A natural-born leader and soccer enthusiast, Joel Apudo recently garnered some national spotlight when he became a recipient of ESPN’s Billie Jean King Leadership Award. Joel was recognized at the annual ESPY awards that were streamed nationally on ESPN. This specific award celebrates and honors youth who are using the power of sport as a catalyst for change and making a positive impact on society.
Apudo showed leadership skills from a young age and much of the things he grasped at a young age helped in his role as a community leader in the West End. He has played soccer since he was seven years old and is the oldest of four children, so he adopted a general responsibility to help others when needed.
As Joel moved from Dayton, Ohio to Atlanta, Georgia as a highschooler it was a crucial time for him. He knew he had to succeed to go off to college as his parents moved to the US from Kenya to attend college and wanted to make his parents proud. But that doesn’t come with ease.
Playing soccer was his escape from reality and the new atmosphere he was trying to fit into. He started to make friends and realized that anything is possible if you just put yourself out there even if you fail.
Apudo moved to the West End community after high school and realized that college was the next step for him, even if it was a big step that he wasn’t truly ready for. Attending college at Georgia State University, he was confident that he could do anything.
After attending college for two years, he wanted to keep playing soccer and get back into the swing of things.
“I came across Soccer in the Streets through web searches and realized this is where I wanted to play pick up,” said Apudo. “The organization as a whole struck him in a powerful way with the mission statement that works to develop young leaders so they can lead rich lives and cultivate healthy communities through sports-based youth development.”
Throughout playing pick up, he then realized this was his calling becoming a youth soccer coach for Soccer in the Streets In 2016, Apudo knew he wanted to step away from school and pursue his passion for soccer.
He now manages a local soccer club in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta — a historically Black community that had also been plagued by blight and disinvestment. Apudo’s goal is to provide local kids an opportunity to access after-school resources to increase the physical and mental health of those involved with the program. The West End club program based at the West End MARTA station has played a big part in building a community hub from a soccer field where residents can connect, and kids are able to gain valuable peer-to-peer interaction.
This also allowed youth, who had no other mode of transportation, to have access to soccer. Now known as StationSoccer, Apudo played a key role in Soccer in the Streets work to build mini fields at local train stations across Atlanta to level the playing field for youth regardless of where they live.
“ I have lived in the West End for four years now and this is my community,” said Apudo. “ I have seen the kids I coach grow up and become something of themselves. It is powerful to experience this with them because they know I care about their well-being, but its the emotion and effort I put out on a weekly basis to see them grow as a player that brings us closer together.”
Coach Joel with Dunbar Youth Players
Director of Strategic Projects, Sanjay Patel, nominated Joel for this specific award after years of watching him grow into a community leader.
“It’s incredible that Joel was named as a recipient and very well deserved. It also shines the light that Soccer in the Streets is not only able to make a difference to the lives of the kids we serve but also our staff,” said Patel. “Joel was one of the first staff we hired for the StationSoccer project and he has helped to grow the program and impact the West End community tremendously, we look forward to seeing how Joel’s own personal growth continues as he goes back to college and finishes his education.”
Now, Apudo is excited to return to college to obtain a bachelor’s degree and prove to his community’s kids that anyone can be successful if they set goals and work towards them. As well, ESPN will follow Joel on his journey for a year and help him pursue his dreams.
He also commented- “I think in a time where we are trying to unlearn and come up with new ways to coexist with each other, it is important to minorities to be apart of the conversation. That’s why I want to have this degree.”
Stay tuned as we update everyone on Joel’s journey and how he leads the youth players in the West End community!