Countdown to DC 08 Begins

Homeless USA Cup June 27-29
To Volunteer email volunteer@streetsoccerusa.org

A year ago at the Urban Ministry Center we hosted a conference that was the first step in taking Street Soccer 945 national. Beside launching Street Soccer USA, the conference brought in representatives from 9 cities that wanted to use the soccer as tool to change lives and change attitudes about homelessness in their own community.

Now Street Soccer USA is hosting 11 cities in the nation's capital at the Homeless USA Cup. Local partners in DC, Street Sense and the National Coalition for the Homeless, were part of that original organizing conference and have been working since that date to put on the Homeless USA Cup.

Our sponsors include The Leonsis Foundation, Nike's Let Me Play, Wachovia, US Soccer Foundation, among others.

Participating cities include:

Charlotte NC, Urban Ministry Center's Street Soccer 945
Atlanta, GA, Task Force for the Homeless
Richmond, VA, The Daily Planet
Los Angeles, CA, Jovenes, Inc.
San Francisco, CA, Spitfire Soccer Academy
Minneapolis, MN, Youth Link
St, Louis, MO, Peter and Paul Community Services
Austin, TX, Life Works
Ann Arbor, MI, SSPORT
Washington, DC, National Coalition For the Homeless
New York, NY HELP USA

Three day tournament will include inspirational speakers, soccer demos, LA GALAXY vs. DC UNITED, and most importantly scores of exciting 4vs4 soccer action for all to enjoy free of charge.

The tournament will also serve as a means for selecting our national team which will participate in the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne this December.

Atlanta Task Force prepare for USA CUP 2008

Last year Boubacar Sarr spent two weeks with the 2007 US National Team for the Homeless World Cup. Since then he has gone back to Atlanta and revitalized the street soccer team at the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless. He is now in the final stages of preparing his Atlanta Street Soccer Team for USA CUP 2008. He reports that they have been training regularly and are close to ready for the trip to DC. The Atlanta Team was recently outfitted with gear from the US Soccer Foundation's Passback program and also had 'ATLANTA' t-shirt printed by volunteers. We look forward to seeing them in action in June.

Bicycle Kick!

Pictured here is Rodney Giles, Ray Isaac, Justin Rucker and John Nze of Street Soccer 945 in front of Rodney’s new bike. Last month an anonymous donor read our blog about Rodney’s participation in the Belmont Abbey Hunger Week 5k Race. The donor was so touched by Rodney’s story that they had a bike sent to the Urban Ministry Center for him. Here is a link to that story:

http://www.communityworks945.org/StreetSoccer945/blog/2007/11/hunger-week-at-belmont-abbey-supports.html

Thanks very much for supporting our players and program. We are thankful!

Rodney Scores a Bicycle

Pictued here is Rodney Giles, Ray-Ray, Justin Rucker and John Nze of Street Soccer 945. Last month an

An Early Start to Spring Cleaning

Our friends over at Trinity Episcopal came down to the Urban Ministry Center on Tuesday to help us sharpen up the Art Park. The winter took its toll on the park leaving debris blown up into the corners of the tire wall and dust and dirt covering the playing field. With brooms and dustpans and plastic gloves for picking up trash the students attacked the field with determination and energy.
The first class focused on sweeping and picking up trash while the second class scrubbed the benches that surround the park, cleaned behind the dasher boards and picked up trash along side the player benches. Some students, particularly the young gentleman in the first picture, were on a mission to get down and dirty while others who still made a big contribution were more in amazement saying "ohh gross, a cigarette!" as they kneeled down to pick up a butt that was resting in the goal mouth. Neigbors of the center and street soccer players jumped in to help and folks who were using the lockers were thankful for having the area cleaned up. The park will be back in full swing in April so please visit the website to find out about the next open mic or soccer scrimmage. The art park continues to bring communities together and be a place of sharing and group effort. The park was erected with the help of UNCC college students and yesterday was maintained with the help of elementary school students all the while neighbors of the Urban Ministry Center tend to its needs year around. Whether it is students working with the community at the center to build or to clean, or it’s the street soccer team working together to prepare for the Homeless World Cup or an open mic night, the art park is a symbol of community collaboration and space. A big thanks to the Trinity students and teachers and of course to our dedicated soccer team members and Homeless Helping Homeless cleanup crew for volunteering your time to make our park clean again.

Historic Moment: San Francisco's First Team

Coach and Organizer Julius Ujeh is pictured in the center with an eager group of new recruits which includes serious soccer talents and some newcomers to the game. If they can sustain their enthusiasm they promise to be and exciting force in the USA Cup this summer in DC. Julius himself has an impressive soccer pedigree, having worked with US Soccer national programs. He now directs Spitfire Soccer Academy in San Francisco.

Update: Craig's Home Gets Upgrade

It's been several weeks now that Craig has been living in his new apartment, but just this past week he was able to fall back and enjoy the feeling of landing in his own bed. Until late last week Craig had just been sleeping on the floor in his new place but after a few clicks on the computer and a short drive across town Craig now has a proper place to rest. I had made a few calls to some churches to see if there were any donated mattresses or beds laying around but had not had any luck when the obvious hit me. The answer was in the name. Lets try Craigslist to find a bed for Craig! A few hours later we were in the van picking up a box spring and mattress for $20 from a lady whose roommate had just moved out. You can see Craig pictured here touching his new bed and then below taking a dive on his back making sure everything was sturdy. Craig is adjusting well to having his own place and says that he always pays his rent early and makes sure to try to get groceries when he can afford them to keep his roommate (the apartment owner) happy. He hasn't however mastered the art of cooking just yet. Early last week he was at the Urban Ministry Center working on his GED lessons when he popped in my office and said "oh crap Rob, I think I left the oven on in the house." We drove over to the apartment and went inside and all was OK, the place just smelt of burnt chicken for a few days. Everything else has been great though, like moments after our league game on Wednesday when I was taking players to the winter shelter and to the transit center after the game. Craig spouted out with a big grin, "oh man, I was worried for a second, I didn't know where I was going to crash tonight and then I remembered, oh yea, I can just go home." Craig's laughter and frequent phone calls to let us know that he is just at the house hanging out are a joy to witness and now that the basics of having a bed to rest in are done Craig is continuing on his next mission- conquering the GED. Thanks for reading.

