Passing the ball to neighbourhood kids

By Antionette Okai-koi

okai0001@algonquincollege.com

The next Mia Hamm, Pele, or Beckham may just reside in Ottawa playing in a community soccer group on Hunt Club Road, founded with the goodwill and finances of two neighbourhood big Brothers, Kobbie Adjei and Nadeem Douba.

“These kids are little brothers to us. We started doing this (soccer club) to give them a chance. The soccer community in Ottawa is very expensive and many families can’t pay for registration,” said Nadeem Douba, a certified coach.

Despite how expensive organized recreational soccer leagues can be, soccer is the largest sport in the region with over 40,000 players enrolled in leagues. For example, the Ottawa National Soccer Club, which has grown from 600 to 2,400 players. Some kids however don’t have the luxury to be part of this growing pain.

“We are the only resources these kids have. We want to give them the skills and qualifications to propel them to another level,” said Adjei, a part-time accounting student at Algonquin.

With a passion for soccer, Ghanaian native Adjei often practiced in the park near his apartment on Paul Franka drive in Ottawa where through the persistence and word of mouth of three local boys wanting to be trained by him, a soccer club of 30 pre-teen boys was formed.

Most of these kids come from Third World families and low-income homes where the finances consist of keeping the family stable and healthy.

“Fitness and fun are the priority. We work on speed, control and all elements of the game,” said Douba. “We get them in touch with the game and improve their overall techniques.”

According to Douba, the opportunity to express themselves positively is hindered in a neighbourhood where teenage drinking and violence is a problem. Respect for authority and elders are foreign to these young nine to 13-year old boys whom are now learning more than just the game.

“Of course we also teach them good social habits. If we were depending on the teens of this neighbourhood to show a positive attitude, it’s not going to happen,” said Douba.

The consistency of these men in the lives of these boys shapes their social habits provides emotional support and physical maintenance that are clearly lost upon these boys with busy parents.

“I want to help shape the characters of these kids. Make them better and keep them out of trouble,” said Adjei, who is also a third year political science student from the University of Ottawa. “They are exposed to drugs in the community everyday and what to give them more have an opportunity to escape the cycle.”

Their goal is to keep fit and stay out of trouble by playing soccer and it has been going strong for the past five months now.

“The kids prove it everyday that they want this. They prove it by coming out to practices and being together,” said Adjei, a third year political science student from the University of Ottawa.