You can find more details and photos of the LPF camp on the official blog at http://lpfblog.blogspot.com/
We have wrapped up our first full week of coaching and I could not be prouder with all that we have accomplished! In each session we have witness the girls attempting all of the skills and concepts they are being introduced to, although their progress extends so far beyond the boundaries of this rocky, grassless pitch.
Of the 30 Bolivian players we have registered, they attend four separate schools and at the beginning of the week that could not have been more evident. The girls were very “cliquey” within their school groups, either unwilling or uninterested in leaving their comfort zone for some mixed interaction. In spite of this, through conscious effort of the coaches when choosing teams, by Friday you would not even be able to identify who went to private or public schools, who was 12 and who was 16. It’s honestly unbelievable to watch the transformation. I often find myself smiling subconsciously seeing someone who at the beginning of the week so lacking in confidence they were too nervous to eat with other girls at lunch, and now, without a second thought, will lead a cheer for her team or participate in our post-training discussions! It is mind-blowing what spending a few hours a day on a soccer field can do, individually and collectively.
All of these girls have so much to say! They are each so intelligent and lead such incredible lives. Our post-training discussions are a forum in which they can share their remarkable experiences. Each session has a theme (i.e. perseverance, positive attitude, confidence, leadership, etc) and the coaches for that day dictate the discussion with questions relating to the day’s theme. Our goal for this period of the day is for the girls to feel comfortable enough to share in a public speaking setting, but to also recognize how their personal experiences can compare with the theme. What each girl has to say is always so special! Hearing how much they have embraced us being here, all that we are trying to teach, and what we are intimately trying to do for their community takes my breath away.
It is at lunch when I am always stricken by reality. It is when I am able to talk to the girls in a more intimate environment and learn more in-depth details about their lives away from LPF:
Of the 30 Bolivian players we have registered, they attend four separate schools and at the beginning of the week that could not have been more evident. The girls were very “cliquey” within their school groups, either unwilling or uninterested in leaving their comfort zone for some mixed interaction. In spite of this, through conscious effort of the coaches when choosing teams, by Friday you would not even be able to identify who went to private or public schools, who was 12 and who was 16. It’s honestly unbelievable to watch the transformation. I often find myself smiling subconsciously seeing someone who at the beginning of the week so lacking in confidence they were too nervous to eat with other girls at lunch, and now, without a second thought, will lead a cheer for her team or participate in our post-training discussions! It is mind-blowing what spending a few hours a day on a soccer field can do, individually and collectively.
All of these girls have so much to say! They are each so intelligent and lead such incredible lives. Our post-training discussions are a forum in which they can share their remarkable experiences. Each session has a theme (i.e. perseverance, positive attitude, confidence, leadership, etc) and the coaches for that day dictate the discussion with questions relating to the day’s theme. Our goal for this period of the day is for the girls to feel comfortable enough to share in a public speaking setting, but to also recognize how their personal experiences can compare with the theme. What each girl has to say is always so special! Hearing how much they have embraced us being here, all that we are trying to teach, and what we are intimately trying to do for their community takes my breath away.
It is at lunch when I am always stricken by reality. It is when I am able to talk to the girls in a more intimate environment and learn more in-depth details about their lives away from LPF:
-Esther has nine siblings. She is the third to youngest and her father is not in the picture. Her mother hates that she plays soccer. It wasn’t until now I realized how much I took my own parents’ support for granted.
-Paola is so sweet and kind and since the age of 11 has been dating her neighbor. At the age of 16 she is already well aware that he is to be her future husband. I guess I never truly appreciated the high expectations my family had of me as an individual, not just primarily a wife.
-Dyana is 12, one of our youngest and she is a true futboler! Before this camp her mother did not support her love for soccer. Like many traditional Bolivians, she believed that a young woman’s purpose was in the home, however because Dyana was sneaking out on a constant day to day basis to play soccer, she gave LPF camp a chance.
-Jenny is absolutely gorgeous inside and out! I have sat with her almost everyday at lunch and the minute she arrives to training in the morning she never fails to come over and greet me! When I asked her how she spent her weekend she told me working at her mother’s stand. It wasn’t until she went into further detail that my heart broke. The kind of “stand” she runs for her mom is really just a blanket on the ground with pirated Cds and DVDs. I see them all over La Paz and it is a place that I wish this bright beautiful young girl did not have to be responsible for.
Before my blog comes to a halt… this journey I am partaking in I know is just the first of many… I will introduce more of these amazing young women and I am sure you will fall in love just as I have.
Before my blog comes to a halt… this journey I am partaking in I know is just the first of many… I will introduce more of these amazing young women and I am sure you will fall in love just as I have.
P.S.It has been snowing all week... I am definitely not in Florida anymore. Considering I only see snow maybe twice a decade, you can only imagine my excitement!! However, now I am over the cold... I'm hoping if I click my heels twice I'll wake up at siesta key.