Does America Scores mainly focus on youth in the New York area or across the United State? America Scores is a national program that has affiliates in 13 different cities and serves more
than 4,500 youth yearly. America Scores New York, which is where I work, serves 100 students each year in 3 schools and is relatively small compared to other affiliate sites as we just re-launched in the spring of 2009.
What motivated you to get involved with this organization? I believe in the power of soccer to engage youth around the world to facilitate positive devel-
opment and change in their communities. There is no greater joy for me than seeing a young person develop a love for the game of soccer and being able to share my passion with them. If I am around the game of soccer, there is guaranteed to be a smile on my face and if I can transfer some of that energy to my students, then I will have accomplished what I wanted to achieve.
Having been fortunate enough to have spent an extended amount of time abroad in my life, I have been able to see how blessed I have been so far in my life and that an education is something that everybody in the world is so fortunate enough to be able to attain. I believe that it is our duty as citizens of this world to ensure that everything that we do betters our global community and it is es- sential that we do everything possible to ensure that young people growing up in under-resourced communities both here in the United States and abroad are given a platform in which to succeed. We fail as a human race if we do not create a better world for our children to live in – and I hope to be one very small piece of that change.
Nelson Mandela, my hero, once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” and I plan on using mine to the fullest potential.
What advice would you give to anyone who is looking to follow in your footsteps? Anything is possible if you come in with a smile on your face and a positive attitude. Life is too
short to not find your true passion and run with it. Trying to implement change is certainly not easy – it is a daily grind where there are major highs and lows, but at the end of the day, the youth of our world deserve the very best. Everyday I try and remember that my students are worth whatever it takes.
How can they contribute to the cause? America Scores New York is always looking for volunteers for winter, spring and summer camps
held over school vacations, as well as guest speakers and assistant coaches. To find out more about how you can help America Scores New York, check out:
www.americascoresnewyork.org. There are also lots of Coach Across America positions nation-wide, which you can find out more about at
www.up2us.org.
What do you hope to see America Scores doing in the next decade to come?
I hope that America Scores New York will be able to expand throughout Harlem in the next decade and continue to develop well-rounded, future leaders of their community.
LT 30
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