Winter Seasons End

(Santonio Williams recieved shot instruction from teammate Dwayne Gourzong in practice this week.)


1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, . . .

So the score-line went until the score was 7-6. After World Cup veteran Elmer Nunez smacked the post with a chance that would have put the street soccer stars up 7-6. It was his third post of the evening. A counter attack to the same play left our heros trailing for the 7th time. Undaunted, the street soccer stars came back for the 7th consecutive time. This time on the very last play of the game. Elmer again was involved. He saw the older coach Cann calling for a service and put up a perfectly lofted ball from the midway line. Coach Cann fought off an elbow in the back by the opposing goalie and rose above three players to head the ball down and onto goal. Smack. Again, agonizingly, the 7th comeback was denied by the post. Cann scrapped for his own rebound, and muscled the ball back into the net as the buzzer sounded, but the referee called him for playing the ball on the ground ( a no-no in the indoor league). Never mind that he was literally tumbled on by the opposing team and forced to the ground.

In this manner, street soccer lost their semifinal match, and thus their dream of a first ever championship was denied. The team protested the final call, but knew that they had the chances to win the game earlier. The team left proud and talking about next season.

The street soccer 945 squad also ended it's season losing a hard fought game against the league's top seeded team. A physical battle tested the squad's composure, but did not break it. New comer David debuted and Capone returned to action after injury. Tony Kelly is to be commended for his improved attitude, hustle, and ability to score goals when we need them this season. Dwayne Gourzong and Tim Cummings tied for most games played this season as both played double duty on tuesday and wednesday nights. A highlight this week was Dwayne taking a leadership role in practice, actually running a shooting drill, teaching new-comers to the game how to strike a powerful shot.

All in all, progress on the field was matched by progress off. On the ride back after the game Capone verbalized what the team is all about, "You know, I really have changed a lot since I got involved with you all. I mean, I am being productive with my time and I am focused on doing good things. I am not going to lie to you, Lawrence, I used hustle, I sold drugs, but I that's not who I am." Since joining the team Capone has gotten employment at a Toys R Us Warehouse and reunited with his sister. He now works with her and pays rent in a small house they rent together with his older brother.

News from Michigan

Sara Silvennoinen founded and coaches Ann Arbor's street soccer team. Her note on her team and one player, as well as other info, is published below. We are so impressed with Sara, her team, and her organzition. Enjoy her post:

Jon Wallace:

Profile of an Washtenaw County Street Soccer Player


2007 was both a year of hardship and tragedy as well as a year of hope and new beginnings for Jon Wallace. The 46-year-old divorced, unemployed, homeless man who had struggled with homelessness and Alcohol Abuse since his divorce about 15 years ago was sleeping on the streets, drinking regularly, and doing “nothing” with his life. One autumn night, while sleeping at his campsite, another homeless man suddenly attacked Jon and slammed his head into his full backpack several times, causing multiple head wounds including a broken nose, laceration of the ear, and tore hair from his head. Jon attempted to press charges but when he went to court, he was escorted out and told by security officers that he was “drunk” and therefore could not be in the courthouse. Jon stated he had not been drinking, but was so discouraged by the experience that he never pursued the assault charge.

In August 2007, Sara Silvennoinen, LLPC/CAAC of the Washtenaw County PORT (Project Outreach Team) program, organized and initiated a local soccer team for the homeless in Washtenaw County. She decided to call the team “The SSPORT,“ for “The Street Soccer PORT” Team. The PORT program is a unique initiative funded to, as the name implies, outreach to mentally ill homeless individuals in the community, engage with them, and provide treatment, and/or connect them with other appropriate services. As an outreach program, PORT staff also regularly has contact with the homeless population at large, regardless of a mental illness diagnosis. The invitation to take part in the SSPORT Team and begin practices in August, 2007 was extended to the entire local homeless population.

Jon just happened to be at the park where the soccer practices were being held one day, and with a little encouragement from Sara, decided to give it a try. He began attending practices regularly, and soon was learning to play goalie for the team. He has been the most consistent team member and has exhibited his commitment to mastering the position of goal keeper so that he can represent SSPORT and participate in the Homeless World Cup in Washington D.C. next spring. Several PORT and local shelter staff have noticed a marked change in Jon since he began playing with SSPORT. Unsolicited remarks made by staff have been that his mood and affect have been brighter, he has been more social, he has noticeably decreased his drinking, and he has been a voluntary PR representative for the team by encouraging others to join and support SSPORT.

Additionally, he is now living in an apartment with a friend for whom he has been appointed as payee, has followed up with medical treatment as encouraged by his SSPORT coach, has become more motivated to look for employment, has voiced a desire to learn to type, and is always the jokester at practices, making his teammates and coaches laugh. Jon’s love for the game was especially visible when he and several other teammates attended a Detroit Ignition (professional indoor soccer team) game in November 2007. Tickets had been donated by community members so that SSPORT players could attend. Jon was rapt in the goalies’ every move on the field and he learned some new skills he could apply to his game during practices. He has also taken it upon himself to go the library to learn more about goaltending.

Jon’s own perception of how Street Soccer has impacted him are that it “gives me something to look forward to”, “I’m loving the hell out of playing soccer!”, and “without soccer life would be depressing.” He is a valued member of the SSPORT Team and his coaches are very proud of the progress he has made both on and off the field. We look forward to bringing him and his teammates to D.C. to meet and learn from other Street Soccer players from around the country and also to have the opportunity to put their skills to the court in a real soccer competition.

