Urban Initiatives welcomed a team of grown-up kids from Groupon to play soccer with teams from Jenner and Otis. 19 staff came ready to play, wearing green Groupon track suits and cleats! Teams of volunteers coached fields of players, encouraging kids to pass and practice moving the ball as a team. Some volunteers just came to jump right in and play!
Although it was chilly October afternoon, everyone stayed warm by running around, practicing their soccer moves and making new friends.
After the game, Jenner introduced both Otis School and the Groupon volunteers to Circle of Love, an activity that they use to end each Urban Initiatives practice that they have with Coach Simba and Coach Byrd. In Circle of Love, players take turns complimenting one another on things they saw during the game. Although Jenner was meeting the Otis team for the first time, no one was shy to say nice things about the new friends. One of the best things about game days is when teams get a chance to play against other schools. Competition is fun and friendly!
We could not have asked for a nicer group of volunteers from Groupon. They were so eager to play, meet the kids, and celebrate The Beautiful Game with Urban Initiatives in Cabrini-Green. As Tyshwon a 2nd grader from Jenner remarked after the game "Coach that was so much fun, we always travel for games so I like that we played a home game! I also liked having all those Groupon people there!"