Match Day One

We played the runner up in last year's World Cup, a tough Kazahkastan in the first match. Reggie Jones scored first for the USA, but after two own goals we lost our nerve and tried to scramble back rather than stick to our disciplined defense and offensive strategy. The game ended 10-3 after Michael and Reggie added the 2nd and 3rd goals of the tournament. We learned a lot from Kazahkastan and the guys can't wait to get back out there for our 4pm match with Burundi to day.




The USA was drawn in the last group with Kazahkastan, Burundi, and Slovakia. We marched through the streets of Copenhagen with 48 countries tou our first match, cheering and singing till we all lost our voices.


Motivational Speaker Kevin Caroll addressed all nations, telling them a ball changed his life and that a ball had changed their lives as well. He said they needed to keep following that ball whether it remained a soccer ball or became a metaphor for their next dream in life. With this forward looking attitude, the games began.

Arrival in Copenhagen

Dave and Rob sport the US Soccer Federation gear at the openning dinner as the reality of being in Europe set in for everyone. Pop said he felt like he was in a time capsule. He said he got up every hour last night and just had to walk down stairs and stick his head out the door to make sure it was really real. Michael Blackwell and Reginald Jones got up early and already saw the royal palace and the parliament. We are really proud of our group who is soaking up the experience. Our team meeting was very serious and focused. The team sett goals to exhibit great teamwork, return to the us with dignity, show sportsmanship, and to win the whole dern tournament.


The team makes their way to the openning night dinner!



Daniel Martinez, our team captain, has done everything right for the past 8 months. He's moved into a permanent job, moved out of the shelter, bought a car. He's also a mature postitive influence on other team members. He applied for his passport 3 months ahead of the trip. There was a strike in Honduras which delayed matters, and then we learned a week ago that even though Daniel presented a proper birth certificate and his expired passport, green card, and other supporting documents, the Honduran secretary of foreign relations wouldn't issue his passport. Daniel never had a father growing up, so his mother changed his name to remove his father's sir name. Back then, in Honduras, everything was hand written. When the system was computerized, the goverment failed to update his info and the new birth certificate number Daniel was using belonged to someone else in their system. After hours on the phone with embassy and secretary of consular affairs in honduras and with the help of some lawyers we were able to correct the situation at the last possible moment. We got the code to print Daniel passport the night before our departure. Daniel and I celebrated prematurely however, because the greatest challenge would be getting the passport to us in time to leave. I worked the phones all morning to get the proper people in touch with each other so that the passport could be printed early in the day, then arranged for a courier service to ship it from DC to Newark. Here is a photo of Daniel and myself picking up the passport 2 hours before our flight. We jumped up and down and hugged and had the airport worker shoot this celebration photo. Our hearts soared and now we would could relax and enjoy the experience of a lifetime.


Before the trip we watched videos about Denmark, looked at maps of the world and Europe and then watched Gridirion Gang to pump us up.

US Cup and Conference 2007 PHOTOS!

A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!


FAIR PLAY CHAMPIONS . . . WASHINGTON, DC


US CUP CHAMPS FROM CHARLOTTE


MVP . . . ELMER NUNEZ


BEST GOALIE . . . JOSE REYES


CONFERENCE SESSIONS PROVE USEFUL FOR NEW ORGANIZERS


THANKS TO THE FANS, TO THE SPONSORS-BANK OF AMERICA, EUROPSORT, AND COCACOLA BOTTLING, TO THE ORGANIZERS, VOLUNTEERS, AND PLAYERS!

US Cup and Conference 2007

US Cup and Organizing Conference 2007 starts thursday with National Team practice followed by a meet and greet of conference attendees at the Fox and Hound. The Conference is designed to launch Street Soccer USA, the national organizing body that will support the new programs starting up around the country. Programm graduates will share their experiences, corporate sponsors will speak, and community activists from the University of Nort Carolina will speak about designing succesful community projects.

The Conference Runs all day on friday from 9am -4pm (to attend call 704 926 0618 or 704 926 0633--also call if you want to register a team in the US for upcoming Cups and to be elegible to play in future Homeless World Cups).

Friday evening at 5pm there will be a rules demonstration followed by a Community Open Mic and cookout.

After a follow up session Saturday morning, Games begin at 1:30 at 945 N. College Street and last until 7pm.

Parking is available across the street at the Charlotte Area Fund on North Tryon.

Atttached is a conference schedule.conferenceinfo.doc

Trip to DC

The pictures above show Reggie and Pop in front of the Capital and DC Star Clyde Simms presenting the team with a signed shirt by all the DC United Players!