Colin Farrell Supports HWC around the world

Colin Farrel discusses his soccer background (Colin's father was capped for Ireland and Colin was youth player until 15), soccer in the USA, and the HWC with our own Lawrence Cann at the Sundance Festival.

Colin, of course, besides being a talented and famous actor, is the narrator of "Kicking It." Kat Byle's interview with Colin for the HWC can be linked to here http://www.homelessworldcup.org/zine/news/colin-farrell-narrates-kicking-it.

The film's website is www.kickingitthemovie.com

Director Susan Koch, editor Jeff Warner, director of photography Neil Barrett, and composer Charlie Barnett deserve top praise. The film, which ESPN bought, played to loud applause and packed theaters in Park City. Like the sport of soccer does, this film to an amazing degree, humanizes the homeless in an honest and beautiful way.

Greetings From Sundance

View this trailer of the film. The US portion focuses on Craig Holley, the amazingly courageous young man who has come through our program. He works at Mert's Heart and Soul Restaurant in Uptown, Charlotte and lives in his own apartment with a coworker now. Soccer continues to be a sustaining force in Craig's life. He says, "Soccer is my therapy." He will be in uniform next week when the Street Soccer Stars enter the playoffs.

Danielito

Denmark Veteran Daniel Martinez pictured above.

Daniel Martinez' smile came in through the window first, so that he seemed to follow it in through the door. But that is Daniel these days. He just finished his first semester at the community college. You look at Daniel and you feel like you are looking through your first pair of prescription sunglasses, he in sharper focus than anything you have seen before. He got a raise and is working night shift now, which excludes him from our league games. He gets his soccer on the weekend, coaching latino kids in Rock Hill, about 25 minutes South of Charlotte. Daniel will attend a coaching clinic to begin to get his coaching liscence this spring at the same time that coach Rob will go to get a more advanced liscence. Our hope is that one day Daniel could even coach the US street soccer team at a Homeless World Cup. In the meantime it will be a good way for him to earn extra money.

The Street Soccer Stars finished their regular season tonight in one of the top four spots, meaning they achieved their goal of making the play-offs. With this finish, they have finished higher than any other Street Soccer team in any competition. In contrast to the victory last week, the Stars did not make the other team unravel. Our Colombian opponents maintained their focus. It was the Stars who slipped out of their passing game and into a bit of long ball. A needless foul at the top of the box by Mike McGregor let to a quick start goal. A poorly set wall led to another. A third goal near the end was a result off not getting back goal-sides, something the team has improved on tremendously this winter. Those slip-ups made the difference in the game. We had our chances, but couldn't quite get a finish. We settled for complicated passes when the simple would have sufficed. The greatest thing of all is that we can point to a handful of slip ups and pinpoint our weaknesses. In all the years of working with street soccer teams, we have never had so few problems to address. As coaches in the past we rarely ever got past the basic fundamentals. While bad habits change slowly, we must give credit to the team despite its 5-3 loss. Another positive is that our solid opponents have taught us what we need to work on ahead of the playoffs.

We might add that few of the other team's players got up at 4am and walked to the bus stop in 20 degree weather like our goalie Tim. Most people weren't hunting down immigration papers and stressing about the status of their greencard like Dwayne. The McGregors, God bless them, are staring eviction in the face since it was their mother's name on the lease and now she failed to return from Panama. Dave was almost frantic talking with Rob yesterday on the way to pracitce, "I don't want to be homeless again, I got to get a job, I got to get education."

Stay tuned for more. Tomorrow night the 945 squad is in action. Next week is a rest before the playoffs the following week.

Composure

["Good thinking, coach!" The team has showed great progress on the field this season. Coach Rob pictured above.]

The Street Soccer Stars beat an all Jamaican team by the score of 8-4 last night. After going down we drew level within three minutes, then extended our lead at half-time to 4-3. We missed two easy chances that would have put us comfortably ahead and gave up two goals at the end that we didn't need to. We had played a great first half, finding our target men in the middle and switching the field two even three times to find an opening each possession. We said composure would make the difference in the second half. If we could play our game and not get frantic, we would win. Our composure was tested early. We dropped two goals and the lead, but again we leveled quickly. When we answered again to pull ahead 6-4, it was our opponents who lost their cool. As they fought themselves we added another goal and yet another and maintained possession of the ball most of the half. We could have easily added more to the lead as we missed two open goals and hit the post in the final minutes. We were proud of our maturity on the field today.

Dave and Michael known for their flashes of brilliance gave solid, consistent performances. Off the field their saga continues. Over-stressed to the point of a breakdown, their mother returned to Panama before Christmas after hearing of the death of relative. Not only did the price of the ticket use up her share of the rent, but they received notice the day before Christmas that she would not be returning. Just a couple weeks earlier they seemed more stable than ever. Now, their mother is gone and Dave and Michael are looking for more work to make ends meet. Street Soccer remains the most consistent thing in their life and I marvel not only at their dedication, but their improvement on the field. Here we see the benefit of dividing into two teams paying dividends for the more skilled players and the lesser skilled players, each getting the chance to develop at their own level.

We missed big D-bone and Craig who were both at practice during the day but missed the game, D-bone do to transportation issues and Craig because he was working. Practice featured three new recruits potentially debuting next week for the 945 squad. D-bone also had his long awaited immigration attorney appointment today. Fighting an addiction is a difficult thing and leads to criminalization that makes getting work and renewing your green card difficult. All admiration goes out to D who was straightforward and brave as the attorney explained the worst case scenarios to him. We will hope for the best case. D, by the way is a Jamaican national who came to the US at 13. He is now 31. Many thanks to the Anne Crowdy, sole attorney at the International House which takes on cases pro bono for the homeless.

A lot of credit goes to Jorge and Tim, our sweeper and goalie who had to be strong all day against the long ball game of our opponents.

