Superstar Soccer Team for Haitian Street Kids

It's been a super few months for Superstar Soccer! Lead by the Association of Soccer in Puerto Plata, all the local teams organized a tournament . For six Saturdays we will have games against the other 5 teams, and every age group is playing: under 8, under 12, under 15, and under 18. This last weekend we even had a special game for just our 5 and 6 year olds! We have practice twice a week and games on Saturdays, so the boys are getting a lot of practice and learning some new skills. It has been a lot of time and work for them and us (organizing rides, running practices, attending tournament meetings) but they are improving slowly and surely. 

We are halfway through the tournament, and our team was not doing very well. Some of the boys were getting discouraged and said they did not want to come if they weren't going to win.Then, this Saturday our under-15 team had a great win, 4-2. The other boys were watching and cheering them on. We used the enthusiasm to remind them about how important it is to be committed and work hard, even when it seems as if you can't win. Some of the older boys have stepped up to the challenged. One even has started helping run drills with the younger boys at practice and keeping them focused. It's great to see them take responsibility for the team and each other!

We were able to distribute cleats again at the beginning of the season, and buy a few new balls. A volunteer group from the United States is bringing more cleats this week, which we will distribute when we have a bonfire and team celebration this weekend! 

Thank you for the continued support and commitment to Superstar Soccer! 

-Project Esperanza