Also, Lawrence is pictured with 2006 DC rep to Capetown, Michael Knight.

And with Lawrence as well is Dave Tyahla from US Soccer foundation which has provided the team with Federation Equipment for the World Cup in Denmark.

Other pictures show Daniel Martinez, Boubacar of the Atlanta Taskforce, and Junior McGregor eating the great lunch provided by Street Sense Newspaper and the National Coaltion, our hosts in DC as well as members of the DC Squad and the national team at the DC United games as guests of US Soccer.

Great Dave! Dave Mcgregor makes U-18 Charlotte United Futbol Club Team

Street Soccer 945 star and Homeless World Cup 2006 Team USA member Dave tried out for the under 18 Charlotte United Football Club last night and made it! Lawrence and I have been watching Dave run circles around adults at the Sport Connection indoor league Street Soccer 945 plays in, but we both knew if David truly was going to pursue his soccer dreams he needed to be training with players his age on a regular basis and playing full field matches 11 versus 11. It is also a great for Dave to be in an environment interacting with kids who are planning on being college athletes, like Dave hopes to be. Street Soccer 945 is the most organized soccer program Dave has ever played for, he grew up literally playing in the streets in Panama without shoes.
When we got to the park I had to find Rob Daulton, the contact person at the club who said dave could come for a tryout. After getting everything straightened out and Dave got his tryout t-shirt with the number 435 on the back, the group of U-18 players gathered on the field kicking around waiting for the coach to come. When he got there the head of the club called the coach over and said "take a look at number 435, he's the kid from the Homeless world Cup." That really made me smile, I couldnt wait for things to get started. For me it brought so much joy to see just see him out there with kids from all across Charlotte fitting in and just playing. It just seemed like this was where Dave was supposed to be. For onlookers Dave looked like he fit right in. Although he was noticibly shy he fit right in and played simple one and two touch soccer and when he saw the right opportunity he showed off his speed and the flare that Street Soccer 945 has been privledged to over the last year. What onlookers didnt know was that this was the first time dave had actually worn cleats when playing soccer on grass. Usually he wore the old indoor shoes we had at the UMC. They didnt know that those cleats he had on were just donated by the same type of kids that Dave was now on the field with. They didnt know this was his first time playing a proper scrimmage where the coach was analyzing his every movement. I had to leave before the tryout was over but when I talked to Dave later in the night and asked him how it went he said modestly and confidently "oh yea, I made it." I could tell it was not just that inconsequential and I smirked as if to say "c'mon on man be serious" and he tried to be cool, like it really was no big deal, but he smiled and I could see his tremendous joy. The coach told him he was "a little raw" but not to worry because he made the team. Three Cheers for Dave!

Season Ends with 4-3 Loss

Street Soccer 945 fell in the quarterfinals of the Sport Connection open league last night in a contest that once again ended with praise from the referee's and spectators and our opponents. It was a well played and hard fought match. It was exciting, our team and our opponents fouled each other and gave each other helping hands when we fell to the ground. There was some physical play and really nice soccer from both teams. Both us and our opponents had genuine respect for each other after the match was over. This has not always been the case, whether it was us letting our emotions get the best of us or our opponents, we have witnessed both. Without having to be reminded after the game we hugged and shook hands with the other team. Our team realized how fair the match was and how hard we played and how we connected passes and acepted that we just did not win. Sometimes that is just the way things go, in life and in soccer. We had no excuses or regrets, we came up short and resolved to come back next season and go for the title that we are creeping ever so closely to. C-White, who had a great training weekend last weekend, played the begining of the game with our hispanic group of Dave, Elmer and Daniel, unfortunatley Daniel injured his shoulder in the first half and so we had to rely on not only White but Pop, Amil and Ray-Ray to play a big roll in this playoff game. Becuase of the nature of Street Soccer 945 and how players find their way onto our team we tend have small groups within the team of players. Our job as coaches is to break those groups fdown and work as whole unit. So you can have a feel for our group let me explain, there is OFT, our music group that hangs together and also shows their dedication to the team by coming to almost every practice. We also have brothers Dave and Michael, who dont make too many practices becuase of school and work, but are always reliable for games. Then there is the Honduran trio who also doesnt come to UMC regualrly because of work schedules and a steadily improving home life. Then there are the old timers like Ray-Ray and Mohammed. We all see each other once a week at games and sometime we click and we win big, but other times Dave and Michael try to play by themselves or Daniel and Elmer arent on the same page as the rest of us, or OFT has one guy tuned in and the others tuned out on the sideline. After bringing us all together last weekend for a Homeless World Cup National Team training weekend we had time to relax and be together without time restrains. We also were able to train and play in a less tense environment that the league games provide. Although we didn't win and there is still much work to be done before we depart for the Homeless World Cup, Street Soccer ended another season with high hopes and encouragement that again next season will be our best yet.

