Two Oceans Ultra-Marathon Fundraising and the "Groot Gat" (Big Hole) Marathon

Two Oceans Ultra-Marathon Fundraising

In January, I set my sights on the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in Cape Town. This is a 56-kilometer (34.7 mile) race that is commonly called “The most beautiful marathon in the world.” The marathon stretches along the mountainous coastal roads of Cape Town. It will definitely be fun.

The Two Oceans Marathon will be different than the marathon I ran here in Kimberley that I write about below, because I am running for more than the personal challenge. I’m running to support the cause that I have been working for over the past seven months.  On April 19^th, I will be running for Grassroot Soccer to raise funds that will help GRS continue its important work in South Africa. My goal is to raise $2,500.

Anyone that has run with me understands how much more I love running for a team than for myself. I’m excited to be running for the Grassroot Soccer team on April 19^th. Any and all support for our team, however big or small, is greatly appreciated.

Link to donation page: 

http://www.donationto.com/Grassroot-Soccer

The tier level reward system for all donations is as follows:

·      $10 – Personal letter from myself

·      $50 – 1lb. Candy bag (compliments of Chutters, World’s Longest Candy Counter and Jim Alden) and a personal letter

·      $100 – Grassroot Soccer T-shirt and a personal letter

·      $250 – Grassroot Soccer Hoody and a personal letter

·      $500 – South African National team Jersey and a personal letter

           

Groot Gat (Big Hole) Marathon – March 1^st, 2014 

Moving into the last 5k with support and water from kids on the road

Two weeks ago I was pushed to my physical limits. On March 1^st I ran in the Groot Gat Marathon in my South African hometown of Kimberley. Running a marathon has been on my mind ever since my college track career ended so I jumped at the opportunity to compete in my first 26.2 in the arid Northern Cape landscapes of South Africa. I figured it was smart to run at least one marathon before jumping into the deep waters of the Two Oceans Ultra (no pun intended).

            After a “welkom” speech in Afrikaans, a prayer, and then three misfires of the starting gun, the gun went off and the two or three hundred runners that had made it out of bed for the 6AM start began to move through the streets of Kimberley. There were three races, a 10k, 21.1k (half-marathon), and the 42.2k (marathon). My fellow intern, Mimi, joined me to participate in the 10k but due to alarm clock problems, barely made it out of bed in time.

Fortunately for all of us, it had rained the night before, which kept the streets cool until about 8AM when the relentless sun dried out the air and turned the streets into long strips of frying pans. The course started with a short pass through the town, past the famous Big Hole, leading out through the neighborhoods, and at about the 12 kilometer the course turned onto the N12 highway that leads to Cape Town. By this time, the line of the front pack spaced out, and most of the runners were running alone along the highway. This turned out to be a good thing for me when my morning coffee ran its course through my body and I was forced to squat behind a bush on the side of the road. I was happy for myself and the other runners that there was plenty of space between myself and anyone else. I won’t go into any more detail.

The route along the N12 eventually turned off to a rock quarry and 8 kilometers of winding dirt trails that led down into the deep quarry itself. The hill leading out of the quarry was a treacherous ascent that my legs were angry about for the final 20 kilometers on the hot roads leading back into Kimberley to finish the 42.2-kilometer loop. 

I learned a lot in the course of the marathon; about myself, about running, about the real meaning of pain and the real meaning fun. With 10k left my legs were heavy, hot, and drained. I shortened my strides because it was the only way I could maintain my pace and keep my legs moving somewhat fluidly. After Mimi finished her 10k, she drove out to meet me at checkpoints along the end of the route with powerades, small snacks, and encouraging cheers that made the final stretch of the race manageable. I can’t thank her enough.

I think the most surprising and challenging aspect of the marathon was the last 3 miles. I expected that once I reached the 40k mark of the 42.2, my legs and mind would be recharged when I could sense the finish. This was not the case. In fact I couldn’t sense the finish until I was about 100 meters away from it. Until that last 100 meters, my legs were begging me to stop. In my 10+ year running career, my body has never felt that type of fatigue or pain.

