Lindbergh Youth Players at practice
StationSoccer- Lindbergh is our fourth pitch in the “League of Stations”. We are excited to announce that we are fully programming our first youth program out at the fields with 90 kids signed up for the spring season.
The first in-house matches took place this past month with a great turnout for the start of a Lindbergh community. As well, we are still continuing our youth programming with COVID safety precautions in place.
Soccer in the Streets has a history of working in the area already with great partnerships in place through a collaboration with Garden Hills Elementary School, Agape Youth and Family Center, and LaAmistad. The strengths of these local community partnerships mean the kids from these local schools and centers have filtered into the Soccer in the Streets Lindbergh youth program and this pitch is now a place where people can call it their second home.
An influential person that has been working alongside our organization is, Garden Hill’s Teacher and LaAmistad after school Director, Katie Carlson. Katie was introduced to Soccer in the Streets in 2017 when we started our school program at Garden Hills. She started coaching for the organization and knew this is where her students needed to be.
Coach Katie Carlson with youth players
“I have never played soccer before, but watched my students play every day at recess and knew this was something that Garden Hills students needed,” said Carlson. “I signed up to be a coach and recruited as many players as the program could handle.”
She also stated- “A couple of years later, I was looking for a PE coach for LaAmistad Summer Camp and had the brilliant idea to reach out to Soccer in the Streets Program Manager, Jorge Ortiz, to see if the organization would want to work with us. After lots of planning and scheduling, we ended up with the amazing Coach Antman full-time. He became part of our LaAmistad family in no time. The relationships he formed with our students were so powerful. He not only coached soccer but was such a positive role model to so many.”
The connection was growing on and off the field between the kids and the organization. When the idea that StationSoccer- Lindbergh was going to be built, Carlson and Ortiz both knew this would be a perfect space for the kids.
“This field will provide our students with a safe place to play soccer, interact with peers, learn about teamwork, and just simply a place to feel a sense of belonging. When you are at the fields as the players arrive, you will see the kids running out of the cars so excited to see their friends and get on the field” said Carlson. “ You will also see whole families gathering with chairs and blankets and snacks. This is a place that has truly brought our community together in just one month. I can’t wait to see how much it grows. I know there will be a lot of great memories made here.”
Coach Calrson helping with Slices & Strikes
Over the summer when COVID hit, the partnership kept striving on. We introduced a special project called Slices & Strikes where the youth players were able to come out and pick up pizza during the pandemic. This project was especially important because we were able to interact with the kids even though they weren’t able to play soccer. In addition, we worked closely with AGAPE on providing virtual soccer lessons for elementary students.
“Despite COVID and the difficult year, SITS continued to support our students through the Slices and Strikes program, providing virtual soccer lessons and even tutoring programs”, said Carlson. “To say that the kids are excited about having the opportunity to be on a soccer team again is a complete understatement. Soccer has been the topic of conversation in my 4th-grade class every day since the season began. Soccer was all students would talk to me about when they see me in the hallway and during LaAmistad tutoring.”
With the field shining light on the youth players’ lives and the surrounding community we are excited to see what the future holds at this location!
“Not only are the students extremely happy, but the parents are equally as thankful for this opportunity to get their kids outside and exercising”, said Carlson. “This is truly the first sign of “normalcy” that we have had in about a year and it brings me so much joy. I am honored to be part of this organization for almost 5 years now.”