National Team Training Weekend

above picture features the team after their run at the US National Whitewater Park.



The nation pool of hopefuls for the travel sqaud to the Homeless World Cup in Denmarkn gathered in Charlotte for the nation team training weekend.

Players began training friday afternoon with a serious of street soccer mathces at the new Street Soccer Park. Later the national team headed outside the city to the US National Whitewater Training Headquarters for three mile cross country run. Players trained in T-shirts, shorts, and socks donated by the North Carolina Olympic Development Progam and in shoes provided by Europsort's passback program.

The 14 players trying out for 8 spots showed excellent teamwork and good spirit throughout the weekend. Player stayed together at Covenant Presbyerian Church both Friday and Saturday night. Saturday was the longest training day including a morning run and station training before the DOWD YMCA opens its doors to the team for an early afternoon swim and bath. The day finished with a serious of four-a-side matches back at the Street Soccer Park. The team rose early for a final training run on Sunday before departing.

Once a final evaluation of documents is made, the final national team squad will be announced in approximately two weeks.

See here photos of the hopefuls and some video from the weekend.

New Street Soccer Facility Open!

Completion of Street Soccer Pitch:

Announcing a remarkable new facility!

Inspired by the Homeless World Cup, Street Soccer 945 in Collaboration with the College of Architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte have completed a customed designed soccer pitch on site at the Urban Minsitry Center in Uptwon Charlotte.

The Street Soccer Park involved over 50 volunteers from the homeless community as well as the hard work and dedication of faculity and students who helped brainstorm, plan, and design the project as part of an Architecture and Activism course put together by UNCC's Linda Samuels and Street Soccer's own Lawrence Cann and advised by Art Professor Francess Hawthorne, also of UNCC.

The project was funded by the first ever Chancellor's Diversity grant at UNCC with matching funds from the College of Architecture and the Urban Ministry Center.

Additionaly, the project incorporated recyled materials and recruited donations of cement and other materials.

The pitch, designed for four on four street soccer in the style of the Homeless World Cup, is divided into a grid that includes original artwork including visual poetry, graffiti, and ex temporanious styles all done by members of the homeless community.

The park played host to national team training for Homeless World Cup in Denmark this past weekend and will host the cities from around the country at the second US Cup in Charlotte this July.

The park also incorporates a stage which will facilitate forums, concerts, and open mics, fostering a postive, proactive environment while raising awareness for the issue of homelessness in the US.

Comebacks

(the photo above is the center circle of our new on site street soccer pitch. The you see is being raised today so the field wil be ready for play for this weekend's national team camp.)

Comeback:

3-3. It was a game we could have won, probably should have. Our opponents were excellent, a pan latino group called Barcelona, but we were stronger. Yet, we played level headed, we rotated our roster, and as Pop said, "Hey, we didn't lose!" My first reaction was negative to Pop's comment, but actually he's right. This was a game that in the first couple weeks of the season we would have lost, even though we hustled and showed great skill.

We did comeback from being down a goal, but then it was our team which lost a 3-1 advantage. Although our goalie Brian Thompson made some tremendous saves, it was the other team's goalie who was the star as we missed lots of chances.

The entry here is called "comback" because of the players who came back to play. Prince, our ghanaian star of the past has taken the brave step of confronting and accepting his mental illness. He said that he still just doesn't want to accept it, but that he would have to because he wants to get off the street and be able to receive his younger brother if he can come to the United States.

Leo Johnson, a former captain in 2005 of then Art Works Football Club came back. Lean Leo, now in his fourtieth year still has great speed. He hasn't played with us in 8 months but trained on tuesday and made a nice contribution. We continue to congratuate Leo on his sobriety and accomplishment, especially of late.

Our Honduran trio who have kept the job our counselor found them for 7 months now, all drove their own cars to the game. At first they were on foot, Then they were all in one old car. Then two cars. Then one replacement car and now three! Elmer scored two goals and has been perhaps our most consitent player all season. The comeback in this case refers to Daniel who had struggled in his form this season. He has been running everyday for the past two weeks and it showed last night. He returned to quality of play that made him MVP of the first ever US Cup.