I don’t want to overstate the pain though, because that is why I signed up for the marathon when I found out about it at the beginning of January. Not in any kind of masochistic, bodily sacrifice kind of way (I don’t think) but in the sense that we are rarely challenged, and rarely do we challenge ourselves, to do something that we aren’t sure we are capable of. I think the process of working through a challenge like that, and finding out what we are capable of, is one of the most fun things in the world. 

Medal for the Groot Gat 42.2k and Mimi's medal for the Kort Gat (Little Hole) 10k

Training in Mozambique

I Love This Game

Boys and girls participate in "Risk Field," a Grassroot Soccer activity about avoiding risks that stand in the way of achieving your goals

First, to all of my fans and supporters, I’m sorry I’ve let you down these past couple months. I’m sorry if I’ve thrown off the order of your life because you wake up every morning and check barefootbarron.blogspot.com only to find another day of emptiness. But I’m back! So rather than dwelling on the past, let us move forward with unchecked enthusiasm for the present and what is yet to come.

The beautiful game has humbled me yet again. I consider myself a seasoned student of the game of soccer, but somehow the football* gods and goddesses always seems to put me back in place, and one way or another, I find myself in awe of what the game has to offer. I fear you brilliant football gods and goddesses.

*Football refers to the beautiful game here, not it’s ugly American cousin (Sorry to my American Football fans. I like that cousin too, but he's not particularly good-looking).

Those who know the game well understand how it can transcend language, forming a linguistic space of its own. I’ll have to check with my linguistics specialist, Makenzie Murray, to confirm that claim. However, I don’t think that putting the language of football under the “universal language” umbrella really does it justice. Maybe I’m being a football snob, but I think there is a finer essence of individuality, nationality and culture that the international game exposes. Yes, people from entirely divergent places of the world can be unified and can communicate with a soccer ball in a way that our common understanding of language could never achieve, but there’s also a story, an upbringing, and a history behind the way that each one of us plays. Maybe we can call it a dialect (check with linguist specialist again). In Brazil, I witnessed this in the delicate physical awareness that players had for their body and it's relation to the ball. More than anywhere else, football seemed innate to the Brazilians, rather than learned. In Bolivia, it was a less refined style and a pure passion that developed a unique work ethic around the game. evident when you watch international soccer. When the Germans play Argentina, for example, it’s impossible not to notice the entirely different styles of play. And sure, much of that has to do with differences in training programs, player development, and tactical systems, but at the same time how can we possibly separate these training systems from the culture, history, and people that give life to the game. Franklin Foer wrote a whole book about it (“How Soccer Explains the World”).

Most recently, a group of boys and men from a local town have been teaching me a new dialect of the game. At the end of 2013, I registered with a team in the South African development league. The team I play with, MFI Celtics, is an eclectic crew of guys that range from 15-year-olds to 31-year-olds. Not only am I the only white guy on the team, I’m the only white guy in the league. My good friend, a Grassroot Soccer Community Programs Coordinator, Kabelo (Coach K), coaches the team. He is a passionate Arsenal fan and an enlightened student of the game.  Most of what I’ve learned about African soccer I have learned from Coach K.

Our home pitch is a thing of beauty. It’s a solid dirt ground on the outskirts of the local town, Coleville. The flat open space stands out among the crowded houses on one side and rolling dirt hills and trees on the other. On one side of the pitch, about a meter outside of the sideline are heaps of garbage that line that entire side of the field. A few large trees and bushes around the field provide much needed shade for the teams and fans.

