Dale - Let's Go!

Yesterday a mix of Fútbol sin Fronteras girls showed up for my fitness and technical session that we have been trying to implement during my short stay here.   Since my clinics are optional for the group of 100 girls, I wasn’t expecting all that many to attend.  But sure enough, about 25 eager girls ages 9-20 showed up and were ready to work hard and improve.  We started with stations, which involved agility ladders, body weight strength training, and sprints. Although these types of exercises are somewhat unfamiliar to the girls, many caught on quickly and quite enthusiastically.  It was exciting to see the girls putting so much effort into their squats, scissor jumps, lunges, and even push-ups! After the strength and conditioning segment,  I led them in a technical session. We worked on ball movements, or coevers, such as ball touches, triangles and juggling.  We made it into a fun competition to see who could get the most in 30 seconds, which the girls seemed to enjoy and it was thrilling to see the girl’s competitive sides emerge. 

A few of the girls working hard with fitness stations! 

After an intense hour of drills and exercises a male coach came up to us and asked us if we were ready to play his boys.  Unaware of any scheduled game, we had no idea what he was talking about (there was apparently a miscommunication on scheduling it).  But our girls were intrigued and rose to the challenge.  We ended up having enough girls to field a team and take on the team of young boys from Pruica, a town 30 minutes away. Before we knew it, the field was set up with makeshift goals and the game was underway. 

The group before the impromptu game! 

This was one of the most exciting moments with FSF so far for me. After working the girls very hard in my fitness session, they prevailed and came out with a 2-1 win.  I must admit, I played with my team and got a little competitive and might have scored... ;) But I was so proud of our squad  and with our result.  Despite the roughness of the boys, our girls stayed strong and classy and it was so inspiring to be a part of it.  Our youngest girl on the field, Alejandra, was truly inspiring. She got knocked down multiple times and was clearly smaller than everyone else, but she continued to get up and continued to fight.  I was very impressed with her determination and strength.

Action shot! 

It is exciting to see how the girls' work ethic in my sessions and what they learn in each practice can translate to the field and to our success.  We have 2 more games this weekend with the Veteranas and one practice today to prepare.  Win or lose, I am glad to be a part of the progress and development of the girls as players and people.  Dale Fútbol Sin Fronteras!!! 

Aventuras en Granada

I am currently sitting in "Café de los Sueños", on La Calzada which is the main street in Granada where we have eaten many delicious Nica meals. It is 8:30 pm at night, but it is still 86 degrees, and needless to say I am still sweating.  In fact, I don’t think I have stopped sweating since I arrived which was one week ago today… 

A view from La Calzada of one of the many cute restaurants/cafés

On January 24th, after a long day of traveling,  I was picked up by my best friend Kelly and a new friend Allie from the Managua Airport and we rode in the back of a pick-up truck to our casa in Granada; something one would never consider doing from Logan Airport to Sandwich. Right away, I thought, 'I am going to like this laid-back, care-free Nica lifestyle...'   After an hour of  catching up on our lives with the warm breeze hitting our faces, we arrived to our "casa".  Our apartment is called Tres Pisos ("three floors") because it is the tallest building on our street.  Tres Pisos is literally it's address because there are no street numbers here- just descriptions of the house or where on the street it is located.  It used to be a hostel, but is now home to the Soccer Without Borders office and our bedrooms, as well as other critters...  During my grand tour, we confronted our first little amigos... a few cockroaches on my bathroom floor.  But it wasn't a big deal for Kelly because she has been here since July and is an expert with getting rid of the critters.  She simply just stepped on las cucarachas without fear and that was the end of that- that's what friends are for, right?  We have also had mice and rats and who knows what else accompanying us in Tres... 

Me, Kelly and Allie on a tour of Granada- at the fortress

The past week has been full of friends, both new and old, new places, and new sights. I reunited with two great friends, Kelly Pope who is a year long intern here and Larkin Brown, the local director.  I also met for the first time Allie Horwitz who is a new year long intern who played goalie at Amherst.  There are two other year long interns; Maddie from Seattle and Becca from West Virginia.   There is a group of Nicaraguans on staff as well; 3 men and 3 women (Eden, Techo, César, Flaca, Helen & Hassell) all of whom have been extremely welcoming and eager to collaborate to improve this program.  It goes with out saying, it is a great group of new and old friends and we have already shared so many fun times together.  Our first bonding opportunity outside of the soccer field was attending the Nicaragua World Series together, which I must admit was unlike any game I had ever been to... including the Real Madrid Derby game. Constant whistles, unrelenting noise makers, jam packed stands – standing room only- and chaotic enthusiastic chanting, while vendors meandered through the crowd trying to sell the local grub.  The Granada Tiburones (Sharks) unfortunately lost in the end but it was fun to be a part of the excitement and share it with my new co-workers, who will likely be life-long friends. 

Beautiful Full Moon at the Baseball Game

I had my first two practices with the team this week that I will be coching for the next few weeks. I am taking the lead on organizing practice plans for the oldest team of SWB, "Las Veteranas".  They have been very receptive to the new drills I am teaching them, despite the inability to say everything I want to say in Spanish.   Teaching and coaching in Spanish is more challenging than I thought it would be, but I think we are all learning together.  After my first practice with them, I was completely covered in dirt which was a result of me taking a huge fall after tripping over a girl while scrimmaging, and the lack of any sort of vegetation on the field. It is the dry season is Nicaragua and there hasn't been rain for the past few months, so the field is essentially a dust bowl when we play... but that sure doesn't stop the girls!

Todos Pueden Jugar "Everyone Can Play" - the wall at our field 

Todo en todo, the week was filled with sunshine, adventures and new experiences.  With all of the friendly locals and tropical sights, it is hard to believe some of the sad things I have already seen.  Within the past week,  I have certainly been exposed to the many harsh realities of Nicaragua, which is the 2nd poorest country in the Western Hemisphere;   Trash thrown anywhere and everywhere on the streets and Lake Nicaragua, young children collecting beer cans for cords, girls without their own pair of cleats, and starving stray dogs wandering the streets.  It has already proved to be an eye-opening experience in my short time here and these realizations will undoubtedly continue both on the pitch and as I walk the streets of the community.  

Estamos Unidos

Happy February Followers! 

I have always loved February, but 2013 in particular will be especially memorable.  February marks the month of the Inter-America Exchange in Nica!! We are working hard here in Granada to prepare for this incredible tour to promote women's soccer throughout the country. Our local interns are visiting schools, organizing housing and creating clinics and practice plans. We are officailly all set to play the Nicaraguan National Team twice in their National stadiums in Managua and Diriamba (once on my birthday, February 26th!!! - awesome birthday gift) and we are scheduled to play the team that I am coaching now in Granada, "Las Veteranas", which is a group of young women ages 16-22... Better start working them hard!

Needless to say, I am beyond excited for this tour and am happy to be a part of the preparation in the weeks leading up to it.  Here is more about which female soccer players from the United States will be coming down. Also I just found out that my Bowdoin soccer coach, Maren Rojas will be assistant coaching us!! It is sure to be a birthday month I will never forget. 
http://www.soccerwithoutborders.org/exchange-granada