The other great comeback was that of Brian Thompson. Brian is our all american member of the team who actually played semi-pro american football. A native of Western North Carolina, Brian was new to soccer. He was dedicated member of our team from the beginning of his involvement and has remained so even though his work has kept him away. Currently he is staying at the Men's shelter, but will be ready to move out soon. This was Brian's first game of the season and it was our last regular season game. He performed excellently, however, making three important saves.

Also in action last night were Dave who added another goal to his team leading tally, Jorge, Mohammed Osman, Josh, Ray, Amil, Pop, C-white, Javier another high schooler and friend of Dave's, Kim, and Ray Isaac. So that makes two africans (sudan and ghana), two brooklynites, three honduranians, one salvadoreno, one panameno, one women, two native charlotteans, two rural western north carolinians, 3 players 18 or under, 3 player fourty, or over, and two virginians as coaches.

Finally let's congratulate Pop on his comeback into the workforce. After much frustration Pop now has two jobs, one full time.

Aso thanks to mo and his children and elyse for giving us good cheer from the sidelines.

Program at Work

Program at Work:

We have a player on our team. He just turned 20 year old. He works two jobs and pays the rent for his mother, two brothers, sister and nephew. Due to his family's transience he missed out on high school. He is completing his GED in his spare time. Recently I asked him, "So besides play soccer getting your ged and working, what do you do? " "I don't know," he said and smiled like a teenager, "That's about it!"

He got home one day recently and noticed his cash box looked different. Sure enough his sister and mother had helped themselves to 3/4s of the$1500 he was saving to buy a car with. In addition, his sister had talked out all his minutes on his cell phone. It is amazing how well adjusted this young man is given what's happened in his life. On this occasion, he lost his temper, kicked the tv against the wall and started yelling at his sister and mother. When he punched the wall. His mother called the police. He was charged with non violent assault on a female and destruction of property. He spent a week in jail and lost one of his jobs.

When we found out about the incident, we went to court with him, called his mother, got her to drop the charges. He had some more time to come to practice for a week and then he quickly found more work. Then, on Sunday, I got a call from his brother, telling me he was in jail, could I help bail him out. He missed the court date for dismissal and the police came out to the apartment in the morning and took him to jail. Since the assault was on a female the bond was set at $2,500 and no bondsman wanted to touch it since he had missed a courtdate and I wasn't a relative. We contacted his work and contacted the DA while we waited for his courtdate. He appeared by video on tuesday to have his bond set. His mother, his siblings said, had left town to work and they weren't exactly clear as to where she went. I got in touch with his uncle however, but he couldn't come to court. I and a volunteer from the soccer program who knows him and took an afternoon off from her job at Wachovia and appeared on his behalf. The judge was recpetive and unsecured his bond and agreed to have him signed out to his uncle.

This I think was our program at work. Without an advocate he would have sat in jail for two weeks awaiting his court date and lost his job. Maybe, if the mother couldn't have gotten together enough money, the family would have been homeless again. It is scary to think that an entirely admirable young man could be criminalized so easily without an advocate, but of course it happens ever day.

New Life: Congrats!

We want to congratuate Amil on the new job he starts doing graphic layout next monday, but most importantly we want to congratulate him on the birth of his daughter, Princess. The photos show Amil and his wife Danielle with their new baby on the day of her birth. Coach Cann snuck in the last one.

We aslo want to congratulate Pop Miller who has been working night shifts after games and now has got his second job. Pop has been frustrated for a long time but has hung in there, so send him you best as he makes this transition.

two in a row

Street Soccer 945 Newsletter 4-27-07

Richard (pictured here), Scott, and Rollon are members of Homeless Helping Homeless, a self-advocacy group faciliated by Liz Clasen at the Urban Ministry Center. Although we normally don’t take girlfriends or casual spectators etc. to games with the team, the coaches and the players were more than willing to make an exception and an extra squeeze to make room for these gentleman who everyone recognizes for having worked hard on behalf of the homeless community while themselves struggling with the affliction of being homeless.

Richard, the most vocal of the group, has a vioce like loose gravel, a handsome, weathered face, and the pure white hair of wisdom if not innocence. His body has been disabled but certainly not his spirit or wit. Although our squad featured one member in Mohammed Osman that approaches Richard’s age, most of our players clash with Richard on a generational and a cultural level. For this reason, Richard has been a vocal skeptic of what he styled our “street gang.” On Wednesday we transormed him into an ardent advocate of our “great soccer team” as Richard himself put it.