One day a few weeks ago we had some unexpected rain and I asked K if we were going to train that day. K is a “rain or shine” type coach so I was expecting him not only to say, of course we’re gonna train, but also to proceed with something about how I’m soft because I’m American and I need to be more African. To my surprise, he said that we couldn’t train if it was raining. “The pitch used to be an industrial dump for the mines, so we can’t play when it’s wet,” he told me casually, and carried on with his work. A couple weeks later he told me that you could sometimes see homeless people sifting through the dirt looking for diamonds. I think that was a joke… Just asked him. Not a joke.

Some of our players come to practice from high school, some of them come from construction jobs. Some players can’t even train during the week because they work late shifts that are during our training sessions and they can only make the games on Sundays. Regardless of where we’re coming from, we all meet on the pitch with the same purpose.

This year we started with a win, a couple of draws, and a loss, leaving us in the middle of the 14 team table. In the past couple months, largely thanks to Coach K’s training, the team has started coming together. In the past month we’ve won all of our last 5 games, including two against unbeaten teams at the top of the table. Now we’re second place in the league and we’re playing a team-oriented more holistic style of game (most of the time).

One of things I’ve enjoyed most about playing with this team has been experiencing the shift in the style of play that has brought all of our recent success. The mix of spritely youngsters and experienced elder lads (unfortunately I’m included in the latter group) caused some discord on the field during our first few games. The youngsters lacked confidence and the elders had to figure out how to apply their experience to the team as a whole. It’s still a work in progress, but in the past month Coach K's training - "baptism by fire" as he calls it - has begun to meld the inexhaustible energy of the youngsters with the weathered experience and grit of the elders.

The process has been unlike any other team experience I have ever had. Not only is the South African style of the game entirely different than what I’m accustomed to, but the variety within the team itself is the most entertaining aspect of the experience. Last weekend we had a team braai (South African for BBQ) at the team manager’s house. In addition to judging a dance-off between the youngsters, I had a chance to really talk to the guys on the team. Two of them told me that they had never met a white guy like me before and that my skin was white but I have a black heart (one of the best compliments I’ve ever received). They attributed that to the way that I’ve coped with the South African game, especially the physicality of it. I think I’ve witnessed - as well as been on the butt end of - more cleats up tackles than I have my entire soccer career. I’ve seen 4 or 5 red cards. I have a couple of scars now to remember the rock hard dirt pitches. I’ve come to realize that if I’m not bleeding or limping when I come off the field, I was playing timid, and as a result, probably didn’t have a good game. The bruises and cuts heal quickly, and they’re entirely worth the fun of the game. Playing timid doesn’t heal - at least not as quickly. Sometimes things can seem malicious but it’s just an aspect of the game. People want to win. They tackle hard. The pitches are rough. Taking a hard knock or a hard fall is part of it. When the game is over, we (usually) shake hands and exchange a “well done player” with each other.

I’m going to miss playing with this team. I’m going to miss our home pitch. I’m going to miss the style of this game when I return to the structure of American soccer. That being said, there will always be a touch of South African flare in my game. The lessons that I’ve learned from this team, on the unmanicured pitches, are a part of me now. I’ve been blessed to work with a man like Coach K who is so eager to share and speak the language of the game with me. We understand that we come from different backgrounds (dialects) of the game, but we also know that the beautiful game is always the beautiful game, no matter where, or when, or who is playing it. The lessons that Coach K and South African soccer have taught me have refined the way I understand the game, the way that rocks are refined by exposure to grit. And I hope that all of the people in the United States that taught me the language of the beautiful game would be proud of the American dialect of the game that I have shared and left here in South Africa.

MFI Celtics

Believe it or not, refs make bad calls in South Africa too. And players, like myself, complain.

Wouldn't be a good match without some blood.

Coach K,  I LIKE your style.

Here are a few pictures of other things that have been going on. Look for another post soon about the "Groot Gat" (Big Hole) Marathon I ran in last Saturday. Some amazing experiences.

I was lucky enough to spend the holidays in Mozambique with a good bud of mine

Travis Brantingham let me tag along on the South African portion of his trip through Africa. Here he is seen at the Southernmost point of Africa looking for a KFC.

