Soccer players and fans gathered in Red Hook for a Street Soccer USA event on a beautiful day in the park on April 16th.
Street Soccer USA’s mission is “to fight poverty and empower underserved communities through soccer,” and its goal is “to provide an alternative to the pay-to-play model of youth sports with a focus on social impact across the United States and beyond.”
“Borussia Dortmund [a German soccer team] sponsors the event and is also a neighborhood sponsor,” said Viridiana Vidales Coyt, partnerships manager at Street Soccer USA. “Because of that sponsorship that they provide us with, we’re able to provide free soccer programs for the year.”
Despite the pandemic, Vidales Coyt said that Street Soccer USA was able to remain pretty active over the past two years.
“We kept working with our kids and had some virtual training which a lot of kids attended during the pandemic,” Vidales Coyt said. “Some of our coaches even delivered groceries to their homes and gave them gift cards, and made sure we gave a soccer ball to any of the kids that needed one.
“It’s great to have the kids playing here now and the fields at Bush Clinton Playground are open to the community so anyone is welcome to play.”
Vidales Coyt who played soccer started as a volunteer and met a lot of people whose lives were changed for the better by Street Soccer USA. Despite initially wanting to become a psychologist, she changed her mind because she wanted to be a part of Street Soccer USA long-term.
“Growing up I was always able to lean on my own coaches whenever I was going through a tough time and now I want to do the same thing for kids who are in that position,” said Vidales Coyt. “We’ve also had a lot of support from local people and politicians, like Council Member Alexa Aviles and Carlos Menchaca. I really just hope that support continues and that everyone can get involved.”
Aviles came to the event, watched some of the soccer games, and spoke to me about the event and also about the community.
“I’m happy to support Street Soccer USA and soccer is a really big sport in the community,” Aviles said. “It’s great to see how excited all of the kids are to play and how excited the parents are too! I think it’s really important to be here for our mental health and sanity as well as our physical health after a really tough week here.”
I asked Aviles about the community’s response to the subway shooting in Sunset Park on April 12th.
“I think through and through, what we see is that our community is strong and resilient, and they always come together to support each other through any challenges,” Aviles said. “We’re also having a day of unity in Sunset Park with mental health practitioners and faith leaders trying to help the families cope and giving them some strategies.
“At the same time, it’s also been really nice to come out here and just enjoy this great weather and see all of these kids having fun and playing soccer. This is an amazing community and I’m really proud to be a part of it.”
Those interested in joining Street Soccer USA’s programs can email their NY Program Manager, Fernand at fernand@streetsoccerusa.org in English or Spanish.