We transformed Richard through our hustle , earning a narrow 3-2 victory. Young Dave McGregor scored all three goals (picuted here between michael and amil). Notable performers were Pop Miller whose work on the track with Coach Rob showed marked improvement in his agressivemess and willingness to take the ball into space, and also, Mohammed Osman, whose stamina increases every match; Mohammed showed quick moves and smart play in the center of the field.

Although we dominated the game early, we only had a single goal to show for it; our frustration became apparent. Subsitute Honduran standouts Elmer and Jorge played skillfully but let their urgency take them out of position. As a result we relied on some good goal keeping to keep us in the lead at the half. In the second half our opponents stepped up their intensity and what looked like an inevitable victory turned into a dogfight. We attacked well but missed opporunties again and again. A nice give and go beat our defense and we had to rely on an idividual effort from Dave McGregor to pull us a head for a second time. A spinning rebound then fooled our keeper and he batted the ball in our own goal to bring the score level again. Finally the hustle of Michale McGregor and Amil Livingston led to a penalty call against our opponent. Dave converted his third goal from the spot to give us the lead for good in our 3-2 victory.

Coach Cann took some team members back to the track on Friday for a two-mile run test. The team worked out in new practice gear donated by the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association. Street Soccer Veteran and former national team member Ray Isaac gave a presentation to the NCYSA on Thursday about penetrating the inner city with the sport of soccer and he and Coach Rob brainstormed with NCYSA leadership about involving more youth in homeless soccer programming.

As the season gears up and national team traingin begins, Street Soccer 945 seems poised to seize the moment. Thanks for reading.

What's it's like to Win.

(pictures--members of street soccer and the homeless community prepare art on the new street soccer field being built on site at the Urban Ministry Center as part of a design-build project at the UNCC College of Architecture. In the other photo, blurry Michael McGregor speeds past yet another defender.)

Street Soccer 945 Newsletter(4-17-07)

I am laying on the carpet in my old college soccer shorts with my head resting on two half full bottles of water. I am looking up at a 130 pound, twenty-year old Asian man who goes by the street name “c-white.” He’s telling a story about being challenged on the transit bus. He first hears something about a chinaman. A 6-3 guy a few rows back is looking at c-white out of the corner of his eye while talking to three giggling girls. The next thing "white," as we call him, knows the guys is asking him if he has change for a dollar. White says, no. Then in begins: Name calling, taunting. Then next thing white knows the guy has his put his own face so close to white’s that their noses touch. White finally pushes him off. It is his stop and he gets off. The fellow follows. This is the story white is telling. White has gotten up out of his chair in front of me. He starts describing how this altercation or scrap, those being the terms he applies to the incident, progresses. He side steps the pile of blue uniforms we all have worn in the game inorder to show how this fellow kept swinging at him and how he kept dodging low and the fellow kept hitting him in the arm. That’s what this from, white says. Sure enough white’s shoulder is black and blue--an impressive welt. I look at it in disbelief that I hadn’t notice it earlier. Like all of us there, white is shirtless and in his boxers. This is the timeless period of time after a victory that you just feel the blood tingling in your capilaries, enjoy the sweet fatigue of of your quadriceps and hamstrings while you swap stories and share laughs. On this day, white, who by his own admission is not a “people person,” is animated. He goes on and on philisophizing his way through stories of altercations that he, as a slight of build loner, has to face at night on the bus etc. He picks up themes of manhood, composure and eastern religion, and even the extent to which social services the Urban Ministry Center enable people. What does it do for you, I quickly as him. It keeps me out of trouble, keeps me from doing what I am trying not to do and more focused on what I am trying to do, you feel me?, he says.

6-3 was not jus the height of white's assailant, but also 6-3 was the final tally of tonight’s game, a victory for Street Soccer 945. The game got off to an amazing start . . . for the opponents. About 45 seconds into the match they launched a long ball spinning backward into our end just outside the goal box. Their forward was well positioned, but our defender was still marking tight from the goal side. Their forward, rather than trapping the long ball ,volleyed a looping shot into the far side net of our goal to give them a lead. Three minutes later after we missed a pair of chances they scored a second goal on an excellent but isolated attack. As we pressured but couldn't find the net the game picked up it’s intensity. We got one back on an individual effort and played some nice combinations only to fall behind again 3-2, but notched a goal with just five seconds left to make it 3-3 at half. It was in the second half that Street Soccer really defined itself. As the game became more and more competative, both sides started to get into it. We preached play hard but fair and successfully walked away from several altercations. Just after we went up 4-3 on a Dave McGregor goal, the other team came out even more aggresively so much so that they received a red card and a two-minute penalty so that they played a man down for the ensuing five minutes and two men down for the following two minutes. Amazingly we hit the post, barely missed a long distance chip, and slammed two shots just wide during our power play, but could not put the ball away. Finally a Michael Mcgregor goal gave us some breathing room and we added another to coast to victory.

