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Sponsor A Soccer Gear Donation Concurso

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Sponsor A Soccer Gear Donation Concurso

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Soccer Concursos, Cleat Donations, Uniform Donations & Youth Soccer Programs

You Can Sponsor A Soccer Gear Donation Concurso

You are invited to change the life of a community through sponsoring a Soccer Gear Donation Concurso

A Soccer Gear Donation Concurso is a self esteem building, personal empowerment program focused on soccer, the most important game in many countries. While youth in developed countries have access to Soccer Moms, summer camps, soccer clinics, soccer tournaments, personal trainers and the best uniforms and equipment, in many countries children make their balls out of plastic bags.

While we cannot transfer the soccer culture of a developed country to a country like Nicaragua, Honduras or Mexico or even poor communities in which we work in the USA, we can offer these deserving youths a chance to play the game they love.  It truly saddens me to see children making balls out of plastic bags and think of all the old soccer balls, uniforms, cleats and other items languishing in developed countries.  The Honduras Youth Soccer Project flowed out of the images of children making balls, kicking rags, anything to play the game they loved.

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You Have Made The Honduras Youth Soccer Project A Success

The Honduras Youth Soccer Project has been a huge success. Because you -OUR DONORS - shared your soccer gear we have reached out to many youth and many communities here in Honduras.  We have distributed hundreds of your gifts, including balls, many thousands of shirts and delivered uniforms and supplies to kids in the department of Intibuca.  The kids to the left are wearing donated uniforms, with donated cleats, donated shin guards and wearing donated medals.  They received a donated trophy. It was wonderful to see. YOUR DONATIONS OF SOCCER GEAR MADE THESE HAPPY CHILDREN PLAY AND WIN WITH PRIDE!

More Is Needed To Help This Youth Be Even More

 A few of the youth who received these gifts were thankful.  They showed their appreciation in many way. Yet after they received the balls other went away unchanged.  They did not offer to clean the field, or help the coaches carry items.  They played, they won but their character was not being built. I thought long and hard and decided that the problem was that they didn't have to do anything to get the uniforms and other soccer gear.  They did not gain any insights into cause and effort, giving and receiving. So the Donation Concurso was born.  The children would have to do something in exchange for the donations.

In order to hold Concursos, we need your donations of soccer gear as well as your donation of funds to ship to Honduras.

Communities Are Asking For Concursos

Many community want to hold concursos.  These concursos draw the people together.  Here's one concurso where hundreds of children and adults came together.  The children to compete, the adults to watch.  The concurso is like a field day in the USA.  The soccer gear you donate, the funds you send for shipping enable these communities to come together for a day of clean fun and soccer. Here the mayor of San Miguelito welcomes Soccer for Life to a large concurso held in this mountain community.  Not only did we enjoy the races, we also helped out with a little coaching for goalies, which is sorely lacking here.  As a result, we are offered many opportunities to teach.

Here are the components of a Donation Concurso:

Introduction and prayer

These concursos are run not only for the children to have fun playing soccer.  Soccer for Life uses the love of soccer to teach character and to teach children all the things you learn when you play a sport.  We begin with an introduction and prayer.  This teaches them that what they are doing is important.  We discuss good sportsmanship and how to make the things they learn in soccer work for them in their lives.  It is vital for all of our future that the children in countries like Honduras begin to provide opportunities for all its citizens.  Our young people need to know how to have faith, how to support each other, how to change what they have been taught about others who are outside their families.  Here is where we reach out to these children through soccer.

Single person sack race

The single person sack race is always fun.  Most of us remember our school days when we participated in sack races.  There is a certain skill to it.  The importance of coordination is seen because those who try to start off really fast usually fall and do not win. Most of the winners are those who coordinate their feet and run with a steady unhurried pace.  Of course from time to time the speedster wins.

Sack races are fun, interesting and the players get lots of exercise.  We try to teach good sportsmanship and respect for the athletes.  These sack races are fun both for the participating athlete as well as the cheering crowds.  Sometimes those who are not in this race will race alongside the athletes who are participating.  It generates a lot of interest and a lot of competitive spirit

Two persons in a sack race

This is one of the most fun events we offer in these concursos. As soon as you announce this race, you will see best friends getting together.  Often there are kids no one has chosen as a partner.  It's up to you to then bring partners together.  This is important so all the kids get to participate, not just the popular ones with many friends.  This race requires that the two athletes learn how to work together. They have to move their legs at the same time and at the same speed.  They have to watch each other so they stay on the same page as it were.  It requires teamwork, an important skill that all youth need to learn.

Teamwork is one of the most important skills and yet the most difficult to teach.  That is because we all want to be "King of the Hill". In this race the winners succeed because they subjugate their desires to "do it my way" and learn to share the control.  They must both move together and coordinate their movements in order to win.