Also got to travel to the Eastern Cape of South Africa during my holidays, and of course jumped on the opportunity to kick a ball around.

Programs Coordinator, Thembi and SKILLZ Coach, Gloria lead a SKILLZ practice at a local school

Holiday Fundraising Drive - Drawing and Discussion!

First, I want to thank everyone that has participated in this fundraising drive, and especially those that have helped me spread the Grassroot Soccer message. I feel blessed to have such a caring, supportive network of people that are invested in working towards a better future; and not only a better future for the world that we live in, but more importantly for the world that we leave behind for the next generation. We face many challenges in the world today that didn't even exist, or at least we didn't know existed, just 10 or 20 years ago. Dealing with these types of challenges takes a certain strain of resilience to overcome. We don't have to look to far to find examples of people that have demonstrated this type of resilience. One of the best examples we can look to is Nelson Mandela, a man whose unwavering character paved the path for a greater nation and world.

To close this fundraiser - in addition to the prize drawing - I'm interested in hearing your opinions on the many challenges that we face as a global community, and how you see resilience manifested (or not). I do plenty of musing in my writings here on this blog so I'm interested in stepping back and listening to those who have taken the time to listen to me. I invite you to comment directly to this post, or to e-mail me if you'd rather; s.nick.barron@gmail.com. Again thank you so much for caring about our work here and taking the time to participate in this fundraiser.

Without further adieu, I am excited to present the following prizes:

South African National Team Jersey: James Alden

South African Flag: Noah Riskind

Pelada DVD and Poster package: Dave Rusk

Pelada DVD and Poster package #2: Patrick Jackson

Middlesbrough FC training gear: Principia High School Soccer (to be distributed by Tommy Walters)

Nelson Mandela's Autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom": Patt Jeffries

Grassroot Soccer T-shirts to all of the following people:
Jon Riskind
Sarah Perkins
Stewart Flaherty
Elizabeth Bullock
Ryan Quinn
Pamela Kaye
Steven Fukuda
Cristina Malcolmson
Makenzie Murray
Joel Goldman
Lee Barron
Mimi Eckenstein (not that she needs one)
James Lepage
Marcia Cushman-Perkins
Jimmy Stock

As I mentioned when I first began this fundraiser, if you don't wish to receive a prize, please let me know.

Thank you and Happy Holidays from all of us at Grassroot Soccer Kimberley!

4 Months In

Celebrating a successful HCT and a successful year

This last weekend I had another opportunity to watch the power of the beautiful game in action. On Saturday, November 30, we held another HIV Counseling and Testing soccer tournament (HCT tournament). The tournament was held in a community on the outskirts of Kimberley called Roodepan. Roodepan is a small, somewhat scattered community. Getting to the fields in the center of town involves weaving through large potholes in the road, taking short cuts along dirt paths, and avoiding any dogs, cows, goats, or people that happen to be occupying the road.

The two adjacent fields are separated by a long row of tin shacks and houses. The main field has a frenzied atmosphere with loud music, barefoot kids with hardened feet chasing each other, fans yelling for their team, and of course the Grassroot Soccer coaches shouting, laughing and dancing. The other field is somewhat secluded from the frenzy. You walk along a dirt path from the main field that opens up to a more serene, open area that has a completely different feel. Here, it is just the game being played with no distractions. There is a group of about 10-15 men that sit under the shade of a large bush watching the games and some other fans scattered amongst the shade of other bushes. Some of the teams have large umbrellas to protect themselves from the draining intensity of the sun, and others set up under the shade of the bushes. Kickoff for the first game is supposed to be 9AM but teams show up late as expected (T.I.A. time in Africa) so the first whistle blows at 10:30. 