In this our penultimate game of the regular season, we have put our selves in a good position to finish in the top 3. Mathematically we have a chance at first. Currently we sit third. We have beaten one of the two teams ahead of us and if it were not for our own mistakes against a team we should have beaten early in the competition we would be sitting in a tie for first.

If you are in town come cheer us on in our final regular season game next tuesday.

End of Year Banquet and Christmas Party

Zenas Fewell claimed the Outstanding Achievment Award for his successful exploits since particiapting in the 2006 Capetown World Cup. Zenas has maintained his apartment for 18 months and recentely got back into classes at the community college. Despite a hearing disability and a mental health disability, Zenas has escaped homelessness. He addressed head on all his disablilties and additionally finished anger management courses. Although he does not train with the team regularly anymore, he checks in from time to time and is an inspiration to others.

The Spirit Award went to new team member Tim Cummings (pictured above) who has been all about supporting his teammates, helping them find jobs, encouraging them in their battles against drugs, and being a general force of good energy. Tim is an invaluable resource for his teammates in their struggles because he has been there himself. With over a year of sobriety, Tim says he has never felt better. Outside of Street Soccer Tim plays goalie in the Latino league where he won an award for outstanding goalkeeping. We are greatful for his efforts on and off the field.

The Fair Play Award went to US Copenhagen World Cup captain Daniel Martinez, whose calm demeanor, excellent hustle and talent earned him praise from coaches of all nations. Most importantly he demands the respect of his teammates. When he, Elmer, and Jorge decided to come to Charlotte, they changed their address and their attitude. Daniel was catalyst for their change and subsequent success.

The Hustle Award went to Craig Holley who has returned to Charlotte and street soccer with more purpose and drive than ever. Craig’s determination is worthy of singling out as an example for all of the players, especially since Craig had never played soccer before training with Street Soccer 945.

While we would have liked to give an award to all players, these were some areas that we felt were important to emphasize for our program. Congrats to everyone. We are thankful for the opportunities afforded us in 2007 and proud of how all of us seized these opportunities.

Stars Shine

Street Soccer Stars ended a two game losing streak to move into second place in the league standings on Tuesday night, winning 5-3. The competition was not as stiff as previous weeks and Jorge’s return in the back was welcomed. The story of the match was Dwayne’s goal (Dwayne is pictured above), the 4th that put us in the lead for good after the half. Why is it the story? Because it extended Dwayne’s streak of goals. He has now scored in every match he has played in for Street Soccer 945 and the Street Soccer Stars. That is 6 games straight and a total of 9 goals. The other nice moment was when 24 year-old volunteer Chris scored our team’s fifth goal with just under 5 minutes to play. The two-goal lead took the pressure of the defense a bit. From a game that saw us miss many chances, we will build positively off the good hustle and improved team play. In another kudos to big Dwayne, known affectionately as D-bone to his teammates, we are happy to congratulate him on passing a drug test and receiving out patient recommendation from the McCleod Center. Dwayne is 6 weeks into his sobriety and has maintained it since leaving a 28 day program. The Stars are back in action after the holiday.

Hectic Day, Hectic Game

J. lost his job when he made the mistake of cashing a false check. Someone approached him with the idea and Jesse went along with it for a number of sympathetic reasons, none that justified what he did of course. The amount was less than 500 dollars so it didn’t register as a felony. Still, it has kept him from getting the jobs he wants. J. is a trained cook, but that charge keeps popping up. Last time they told me, said Jesse, that it showed a lack of trustworthiness. After many years working at the soup kitchen you start to develop a gut instinct about people’s trustworthiness. Everyone is in need, so you factor that in, and sometimes for the sake of what might come of it, you trust people even though your gut tells you not too. Sometimes you get burned on the risk, but the rewards when someone responds to trust are invaluable. Jesse, however, is the type of guy you let hold your wallet; you get that feeling from him right off. So you think, this guys’ greatest asset is his loyalty and trustworthiness, but come to find out that is what’s keeping him where he is right now.

J. jumps to the forefront because we had to take him to the hospital after the game on Wednesday night. His asthma flared up. On the van ride to the hospital we made him laugh which made it even harder for him to breath. J. had started the game at midfield for Street Soccer 945. He is a stolid man, built like a cannonball. He seemed to be shot out from cannon early on as he surprised the opponent, stole the ball, and passed to Junior for our team’s first shot on goal. On a similar play four minutes later he stole the ball again and dished to Tony who powered the ball at the keeper such that the keeper couldn’t handle it and bobbled it over the line for our first goal. The referee however was in a bad position and didn’t call it a goal. Even though all the players had stopped to return the ball to midfield for a kickoff, the referee waved his arms to signal no goal and the play resumed awkwardly. That was J.’s last effort of the first half. He trotted off the field calling for his inhaler. Sweat beaded so heavily on his shaved head that it splashed when his teammates patted him on his head to congratulate him on his effort. While J. regained his breath, goalie Tim Cummings was throwing himself around like he was 18 all over again. Tim made around 20 saves in the first half before finally letting a header bounce past him. The score finished 1-0 at the half.

With J. out, first time player and 17 year old Jones played lots of minutes. Our senior players struggled. Craig had a bad day at work and barely made it to the van after getting off work. Tony came trotting down Tryon Street to catch us just before we got on the on ramp to the highway. Pop hadn’t slept after working night shift. Junior said he had a stomach-ache. Nassir who made his debut last week didn’t even try to come after he was stabbed in the leg by a man who blamed Nassir for his lost bags. Nassir is fine, only a handful of stiches. A calm, non-violent man, Nassir has his taxicab liscense, but is awaiting his greencard replacement to arrive. He managed to convince a cab owner to let him work as a driver. That was until he got stabbed in his right leg. “I was just about crying,’ said Nassir, ‘not from the pain in my leg, but because it was my right leg and he would not let me drive anymore.’