On the ride back we talked about how silly the other team looked foulding and complaining and about how our new formation really worked. Up till now we have kept on talking. The game was at 11pm and now it is 1:30. This is nice, I think to myself. We’ll sleep here for a few hours at the Urban Ministry Center and then head out when the sun comes up. Then this time will be over. Two guys are heading to labor pool at 4am, another to a construction sight, the other out to his job at Carowinds, but not till midday. The last one is just going to be first in line to do laundry at the Center in the morning. It’s back to normal, at least until next week.

Man of the Match, Volunteer Chris Goodman

Man of the Match 3-27 (Video)

8-4 Victory in New Brixx Unis

Osman Mohammed (pictured in the very center), in our dealings with him, has comported himself at all times like a mild mannered gentleman, respectful and willing to help out in any manner necessary. In contrast to his greying beard and temples, Mohammed’s soft brown eyes seem childlike and innocent. He is from Sudan where he fondly remembers teaching school and coaching a youth soccer team. The details he gives of the past contrast with the vague nature of his present vagary. Having lived in North Carolina for 14 years, Mohammed, 65, can’t remember the names of his friends or how he lost his documents and belongings. He thinks he suffered an injury on the job, but he is not sure. A volunteer counselor at the Urban Ministry Center who also volunteers at the men’s shelter remembers him as someone who yelled at her, spit on the floor, and didn’t understand how a women could tell him what to do. Mohammed has no recollection of that and was as courteous as could be here. For his part he says he never stayed at the Shelter for lack of state ID, and has been living at the emergency winter shelter. Is he suffering from memory loss? Is the volunteer mistaken? We have worked with Mohammed to recover his documents, and he will pick up his new copy of driver’s liscense on Tuesday. He has no criminal history and has shown no signs of a dark side so far. In fact. he seems just to be a delightful character.

Since winter emergency shelter ends on Sunday, Mohammed will have to sleep rough for a few nights, he supposes, until he can claim social security benefits, and hopefully begin to work again, now that he has identification. Last week Mohammed started for Street Soccer 945 in their 8-4 victory over Fort Mill. After his first practice, Mohammed said his whole body ached, but it that it was a good ache. “This is very good for me, and it makes me feel normal again,” says Mohammed. At 65, his endurance isn’t excellent, but he still has quick feet, and showed flashes of brilliance with a few subtle touches in heavy traffic. He sent his best chance to score, a volley from 12 yards out, over the cross bar, but Mohammed was just happy to have an activity. "There is so much time that I must wait to get my documents. Often, I have nowhere to go."

Reaching out to someone like Mohammed who was otherwise disoriented and disconnected is what Street Soccer is all about. Additionally, in Wednesday’s victory, Street Soccer 945 saw the return of Ghanaian born “Prince” (pictured at left, reclining) to the roster. Like, Mohammed, Prince has a soccer-past. Suffering from mental illness, Prince has been living in uptown, Charlotte, and has cycled through good states and states of extreme delusions. When you have known someone as such a bright light, full of compassion and intelligence, to see them suffering form a mental disease is heartbreaking. As coach Rob put it, “To see Prince on the soccer field, you see a great player, making smart manuevers, reading the game, and rising to the occasion. For a moment he free from all that affliction.” As we build trust, Prince is more and more receptive to treatment. The team too, has rallied around him, especially after he pulled the ball behind his legs, gave a defence splitting pass, and got the ball back, danced (and I mean danced!) past once defender before beating the goal keeper with a sharp finish to reclaim the lead for our team in the second half.

Patrick is a 20-year old who watched the game last week. He poke frankly about his mistakes in life and feels joining the team will help him maintain his focus and get himself off the street. “Especially after watching him [Prince] last night, I mean, soccer is awesome.”