I was busy running back and forth between the two fields for most of the morning. Of course my favorite part of the tournament is watching the soccer games, but the most important part of the event is in the interaction between the Grassroot Soccer coaches and their teams. Throughout the course of the day, GRS coaches have vital discussions with their team about the importance of the HCT theme "know your status." The fight against HIV in communities like the one we were working in is largely against the community stigmatization. Many myths are circulated about HIV within communities, and people who are HIV-positive have been largely estranged from communities in the past. This is changing. HIV is still a problem that effects communities in ways that I could not understand until being immersed here, but the dangerous silence that the stigma has caused is being broken. 

This past weekend, I saw that in action as I was waiting with some GRS coaches and their team at the line for testing. Two young men from one of the teams were talking. They were speaking in another language that I couldn't understand, but one of our coaches explained what was going on to me. She told me how one of the boys was concerned about getting tested, but the other one was telling him that it was important for him to get tested now. That whether the result was positive or negative, he could still live a positive life, and he would still have support, but he needed to test now so that he could take the next steps towards achieving his goals. It is this kind of tight-knit support that GRS coaches encourage and inspire when they talk with their teams and the community and it was awesome to see the result going on in front of my eyes. 

By the afternoon, I was able to sit down and enjoy the semi-finals and the final match between Sporting FC and Juventus. The two teams in the final both had some very talented players and the game kept me on the edge of my cinderblock seat. It was the fourth game of the day for both teams under intensely hot conditions so I expected both teams to look tired, but when the whistle blew, it was clear that none of the players were concerned about that. They played with the same excited intensity that they had the whole day and it was an awesome game to watch. Sporting FC ended up beating Juventus 2-0. The highlight of the game had to be the second goal. Sporting built their attack through the middle of the field, connecting with a forward who then found the left side winger streaking down the side. The winger collected the ball just inside the box, far to the left of the goal. It was an almost impossible angle but his first touch popped the ball in front of him perfectly. He took one simple stride before striking a top spinning volley over the keeper into the far side netting. The celebration was an almost equally impressive cartwheel to backflip combo. At the end of the day, over 150 participants and community members got tested at the event, fulfilling the GRS Kimberley year-end target goal.

The HCT was one of many happenings as we wrap up this year. This week there are week-long holiday programs running, and next week the GRS coaches will be holding a round-table discussion with community leaders about the state of youth unemployment in Kimberley. By the end of this week, I will finish the year-end "Kimba Times" newsletter that will cover all of the success from this year, as well as the goals for next year. Planning for next year is in process, but we are still figuring out which new directions our programs will be going in. There will be some challenging and exciting weeks to come. 

Meanwhile, there is less than a week left to get your tickets for the fundraiser! GRS gear, South African national team gear, DVDs of the film "Pelada", and more are all up for grabs. Follow this link to find out more: grassrootsoccerfunds.ticketbud.org 

As always, thanks for reading and caring about what we are doing here. 

Coach K, delivering the GRS message and inviting the community to the HCT

Kids showed up to support the HCT tournament

And they showed their future potential in between games.

For some, it was too hot for shirts.

Coach K, he's still got the moves

The GRS Kim team

Invited the GRS Kim family over for Thankgiving dinner

And the little ones showed us all how to do it properly

Giving. Receiving. Sharing. GRS.

The GRS Kim map/wall mural

Another month (plus) has come and gone, and so must another blog post. October brought the end of cold mornings and the beginning of sweltering afternoons. My skin did some peeling, but now a good base tan with some SPF 30 is allowing a healthy bronze to come in. Much different than the pale winters I'm used to in Lewiston, Maine. We finally got some heaven sent rain this week for about 20 minutes one day and then an hour or two the next, which felt like a miracle. The thick scent of the humidity in the air was a very welcomed change from the usual dry, booger-inducing, dusty air. Not that the dry heat has been unpleasant. There's something earthy and natural about feeling the dust cling to your sweat and dry out when you get home at the end of the day that's actually kindof fulfilling. You can feel the satisfaction of a hard day's work whether or not it was actually labor intensive (of course all of my days are labor intensive...). Anyone who has lived in Arizona, New Mexico or the desert probably knows the feeling.