Other new faces included Lamont Harrel and John Oliver. In the end, we lacked cohesion. Despite good hustle we gave up a bevy of goals during a 5 minute period and found ourselves down 5-0 with a minute to go in the game. We gave up one more right at the end.

The most important result was hearing from J. at 1am, telling us he was fine. He said a lot of people asked questions about his uniform in the emergency room. He also said the doctor said he was getting better not worse. Jessie responded well to the treatment and was blowing with above average breath strength of 700 after just one treatment. In the past it has taken him 2 treatments to reach that level. Jess also noticed that even during the asthma attack he was blowing at a level that was above what used to be his average. The doctor told him this was surely a result of laying off cigarettes (he hasn’t smoked since joining the team) and running at games and at practice. Get back out there was the main message the doctor had for J.

The whole team will do that the week following Christmas. Happy Holiday from Street Soccer 945.

945 rallies!

Pictured: William, 44, Amadeus, 19, Junior, 16, Tony Kelly celebrating (see article)

13 players crowded the bench to fill only six spots on the field at the Charlotte Sports Connection on Wednesday night.

First timers Jesse and Nassir had not played competative soccer since they were in high school. For Jesse that was 23 years ago. For Nassir it was 20. They would have to shake off a combined 53 years of rustiness quickly if they were going to make an impact on the match. William, 44, alone had 44 years of soccer inaction to contribute to the match. William was galvanized after his first practice two weeks ago and had been anticipating this his second game all week. William is a calm man with stern mien which belies a warm, gregarious personality. While 16 year old Junior McGregor, or 19 year old Amadeus don’t look like what we typically think of when we think “homeless,” William might come closer in appearance to one’s expectations. Originally from South Carolina, William has worked hard all his life. He is a private man, humble and friendly. He is the type you meet and think, wow, there is a story there. I hope I earn his trust enough to hear it.

In contrast to the previous night with the Street Soccer Starts, Wednesday’s squad arrived early, warmed up, and had time to meet as a team to talk pre-game strategy. Coaches Cann, neither in uniform, combined brains to come up with a successful new strategy. The major move was to play with a sweeper instead of two backs. Craig Holley’s improved skills combined with his speeed and hustle and natural defensive instinct inspired the thought. We explained Craig his role just minutes before the game, but it proved to be a natural fit and Craig was a standout all match, showcasing his athleticism and ability to read the play.

In front of Craig we played Two midfielders, Tony Kelly and Junior McGregor. Junior we hoped could be the link in the middle of the field to our forward pair, Pop and Dwayne. Tim who missed Tuesday because of his recovery house meeting was in the net. The first goal we gave up would prove costly. Excellent defenisve organization had kept the score level until Tim muffed a low shot to the near post. It was keeper error that Tim would later atone for. Craig’s only mistake of the game proved costly as well. He made a great dribble move in the middle of the field. When he found no teammtates readily available he made poor pass which resulted in a breakaway. 2-0. Dwayne who showed great leadership and hustle as he showed signs of improved fitness, pulled a goal back, taking a pass from Junior, fooling a defender and suprising the goalie with low powerful blast. Despite excellence defenisve communication and competant role playing of our substitutions, we tired towards the end of the half, yeilding two more goals. 4-1 was the score at the half.

Two things were clear. Craig had found his natural position and we were playing too much defense as a team. At half time we made it clear that we need to leave Craig back to defend and to attack with all four of the remaining players. That way we would keep the ball in the offensive end. Likewise we needed to defend with four, but we must leave one of the forwards up to keep us dangerous. To their credit, the team listened and responded. We kept the ball in the attack and gave up no goals in the second half. Dwayne and Tony each added to our tally to bring us within one goal. Pop came tantalizinly close and Junior missed several chances. Just as we seemed about to score, our opponents turned a quick counter attack. William had come on and found himself all alone facing two attackers and a lofted ball coming his way. William bravely stepped up to the ball which his chest and then the opponents hand. What looked like a clear break and perhaps goal ended up as a free kick for the good guys.

The crowd began cheering as we kept pressing for a tying goal. Finally Tony Kelly made some magic happen. He was called for a foul and turned to run back up the field on defense. The other team made a quick restart, one defender touching the ball to over to the other. Tony sensed this and made a lighning about face turn. Relaxing with their heads down, believing Tony was retreating, the other team was slow to move to the ball. Tony got there first, and with one touch to his left foot he fired a second touch shot past the keepr who was also asleep on the play. Before we all realized what happened, the score was level. Perhaps a bigger distraction than the euphoria of the tie score was Tony’s bizarre celebration. He jumped into a squat and did a self invented dance that was a strange as it was hilarious. He deserved the celebration. The score stayed levelafter that despite our push for a winning goal.

Debbie, a yoga instructor who volunteers at the center, was there watching our game while she waited for her son’s team to play. Her son is a hig school senior who organized a drive amongst his fellow players to supply our team with outdoor cleats last year. Debbie said she was watching the game and got very excited cheering for our comback. Then she thought Tony looked familiar. But where do I know him from. They she said, I put it together. I looked on the sideline and there you were, Lawrence and Rob, and I said, oh, it’s the homeless team. I elbowed my hustband and said, It’s the homeless team! Wow, they are really good.

Many congrats to the 13 players, 12 of whom got in the game, for their well deserved tie, and inspiring performance.

Street Soccer Stars Struggle after 2-0 start

Brothers Dave and Michael have had a tumultous week. The family had seemed the most stable they had ever been. Dave upon turning 18 had signed on to work with Michael. Each of them were logging a minumum of 40 hours a week. Their sister Yolanda too found a job, plus their mother still had a part time job on the weekends. The burden of a large family had suddenly tranformed into an assest. Additionally Dave continued to train with the Charlotte United U-18 club. After showing off his speed and skills for the lower level team, Dave was given the chance to train with the premier squad. Hesitant, and even fearful of failure, Dave agreed to practice with the premeir team only when Street Soccer Coach Rob offered to practicce with him. Rob put on his cleats and trained with the team. The rest was history. Dave, according the coach, improves by leaps and bounds each time he comes out. He was too good of talent to pass up on, the coach continued. Dave has been invited to play in the club’s January tournament in Raleigh.