Another 20-year old was our man of the match. C-White, who has played soccer for less than a year, scored the first goal and our crucial 6th goal when he made a soft first touch into the space in front of him and shot the ball hard into the lower left corner of the goal. White’s relationship with the team has been protracted for several months, time of both personal struggle and growth. He has only been able to work temporary jobs and he hopes his interview this weekend at Carowinds (that teammate Tony Kelly secured for him) will give him regular employment even if the wage is not all he hoped for. You can see his interview posted on our blog coming this Wednesday. It is amazing to hear him talk and smile to a camera when before, he wouldn't even engage in conversation when spoken to directly.

Finally, no account of our jubilant victory would be complete without reference to our stylish new uniforms provided by sponsor Brixx Pizza. Our team was proud and inspired to be looking good on the field. Thanks to Rob of Brixx and all those with Brixx that help support our players in their efforts every week.

This week gametime is 6pm at the Sports Warehouse. Hope to see you there.

Back to Back

For the second week in a row Street Soccer 945 claimed victory. Last week, a depleted squad (4 team members were invited to perform their spoken words and rap at Queen’s University’s Black History Month Celebration) won 5-2. Typically the team performs better when fewer players come, since substitutions often disrupt our cohesion. Last week’s victory showed great persistence as Street Soccer 945 rallied from 0-2 to score five consecutive shots.

Even more resounded was this Wednesday’s 13-4 trouncing of a team Street Soccer 945 lost to by 6 goals in the early weeks of the season. While our stronger technical players showed more hustle and willingness to pass, it was a couple players who have learned to play in the last year or two that earned the trust of the other teammates, and whose movement on the field openned the game up for our squad. C-White and Andre Wannamaker in particular showed excellent spacing and field awareness, making the coaching staff swell with pride.

Now that the season is over, we will do some close case-work and raise the bar on expectations of individuals who have shown their capacity to excell.

After the came we had a bleak reminder of what folks deal with on the street. Our man of the match, C-White, 19 years old, was assalted after the match and ended up with a concussion and a sore jaw. We had a nice discussion afterwards about what it means to stand up for yourself and not be a pushover. We talked about the human need to prove oneself, and most importantly we agreed that being dragged into a challenge and trying to prove yourself when there is nothing to gain is a sign of weakness. No matter how you figure it, scrapping or fighting is part of the street and win or lose that is where it will get you--on the street. If you want to move on, you have to learn to walk away. You have to have strong enough personal ego to walk away from certain people and certain conflicts. I think that is what soccer and other activities gives our guys—an identity other than being “street.” It allows them to build their ego around discipline, skills, practice, teamwork, rather than toughness, fighting, and other things that will serve to undermine their hopes for a better life.

Next season begins March 21st, so please come cheer us on.

LA, Jessica, and The swinging tool belt

Nine monthes ago we made a conscious effort to engage the "hard to reach" young people we were seeing more of around the soup kitchen. Pop, C-White, Craig, Amil, Chukie, among others were part of this first group that joined the team. LA, pictured here, was one of those who decided not to join the team. We finally did pull him in and he scored in his first game in the beginning of our season last fall. But some decisions he had made prior to joining the team caught up with him. So he "went missing" for a short while.

Last week LA came back to us. As coach Rob put it, "LA has the movements of a true athlete." New to the game, LA's footskills are far behind his heart, but the way he anticipates and launches his 6'1'' frame in motion announce his potential to anyone paying the least bit of attention. Last fall LA saw only 5 minutes of action but he anticipated a cross ad was in the right place to volley a bouncing ball into the roof of the net. Seeing him work up and down the gym in practice and watching him punch the wall after a near miss on goal in Wednesday's game was so suprising to me. LA had always given the impression of being aloof, overly chill about everything, but here was a young man with passion and will. We are working with him on channeling his energy into the game and not into wall, but it's just great to see that energy flowing. He earned a start and did a tremendous job in the match on Wednesday.

The match turned out well. With our goalie Brian now working on a construction job in Florida (the company returns in a couple weeks) and Zenas Fewell on the disabled list so to speak, we were again without a proper goalie. Tony Kelley, who began working his dream job at Carowinds Theme Park last week, stepped up to play in net. Although Tony's instincts were good, he made three errors clearing the ball after leaving his area. Two resulted directly in goals and the other effectively led to a third goal. This was frustrating as the team saw a first half lead and the promise of victory slip away.

