At the start of the spring semester each year we have a team meeting usually just to create a schedule, some goals, and expectations we need to know for the year. This year coach presented us with the opportunity to organize, run, and play in a refugee futsal league. Futsal is soccer played in a gym or on a futsal court. It is an intense, fast-paced, and an incredibly technical version of soccer. It’s entirely different from the outdoor version, and yet it is remarkably similar. Both are played with a ball, goals, and a willingness to compete and have fun. The latter is all we asked of the refugee kids in the league.
The league started in February with the kids transported to a nearby church from the surrounding Nashville communities by an organization called Carpenter’s Square. We used a Trevecca mini-bus one of our coaches drove to pick up kids so they could come and play.
The first night was hectic and crazy. We had no idea what to expect. We showed up an hour before the kids to set up the court, and organize everything before they arrived. Once the kids showed up, it was absolute mayhem. You could feel how excited they were. Kids and soccer balls were all over the place; kids were shooting basketballs and climbing walls. We immediately knew it would be a fun night. Once everyone arrived, our Trevecca captains organized the league teams by splitting the refugee kids into their teams and connecting them with their new coaches, Trevecca soccer players. As they lined up alongside their new coaches one of the coolest parts of the night was handing the kids the jerseys we brought for them. It was unforgettable to see their faces light up having a jersey and to know they were now part of our team.
The rest of the first night we played with the kids and tried not to let them taint our pride too severely. I’m not trying to brag, but my team was good. We had every piece needed. We had a fierce attack led by John and Jean, or the Little John’s as we called them. Our defense was fueled by Hashing and Young Mon. You could tell we were going to have a lot of fun with our team and the next few weeks would be amazing. The energy in the building was electric all night.
Each week I had a new team because some couldn't come, but new smiling faces replaced them. This allowed me to meet and interact with new kids. Essentially, reliving the first week’s excitement all over again. As the end of the month grew to a close we were told the last day of the league we would host a tournament for the kids at Trevecca's Trojan Fieldhouse. They were so pumped to come to the school they had heard so much about.
Excitement filled the air again as the final day and tournament arrived. The kids arrived and were split into teams for the tournament. They played from nine in the morning until early afternoon. The day was an amazing opportunity, and it meant so much to see they enjoyed it as much as they did. The entire league was successful and gave me an appreciation for the sport and the kids. It also gave me a good bit to reflect on.
In our locker room, the first thing you see on the wall is the word compassion. Compassion means when you see someone who is struggling to walk through a tough time, you lend them your legs and help them regain their feet. If a teammate is down and hating on themselves, you lift them and encourage them. It means playing soccer with people who you never thought you would and enjoying it immensely. Compassion is the word I would use to describe the experience of the refugee league. None of us have any idea about the things that the kids were going through or what they have experienced. In all reality that didn’t matter to them. They showed up each week and brought with them an unexplainable joy. They brought themselves and contagious happiness. All we were asked to do was to be compassionate and to play soccer.
My biggest takeaway from the whole experience is something that our university and athletic department try to embody in all of our endeavors. The phrase Esse Quam Videri, meaning - To Be Rather Than To Seem.
This, to me, means you stop talking and start doing. Actions speak much louder than words ever could. It would have been easy not to play with the kids, not try when we did play, or have a sour attitude. Why would you want to miss out on such an incredible opportunity to make an impact? All it took for us to make an impact was to play some soccer with some kids. How cool is that?
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