Potato race

Here's the race we all remember from grade school. Put a potato on a spoon and run the race with it. It doesn't matter how many times the potato falls, just get up and try again. This race teaches so many things we can't list them all here.  But one of the most important is to get up when you fall and start again. There have been racers who have dropped the potato over 10 times and still won the race.  Because they kept trying. Because they didn't give up. And because they wanted to win.  The potato race - brings back childhood fun for the spectators and creates so much character for the participants.

Give these wonderful kids who are so willing to try a chance to be a winner. They enjoy participating and being a part of an event.  Each of these concursos bring joy and a new way of interacting to these kids who seldom have any way of enjoying life.  Remember in these mountains there is no movie theatre.  In the community shown here there is no electricity so there is no TV.  Our concursos bring enjoyment and something to experience and appreciate.

Speed race

Here's where the best athletes in the community or school will excel. They will run as fast as they can.  They will show their skills, their endurance and their competitiveness.  This is the race for the true athletes. Unfortunately no matter how fast they run, their is no track club to continue with.  The only hope for a fast young runner is the world of soccer.

The best runners know how to use their arms, they make sure they get a good start, they make the turn fast. All in all this is an exciting event to watch.  If there were scouts for track clubs in developing countries it would be wonderful.  We are seeking to place the best runners onto local soccer teams.  The problem for girls like those above is even if they win there are few if any soccer teams for them to join.  We are seeking to develop a track program for girls but that is way in the future.  Girls who learn to run here could eventually serve on their country's Olympic team as there is very little competition here.

Awarding Prizes For the Races

These races get very active participation because the prizes are soccer gear.  First place usually gets a ball, second place shin guards and third place gets soccer shirts. There is strong competition and it is vital to ensure fairness.  You have to watch to see the athletes who run to the far end actually touch the wall or fence.  Adults must be placed at the end to ensure the athletes actually all complete the same course. We work hard to get adult participation to ensure that the children are all playing fair.  We discuss fairness which in a culture where there is not enough for everyone tends to be a foreign idea.  Most of these youngsters have seen their parents stealing or doing something unfair. They often get unfair treatment in their homes.  So the idea of justice is something that needs to be taught.

Soccer Cleats For The Most Cooperative Athlete

Cooperation is one of the skills we seek to teach through our soccer program.  In each concurso we seek to reward those who help others, who pick up the sacks, collect the spoons, help smaller children and do everything possible to make the concurso a success. In one concurso this young girl was very helpful.  Not only did she clean up after each event she brought water, helped younger children participate and was very involved in making the concurso a success.  Such helpfulness needs to be rewarded to motivate others to do likewise. We want to encourage this behavior and also show that work should be appreciated.  Usually girls here work while boys play and they get absolutely no appreciation.  "That's our culture", the boys and men say.  Through this program we are teaching that whoever is the most cooperative, boy or girl, wins the cleats.  Cleats are powerful motivators

Soccer Uniform Donation

After the racing is over, the next part of the concurso is the donation of a complete set of uniforms.  A complete set of uniforms includes 16 soccer jerseys, 16 pairs of soccer shorts and 16 pairs of soccer socks. We would love to be able to give 16 pairs of soccer cleats with every uniforme completo but we do not have the resources.  Our ultimate goal is to give each child in Intibuca a pair of donated soccer cleats. ONLY YOU CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN! Your group can mount a cleat drive that will make more happy children like this young president of a school who received a complete uniform for her school team.  She is very active and will someday be an important leader in her community.  She welcomed these uniforms for the school team which formerly played in street clothes.

A soccer game

Soccer is the reason for the concurso in the first place.  So the soccer game with the team wearing its new uniforms is the star of the concurso.  The team changes into its new uniform right on the field. There are no dressing rooms or similar facilities.  Then they practice a little in their new uniforms.  It rains a lot here in Intibuca but it doesn't matter. The game will be played in the rain.  Here they are playing against a team without uniforms.  They feel so proud that they are "real soccer players". These uniform donations are what brings the concurso together.  The creation of a uniformed team is a big event in one of these communities.

Awards Ceremony - medals and trophy

Another key and important part of the concurso is the awards.  These are people who seldom get rewarded for their hard work. So receiving a medal for playing and a trophy for winning is very important. We want every child who participates to receive a medal.  Our medals come from donations from tournaments, teams and individuals. It doesn't matter what is written on the medals or trophies.  They are eagerly accepted and gratefully worn.  This is a vital part of every concurso.  The young people who participate are very happy to receive these medals.  Since they cannot read or write in English, they only know they received a medal.

If your team or group has old medals to donate, with or without ribbons they will be cherished here in these mountains.  Most of these children will never excel at anything. That means they will never receive an award or be made to feel special. By giving them medals, we help to realize they are okay, they are of value, that they are special.