But all that was last week. When one of the two bread factories that Dave and Michael clean at night was shut down due to rennovations, the workforce was downsized by four. Dave the most recent hire was cut first. Michael was cut fourth. They are scheduled to return to work in Febuary, but for the moment they are jobless all over again.

On top of that news, there was death in the family back in Panama and Dave and Michael’s mother is putting her income towards a ticket to Panama for the funeral. In short, the family is staring homelessness in the face once again. Still, Dave and Mike are confident they will find work within the week ahead.

So the above was the backdrop for the McGregor’s when we drove up in the van to pick them up for Tuesday’s game. Yolanda was at work and their mother was heading to Panama, so they were alone with Yolanda's son, Xavier. We drove around the neighborhood to find their brother Junior to watch the baby as the green digits on dashboard counted closer and closer to game time.

We arrived in time, but without much time to get settled and talk about the match ahead. Our opponents were the top team in the league (our league is the premier adult division in Charlotte) and featured a MLS player who is training to make it back and others who have played for the local professional team, the Charlotte Eagles.

Although we showed talent, speed, and proved to be dangerous offensively. We lacked concentration, poise, and desire. Dave played an excellent game, but failed to find a tight mark in the back just 3 minutes into the game. We found ourselves down one-nil. Elmer then missed a tap in that would have tied it up five minutes later. That was the last chance we would have of getting back into the game. We consistently lost our marks and conceded easy goals. While we were dangerous when we attacked, we were unprecise. As the total against us mountained we found a few minutes of intensiy that saw us score three unanswered goals. The final tally was 11-4 or there abouts. Our oppents get all the credit. They even scored two full field shots from the goalkeeper who read our keepr being of his line. He struck two perfect knuckle balls over the head of goals and just beneath the cross bar on two shots, one in each half. You can’t even say our goalies were that far out of position. It was that kind of day.

On the postive side, three playeres stood out. Craig Holley, Dwayne Gourzong, and Pop Miller. These three are rubber players that contribute to bothe the Street Soccer Stars and the 945 squad. Dwayne scored once again. He has now scored in every match he has played for Street Soccer. Craig’s hustle was unmatched. He proved a tough defender for even the most talented of our opponents to get around. Pop as well showed a new agressiveness and more confidence on the ball, although his playing time was limited with this squad.

The message after the game was that we joined this league to challenge ourselves, and that we were facing this challenge right now. Next week we will look forward to playing with more intenstiy. We have an opportunity with this team to change people’s minds. Win or lose, if we play with intensity and fair play, we can achive that in every match.

Record for the season is now 2-2.

Pop Miller is pictured above.

Sundance FIlm Festival!!

“Kicking it” at Sundance

Susan Koch’s film about the Homeless World Cup will premeir at the Sundance Film Festival this January. Street Soccer 945’s Craig Holley is the featured player from the US. The film follows seven players from six countries who competed in the 2006 Homeless World Cup in Capetown, South Africa.

http://www.sundance.org/festival/ is the link to sundance.

http://www.homelessworldcup.org/zine/news/homeless-world-cup-documentary-to-premiere-at-sundance is the link to an brief article about the film and the "film-anthropy" group headed by Ted Leonsis which is backing it.

An update on Craig: After the World Cup Craig went to live with his mother and sister in New York. He hadn't seen them since he was 16. The reunion was good on some levels, but ultimately Craig and his sister decided to move out. After spending a couple months in Pennsylvania with his sister, Craig came back to Charlotte where he has excelled for Street Soccer 945. He works at Mert's Heart and Sole restaurant in Uptown and is officially off the street, renting an apartment with a coworker from Mert's. Craig is studying to finish his high school equivalency and has already to talked to the fire department about entering fireman training when he completes receives his equivalency.

New Team, New Beginning

First, check out this photo of street soccer action. Would you guess the game going on here was taking place at a soup kitchen for the homeless. If not, why?

Well, that question aside, we turn our focus to the latest team developments. We are proud to announce that Street Soccer has expanded its progamming (we will announce this again in January). On Wednesday night, Street Soccer began its new two-team system. One team for an interim basis we will call the Street Soccer Stars. This team involves highly skilled players who in many cases have been with the program for while and have gotten off the street, but for whom playing soccer is a sustaining force in their life. Street Soccer 945's traditional team now focuses specifically on players who are developing their soccer skills. This developmental team gives more people the chance to get in the game, and that is what Street Soccer is all about, giving people the chance to compete, to feel alive, to test themsleves, to fail, to practice, to succeed, and giving it to people who otherwise feel locked out of life becuase they are homeless.

Our pep talk before wendnesday's game was about realism. Guys, the coaches emphasized, tonight is about gaining experience and building up team skills. We want to focus on staying in our positions and playing goal-side defence. We want to win tonight, but our objective is to get better. Things will go wrong, we will be challenged, and we might even get far behind on the scoreboard. That is okay because tonight our main objective is to learn. What we can control no matter what is our spirit and our hustle. Let's go out there and show everyone our hustle, our spirit, and our class."

Our team featured John Nze, a fifty something Nigerian who probably weighs two or three pounds over a hundred. Amadeus, a 21 year old Harry potter look-a-like from New York whose story we are trying to learn piece by piece, Capone, 5 foot even on a good day, a 38 year old man who is completely new to soccer, Pop Miller and Tony Kelley, two folks who are seeking to improve their skills but added some experience to our roster, Justin who is 22 from Charlotte, 6 foot 3 and wears size 16 boots, Rodney a 19 year old from Shelby who wrestled in high school and is new to soccer, and a new recruit, Tim, who actually has "star" team skillls. Tim is in recovery and despite what misconceptions his heavy country accent conjures, is an eccelent soccer player who played some in college and who used to be the only "white guy" in the Latino leagues here in Charlotte.

