that nurtures and develops the young soccer stars. Here are extracts from parents of Vermont.

  “definitely the coaches...all of the kids loved them and were motivated by them. The drills really improved my middle school daughter's skills. The way the coaches talked to the kids both before and after drills and scrimmages helped to cement the lessons learned. No negatives” Waterbury

  “I can't say enough about the coaches. They were thoughtful, playful and caring to the kids. My son loved seeing them do their "soccer tricks" I was constantly amazed at how well the coaches kept all the kids engaged for a whole 1 1/2 hours! The games were great - and I loved how the coaches taught the kids to not be afraid of the ball and screaming was a "good" thing! Just great! Thanks for putting on such a great program. An excellent start for my son to play soccer!” Waterbury

  “The interaction between the coaches and the kids was amazing. The kids all felt included and like an important part of the group. Additional Thoughts: I will recommend this camp to all my friends!” Waterbury

  “We have attended the past 3 years with my daughter. This was the best year ever and I believe it was because of the coaches. The coach’s enthusiasm and knowledge. They were great teachers.” Woodstock

PLAY SOCCER thanks the families in Vermont for their hospitality and also thanks the coaches for an excellent week.

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At the final day of staff training in South Africa, Coaches across Continents visited Soweto and of course, a kick around soon followed.  The South Africa trip has been extremely successful and has included 4 Confederations Cup games and 4 days of meetings with FIFA, Streetfootballworld and Football for Hope. 

"We have enjoyed our work in South Africa and are looking forward to starting our new projects in Malawi and Zambia.  The time with FIFA was very interesting and we received numerous requests to bring our coaches to existing Football for Hope programs around the world."

 The next stop for Coaches is Lilongwe, Malawi on June 28th where we will be joined by Sophie and David to start our M&E work with PLAY SOCCER Malawi.

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1870 days after his last victory in professional cycling, the Tour de France 2005, Lance Armstrong did win again a professional road race. Before an estimated crowd of 20,000 racing fans, Armstrong captured the top spot at the finish line in the 49th Nevada City Classic (California, USA), one of the most historic and challenging professional races in the United States.

Armstrong finished the 40-lap race that winded around a 1.1-mile circuit through the historic mining town in 1 hour, 28 minutes and 20 seconds, sprinting away from the peloton with about six laps to go on the hilly course. The seven-turn route traveled up and down steep hills, making it one of the more challenging single-day cycling races in the country.

Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) finished second, 21 seconds behind. Three-time Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer (Team Astana) finished third, 22 seconds behind.

“What a great race”, said Lance Armstrong after his first victory in his return to cycling. “It was hard. And the crowds? Electric…The last celebration lap, people were running in the streets. This definitely makes my father’s day.”

Lance Armstrong returned afterwards to Aspen, Colorado for his last trainings before his next race, the Tour de France (July 4th-26th). 
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PLAY SOCCER coaches Adam, Christian and Nick were part of the PLAY SOCCER staff training program prior to flying out to South Africa and Malawi. 

We wish them all the luck as they work with children in developing communities and use soccer to help educate life, health and social skills. 

We are delighted to be able to help coaches and children all around the world by sharing our coaching expertise.

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