Food after the event

In a country where there is so much hunger, eating after the event is important. Food is the most important thing on everyone's mind in a country like Honduras.  That is why we like to offer food after a concurso.  The women are willing to cook if we provide the food.  Usually it is normal fare (beans, rice, cheese, tortillas, and fried potatoes).  Usually meat is only served to the coaches and supporters of the events.  To us, this meal after the concurso is a bonding experience.  The cost of feeding people after a concurso is quite high which is why we are  developing special fundraising for food for concursos.

Land Clearing

A key part of each concurso is an environmental component of tree planting and gardening.  In order to plant the garden or tree copse, a piece of land must be cleared from the bush.  Recently a group of Japanese forest volunteers came to Intibuca to donate soccer gear and plant trees.  They worked side by side, teaching the young people how to develop a tree planting project.  They showed them how to clear land, how to set up a straight line with string and how to dig holes for planting trees.  The area was full of "monte" or wild growth.  So the first step in the process was how to clear the land.

Tree Planting

You would think in a forest nation like Honduras, planting trees would be something everyone was involved in.  But the fact is deforestation is taking place in Honduras.  The importance of tree cover in a country like Honduras which is so mountainous is vital.  When Hurricane Mitch struck Honduras, wherever there was no forest, the hillsides simply collapsed.  The city of Tegucigalpa has areas today where you can see the deforested hillsides falling hundreds of feet.  At one time Tegucigalpa's hills were surrounded by trees.  But refugees more than  a million poured into Honduras from El Salvador and Nicaragua. They squatted in the hillsides around Tegucigalpa and cut down all the trees for firewood.

Many schools have developed tree planting projects that occur once a year.  The number of trees planted in these projects cannot keep up with the deforestation.  And now American lumber companies are cutting down the forests of Intibuca.  As a result Soccer for Life has taken on the mission of reforestation in Intibuca.  Here are pictures of Liga Menor youth planting trees.  We will be developing tree planting projects where our donors can come and plant trees with these youths.  We will be developing a low cost homestay program for the tree planting sponsors.  We will be planting liquidamber (sweet gum), pines, cedar and other locally growing trees.  Part of the funds for this section will be used in creating a nursery for growing trees.  We will be growing them in black plastic plant bags before setting them out into the fields.

Art program to Commemorate The Concurso

Even in a country where everyone either walks or rides a bicycle, not everyone is an athlete.  Yet they would like to participate in a concurso.  We have developed an art program which occurs after the meal when the kids are resting a bit from all the excitement of the concurso events.  Here the children have a chance to express themselves about the concurso and how it made them feel.

Here are some of the drawings made by children after a concurso at their school.  They only had pencils and paper.  We would like to be able to offer paints, good drawing paper, markers and other items such as glitter to these young soccer artists but we do not have them available. We are seeking a sponsor who will supply us with art materials or a group who will collect them for these concursos.

We are in need of donation of funds as well as art supplies.  As you can see, these children are capable of excellent artwork.  We would also like to put on a workshop for them on creating art from banana leaves, which are abundant here.  For some reason, there is very little art being doing here except for a few exceptional artists.  I think the children who grow up drawing and painting are enabled to learn more and faster.

Other Sponsorship Opportunities

Email honducopa@yahoo.com or exportfacs@aol.com for information on how to Sponsor a Complete Concurso

Soccer For Life Has A New North American Director To Head The Soccer Gear Donation Project, Chris Watkins.  He is a home schooled student who has just finished a year in Honduras as an Intibuca Soccer Volunteer.  Chris first visited Intibuca when he was six years old.  Chris is a soccer referee, and specializes in Goal Keeper training.  Chris is considered a "geek or techie' and is called the "Gentle Giant" because he is over 6 feet tall at 16 years old and also because of his gentle style of coaching of young players.  Chris is an avid gamer, operates through his own website the MOTILES Gaming nexus under the name of SLIENT Deathbringrr.  His goal in life is to be a video game developer.  In the summer of 2007 Chris will be offering goal keeping clinics in Florida . He has learned a lot in Honduras, playing both with teams and in the streets,  including what is called the Honduran Way of Soccer.  He is helping to develop the

 More About Chris Watkins, New North American Director of Soccer for Life And Leader of the Soccer Gear Donation Project

It is our feeling that everyone is seeking community, structure, meaning an a Superordinate Goal. We consider these the requisite for a life lived for sharing and receiving alike, supporting and being supporting, offering comfort and being comforted.  We call our "Personal Contribution To Life".

Soccer for Life is seeking your help to develop the Intibuca Youth Soccer Center where intend to create the Soccer Action For A Green World Ecolodge for sponsors, donors and patrons of Soccer For Life can come and relax and regenerate.  We are putting together a volunteer program, fund raising kits and all the support you need to make through Personal Contribution to Life.

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