The McGregor brothers again added a goal each. Our game was early (6:15pm) this week and so we picked up Michael from the job site. He came jogging towards my truck near the WYMCA on Park Road. His big smile coupled with his white hard-hat bobbing and tool belt swinging was definitely the image of the week. The young man showed great stamina in scoring his goal when after the referee failed to call an obvious penalty as we were taken down from behind going in one on one with the goalie. Michael kept his focus and put the follow-up in the net. Rob took Michael to take his GED evaluation test. Michael still has some work to do, particuarly with the english, spanish being his native language, but will certainly not be deterred. Dave for his part has improved his passing game and shows great dedication biking to the UMC for the game after school all the way from the Eastway and Shamrock area. I was going to offer him a ride back with his brother, but after the game he hopped on his bike and pedalled on. Dave feels picked on in school and some trouble over fighting at school this winter. So his goal for the spring is to walk away from all his fight and to focus and school and "futbol."

We also need to single out C-White for tremendous effort and improved attitude in the match. C-White walked out of practice on Tuesday and we wondered what was going on. Turned out he was suppose to meet someone about a job interview and had forgotten. He lost his starting spot, but his hustle earned him lots of minutes. He said after the match, "I wonder if I am bi-polar or something, i just feel so good and active right now." I am not sure if he was serious, but it is true that after two months of being distant and reserved, he has come out of his shell again. Whether it is a disorder or not, or just a 19 year trying to understand a difficult world and his place in it, we shall see. C-White only has one more section left on his GED, so his goal is to finish it by the end of the upcoming season.

We also had a fantastic suprise this week: Jessica Woody with whom I founded the program came back for a visit, picking up pizzas for the team. Several of the old-timers were able to comeback and see Jessica such as Teresa Ledford, Andre Wannamaker, as well as the omnipresent Tony Kelley. We got to see Jessica whack a couple of hard shots in familiar fashion and also met her new husband. Congratulations, Jessica!

We now go into an brief off-season. The Team has already met to commit to a tougher physical training regimen as we have physical fitness to be the area which as a team we can improve on the most the fastest.

Thanks for reading,

Street Soccer 945

What do I do with all these players?--says coach Rob below

Several players didn't show up to the game tonight. Good thing, because we already had more players than uniforms. On tuesday we had 19 people at practice. Last night we had Daniel and Elmer from Honduras, Joshua an 18 young man from outside Charlotte, Dave and Michael McGregor, Pop, Trill Gates, Zenas Fewell, Michael "Breeze" Simpson, Vicky, Ray, Angelique, Bobby, Rob, Lawrence, Chris, C. White, Amil, Tony Kelly, and Andrey Wannamaker. Clearly many more people that could get in the game. I think that is 19 which include 4 people who showed up at the game replacing three that were at the practice yesterday but not at the game. And we still have others we consider team members!

We played the undefeated "Firing Squad" and the compliments after the match were some consolation to our 3-7 defeat. "You guys are the best competition we have had all season. Great effort." That says a lot for our squad which successully blends talent experience, and the lack of both to into a feeling of general cohesion. Our goals came from the Mcregor brothers--two to Dave who painted his adidas samba classics silver with spray paint to give them the flavor of Ronaldinho--Dave is a 17 year old student at West Charlotte.Dave,Michael are seen here in the CW945 office with their sister Yoland and their nephew Xavier.

With two penalties awared to the other team, a soft goal conceded at the end of the first half and two soft goals conceded when we were pressing the final minutes, we certainly felt we had the quality to have at least had a chance to win. Still, we lacked organization defensively if not urgency and flow offensively if not effort.

When we arrived back at the center, old buddy Matt Jules, a program alumnus, was there waiting to great us. He wanted to announce to us his new job with the city! He invited several players to his house for the night. "This is where I felt like I wasn't a loser when I was on the bottom, and now that I am doing well I wanted to share it with you guys" were Matt's words.

Impact Report 06

This has been on our site for a while, but please view it here on the blogssimpact06-1.pdf

New Sponsor: Brixx Pizza!

We are proud to announce that Brixx Pizza is the newest member of the Street Soccer 945 team! Rob Wood, the director of marketing and manager of the Uptown Brixx location, is providing Street Soccer 945 with all new uniforms and with Brixx pizza and pasta every Wednesday night for our games. With the news it brings great excitement and an added responsibility to represent our new sponsor with pride. Brixx is proud of their reputation in the Charlotte community as is Street Soccer 945 and we intend to represent them well with our spirit, hard work, and sportmanship. The Brixx team will be coming to the Urban Ministry Center in March to host a dinner to present the new jerseys displaying the Brixx and Street Soccer 945 logo together and to talk to the players about the sponsorship and to give their support. Many thanks to everyone involved with Brixx to make this happen and we welcome them to our team.