Our team passed the ball and kept their positons throughout the game. Slowly but surely after a couple early scares, we realized we were having the better of the play. The pressure was on because before the game we noticed one of our opponents was Rob, the manager at Brixx Pizza who had first furnished our uniforms and post game meals. Just before half we squeezed in a goal and then we found ourselves up by two when Tony Kelley, who took on a leadership role in the absence of the more skilled players, powered in a low left footed free kick past the goalie. Watching Tony all night was the most gratifying period of Rob's and my coaching exprience at Street Soccer. Tony who we have banned from the team again and again, and who always eventually does what we ask and invariably shows up to every practice, made consistent good passes, played responsible defence, showed dynamic footskills,and really was the difference in the game. By coincidence this week, the ex-girlfriend of Tony's adopted father walked into my office on Tuesday. We talked for an hour about Tony, how special he his, and how he has struggled. Tony spoke with her by telephone on Wednesday and I wondered if that connection had anything to do with his inspired performance. As she and I concluded, "Tony needs a lot of love."

The finals score was a 3-1 Street Soccer victory. After the game we took John to work at an organization called Samaritan's Purse. This group sends shoe boxes full of Christmas goodies to impoverished communities in Africa, among them, communties in John's native Nigeria. With the rest of the team we went back to the Center, showered and dropped folks off at the winter shelter, one person at a half way house, one at transit, and another at a "friend's."

Today we have practice on the court pictured above at 1pm.

Hunger Week at Belmont Abbey College supports Street Soccer for the 2nd Year in a Row.

Belmont Abbey College hosted their annual Hunger Week at the College to raise awareness and funds to support the homeless and impoverished in the Charlotte area last week. Part of Hunger Week was a 5k run and 1 mile walk on Saturday. The student commitee that organized the race chose Street Soccer 945 again this year as the beneficiary of the funraiser. Participants, mostly students, paid an entry fee and raced with the motto in mind "will run for food." Entry fees and sponsorships from local businesses totaled $2600 that was donated directly to Street Soccer 945. Incredible; thank you Belmont Abbey! We are pictured here receiving our check with the "Will Run for Food" commitee.

Racers from Street Soccer 945 included Rodney, John, Sherwood, Diane, Ray, Toney, me, Rob Cann, and our mascot for the day, my dog Ulrich. We met at the UMC at 7am when it was still dark out and the weather still pretty chilly but holding true to their word our runners showed up to represent the team. In particular Rodney Giles, 18 years old, who has been with the team for just the last month, was a standout. Rodney, running in his first race, walked 3 miles from the emergency winter shelter just to get to the center on Saturday so he could then run in the 5k. Rodney is pictured here with his number just before the race began. He finished just behind the coach, but far ahead of his other teammates. My advice to the runners was to start out with a slow jog and to settle into a steady pace. Rodney decided he was going to go at the run a little differently. He started with a sprint, jumping out in front of everyone only to burn out and start walking a quarter mile into the race, a classic long distance run mistake. Ulrich and I came zig-zaging up and got in Rodney's ear as we passed by him only to see a streak of blue pass by us a minute later as he sprinted out a hundred yards ahead. Again he could not sustain his pace. This was our pattern for the race. It mimicked the flow of Rodney's life right now. He is up at 4:30 am at the winter shelter to go four miles to Einstein Bagel for his shift which is seven hours long. With nowhere to rest, he finds any place he can to re-energize before he starts his night job valet parking. When his job finishes, he has a 4 mile walk back to the winter shelter for another small rest. Run, walk, run, walk, run walk. Starting and stopping and fighting fatigue is what Rodney has to do until he can gather enough money to find his own place to live. With his good spirits and calm demeanor and the drive he showed in the race on Saturday, success, at least on a small, school looks eminent for this young man.

Justin Strikes a Double in His Second Match

Players can be seen training here on the new street soccer pitch. We have held practice in the form of scrimmages on this field every friday. The players have caught the buzz and two things have happened: team membership is up, and the same new members are getting better faster as they are seeing more of the ball on the small field.

Justin, a six foot three inch beanpole with size 13 sneakers is one of the new players that has made tremendouse strides in a short amount of time in terms of his technical ability. The volume of his enthusiasm is always to the max, and if it you didn't stop to think about how incredible it is that he is this engaged and excited about our team, you would probably call his enthusiasm annoying. Before we get back to Justin, tonight's self proclaimed MVP--yes he said it, "Wow, I feel good, you know what, I guess I had to be the MVP tonight, Hey coach, I was the MVP"--let me contrast him to three other new players: John, Richard, and Dwayne.

John contrasts Justin in age. John is a fifty year old, bald nigerian, more than twice Justin's age. John is slightly built, but he shares Justin's exhuberance. Today he turned in 4 sheets of potential line-ups given different game scenarios to Rob and during tonight's game Rob had to remind him to step off the field and walk back from in front of his own team's bench. John was cheering so hard he had wandered over into the other team's subsitute area and onto the field during play. He was so excited when he got on the field that he rushed a throw in and tossed it in as a chest pass. John, a nigerian, who has 'loved soccer his entire life' in his own words, is not the person you'd think would make that mistake.

Richard contrasts Justin is size. He is Justin's age, but Richard who claims to have grown up in Italy and could easily look Italian, is a scrawny 5'5' 24 year old who has been completely dedicated since he showed up on the scene last week. Richard would have played tonight but the mission where he has just found lodging wouldn't allow him to be out so late. We look forward to working with them to get around this in the future.

