Community
Partnership
Philadelphia Leadership Academy: Community Partnership Update 7/3
To begin the final installment I wish to say that this has been personally my most rewarding experience as not just a coach, soccer player, or employee, but as a human. The last day in Philadelphia was full of emotional moments that spoke brilliantly of our players and their new friends. Our final night was full of new lessons and experiences from which to learn. As a group, the overnighters were taken to the Starfinder facility for the last time. We were instructed to put our stuff on in a hurry and begin to knock the ball around for a warm up, and we would just be playing for the night. The boys were excited because since they’ve arrived every time they’ve touched the ball a condition had been applied. Two captains were named to begin picking teams. As it turned out the two teams that were picked were with a few exceptions mainly VLSC against Starfinder. During the game the intensity was at a level I hadn’t seen yet that week. Little Zachary Harris set the tempo with a diving header that just missed wide within the first 5 minutes of playing. By the end of the first half boys were putting in tackles that they would not have thought of earlier in the week. The faces of the boys were not ones that looked like they were out of their comfort zone; the boys looked like they’d been there for years. A sense of belongingness was apparent throughout each of our young adults as well as each kid whether they had come from California or Liberia. The game was finished with the same intensity you would only see in a cup final in an international tournament. At the immediate conclusion of the game each kid began to clap with enthusiasm and respect for each of their teammates and more importantly, their opponents. Hugs were quickly exchanged and if their jerseys had been theirs I’m almost positive those would have been exchanged as well. The maturity and professionalism of 26 year old national team players had for that moment been within all 16 guys on that field. After talking about moments like this I usually like to bring our parents back down to earth. All these boys were warned Wednesday night that as camps usually go, people have a tendency to get in trouble on the last night.“Your camp mates will get under your skin” Tony warned them. This was so for Kendal and perhaps others, but at the end of that Thursday night our boys regrouped outside of the dorm before going back in after that intense kick-around. In that group we let it be known that it doesn’t matter how hard you go into a tackle in a game or what is said on the field, you leave it all on the field. We all entered that dorm a family once more.
For these boys the most important thing they needed to identify with is what makes a good leader. A lesson and a humbling experience for myself, if not for every kid, happened in the last session. If you wish to ask what a leader is take, this story and apply it. The last outdoor field session was immediately after one of the Euro semifinal games. With that being said, we had a king of the hill tournament where 10 captains were chosen to pick a team for themselves to win at the top field for as long as they could. The 5th or so pick was given to a boy named Varney. Each captain before him picked the biggest and fastest players to complete their goal of winning the last tournament of the week, but not Varney. This player picked with his first 4 picks our Virginia boys, the youngest ones in the camp. Varney spent the rest of the session being a leader on the field for the boys, Varney a natural outside midfielder or striker played the entire day in the back keeping each of our boys in front of him and never closing his mouth letting them know their responsibilities and never letting them forget they were a team on the field. At the end of these games I saw him take our kids with his arms around their shoulders explaining to them different aspects of the game. Varney was not interested in how many goals his team could muster or the success of himself, he placed himself in a position where he could teach. He was most interested in the success of our boys and himself as a team.
In the closing ceremonies of the camp, a representative of AIG was present. He stood and spoke on why they sponsored the camp. He said that AIG is not going into schools and looking for people who can just look out for themselves, they are looking for members of a team who put the team first and can lead themselves and the others around them for the greater goal of success as a company. Although there are always leaders on the field, these players are given the captains armband. It is important to learn a great leader is never satisfied with just wearing that “C” on his arm, a great leader inspires everyone else around him to become a co-captain, and that no team effort will ever be earned alone. These are all the ideas that have learned by simply working this camp, and for the boys who attended it, I hope they grew just as much as I did towards the right direction as a leader.