And where Justin is a beanpole, Dwayne is a tree trunk. Weighing in at 240 pounds, Dwayne is central midfielder with good technique and vision for plays and combinations. He uses his body well and has a solid soccer background, growing up playing in West Palm Beach Florida. Dwayne came to the Urban Ministry Center because in his own words, "I had no where else to turn." Dwayne set his personal goals with us last week ans has already gotten started to work on them. In fact , we will miss him for about a month as he has signed up for a 28 treatment program. Dwayne's one year goal is to get everything he lost back, including his children and bring them to Charlotte to live with him in his new apartment and to watch him play a game before he travels with the national team to the World Cup. He is very capable of achieving that.

So to get back to the game and Justin's heroics. Justin took a nice pass from Dave in the center fo the field, settled into the space above the 18 yard box with his first touch and then whacked the ball whizzing into the side netting for his first goal and the teams fourth in the first half. In the second half we mounted a large lead and relaxed. Everyone tried to get in on the scoring, leaving us exposed in the back. The next thing we knew our 6 to 2 lead had slipped to six to four. Justin then struck again, this time striking the ball with the opposite foot but with the same level of concentration. It was another zooming low speed ball that goalie had no chance to save. Then Elmer, always the competor added anothe goal to make it 8-4, a goal that seemed to be mere icing on the cake. We gave up another goal that on a defensive miscue and then a keeper error followed by defensive give a way in the final 4 minutes made it an 8-7 match. Unthinkably, we our opponents won a headball and bea our last defender with 10 seconds on the clock only for our keeper to make a save in a one on one situation to save us the victory.

All in all we learned a lot. As competition increases for spots, we will be srtiving to push our players more and more to show us what they can do. Our record is now 3-2 on the season.

New Season

Street Soccer played its first two games on back to back nights. We almost didn't make this evening's game when our van got a flat tire just one mile after leaving the UMC. The tire had a big gash in it and we inflated it just enough to go back to the center by using a "flat fixer" can we bought at a gas station around the corner. Back at the center, we piled into the coaches two cars and made it to the game 2 mintutes before kickoff. Good thing we left early and got dressed out ahead of time.

In the new season four new team members have stepped up to make contributions. The likes of John Oliver and Patrick Allen, though new to the games, have come in and played their part. John from Nigeria despite being over fifty years old left his feet for two slide tackles in this evening's game. Our experienced player like Jorge, Pop, Dave, Michael, Andre, Tony, and Junior were also back in action.

The energy and attitude of the team has never been better. It is exciting to coach to see all the the players so excited to play and so full of energy even after the game. We were adjusting to a new style of soccer, playing without walls, seven a side, but managed a win on our first game. Tonight we played much better strategically against a strong opponent. Although we can improve a lot, we gave our selves the opportunity to win, but missed several easy chances, including an open goal shot to tie the game in the last minute. Two moments stick out, when our goalie collided with the opponent and instead of following the ball went straight to our opponent to see if he was alright. Well done, Tony Kelley. Then after the game, new team member called for an early morning practice at 6am in order to get ready for next week. Actually though, we have a bye this week, so player will be setting their season and life goals as well as practicing for our next game october 8th.

Ron Miller writes about his experience at the Homeless World Cup for Orato Magazine

This story was written by Charlotte's own Ron Miller. Ron, who was with us as part of Team USA at the HWC, wrote this for Orato, a webpage featuring FIRST PERSON, citizen journalism from around the world. We admire Ron for expressing his feelings and emotions as he chronicles here his battle out of homelessness and playing street soccer with Team USA and with Street Soccer 945.

To see the article in full visit: http://www.orato.com/node/3454

By Ronnie Miller , Brooklyn, New York 09/05/07

I'm from Brooklyn, New York. I lived there my whole life. I’m not really comfortable with telling you how I ended up on the street.

I have no experience playing soccer. I just came out there and started playing down at the Urban Ministry, and I just stuck with it. A buddy of mine was already playing soccer there, and he introduced me. I wound up joining in the practices and then I just stuck with it.

It helped me to be more of a people person, interacting with others. On the team, you meet so many other people with different backgrounds and you have to learn how to adapt to these people. The coaches there are also a great help, as far as getting things done, helping you set up interviews – right now, I got steady work and a steady place to stay, so everything has been positive. It’s been a good turn around.

Once you take a blow like that and you’re down to nothing, you gotta build your self-esteem back up. It’s all about building your confidence, with your teammates cheering you on, giving you different pointers on and off the field.

Being out on the street, I’ve seen a lot of things. There are a lot of young people that are homeless, and some that just have nothing to do with their time. If they get involved something like this and it’s positive and will build them up to be a better person, no matter what they’ve been in the past, then I think it’s very much needed.

This year, we traveled to Denmark, Copenhagen for the Homeless World Cup.

When you’re homeless, you don’t think about flying thousands of miles to somewhere else to play some soccer – that’s not the first thing that hits. It’s far fetched from the mind at that time.

We had 48 other countries out there. It’s really about trying to bring awareness about homelessness and trying to give motivation and show that you can do better with your life. For me, I felt great out there, trying to break the stereotype of what” homeless” is. We’re more than just what everybody is brought up to think.

I was representing the USA team, and I went out there and played my best. I just enjoyed the camaraderie of all the other teams, meeting other people from different places, knowing that you’re not the only one struggling out there. These guys all have good stories – they’ve turned their lives around, so all that is an inspiration to you to say you can get back on your feet.

It was a wonderful feeling just to be able to go out there – the shock didn’t hit until we came back that we just went across the world and played in a world cup. I don’t even know how to really put it. It was a great experience meeting people from different nationalities and being able to converse with them and swap stories. It was about more than just playing soccer.

When you’re out here on the street, you build your own little communities – you’re networking within the homeless community that you’re in, sometimes to get ahead.

I got my job and I got a place to stay, and if a dude that I know looked out for me, showed me where to go, how to get there, what agency does what – if he needs to come take a shower, or he’s fatigued and he needs to get some rest because he needs to go to work, then my door’s open.

I love my kids. I always got to give them a nice shout out. She’s only two and he’s one, but I have brought them to soccer practice before - and that’s my motivation right now.