The month of October, and half of November, was fulfilling in ways other than the feeling of sweat-dried dust. We embarked on the final quarter of our year (October-December) and have begun attacking our final goals as we move towards wrapping up. This includes; planning our final HCT (HIV Counseling and Testing soccer tournament), recruiting new coaches to replace the coaches whose contracts are ending this year, helping coaches whose contracts are ending find good employment opportunities when they leave us, planning a "round table discussion" with GRS coaches and community leaders, publishing the quarter 3 "Kimba Times" (shown below) and starting on the quarter 4 newsletter, and finally finishing the GRS Kimberley wall mural (as shown above)! It's been a hot sweaty mess of a month, in the best way possible, and there only promises to be more as the year comes to a close. We are very excited for it.

I celebrated Movember for the first week (as you can see below) but quickly found out, from our programs coordinator, that my blond hair combined with the blond stache made me look like what we call a "boer" or "boero" a.k.a. the first dutch farmers that came to South Africa and are often racist. I would have kept the stache to try to defy the stereotype, but I have to make first impressions on a daily basis with school principals, soccer players, and kids in schools, so I decided that I didn't want my mustache speaking for me before I could say a word. Who knows though, it may make a second appearance at the end of the month.

Please see the link above this post and consider participating in this fundraiser. Thanks so much again to all of those who have helped make this opportunity possible. I assure you that it's not in vain. I love going to work every day knowing that I have the support from people like you at home. What we are doing here is important and your support makes all of it possible. More to come soon!

The "Boero" Stache. I don't see the Dutch farmer in it...

Kimba Times; Quarter 3 Cover Page (let me know if you'd like the full PDF)

Working on the wall mural whilst representing the U S of A

Another amazing trip to Lilydale

Springing into Summer

"RUBBISH HERE"
Just my favorite garbage can in Kimberley

 As winter quickly passes through spring into summer here in Kimberley, I continue to be seasonally challenged. Technically it’s spring here but there has been no rain and the sun has no intent to be mildly warm; just intensely hot. Sunscreen is generally a must if I plan to spend more than 20 minutes outside. And my seasonal clock is confused because it’s supposed to be spring here and it’s fall in the states but it’s really neither. I’m following the college soccer season and playoff baseball, seeing pictures of apple picking on facebook, preparing my Halloween costume, and making thanksgiving plans, all while it continues to get hotter and hotter. And then I’m reconciling with the fact that September and October is spring. My internal Doppler radar is going haywire. 

            The dry heat isn’t too bad though and I’m getting more used to it. I’ve been able to lay out in the yard in our compound on the weekends and bask in the hot sun. Great nap weather. September hasn’t been entirely a spring fling, though. Work has been busy and demanding, but rewarding. And in our time off we’ve had some time to do a little traveling the country.

It’s been two months now. I’ve been exposed to so many new things already and I’ve settled into my life here, but there is still so much that I am learning every day. I spent 20 years of my life pursuing education but there are so many things that I learn from the people that I work with, people that I meet in passing, and even people that I’ve known for years. When I talk to different people, perspective is constantly variable. Even my own perspective changes almost on a day-to-day basis.

A couple of weeks ago, a Grassroot Soccer coach told me about the term “Ubuntu.” It literally translates to something like “humanity” or “human kindness” which this coach explained as, “I can’t be me, without you.” It’s a simple idea that relates to every aspect of our lives. The more we think about how we relate to the world and other people, the more we are truly being ourselves. This is a perspective, or a way of life, that I am trying to incorporate more and more on a daily basis.

But that’s enough philosophical musing for one blog post. We’ve been doing too much stuff for me to fill this blog with just my thoughts. I need to include more ACTIVITY and stuff to keep you engaged.

September was especially eventful because we were finally able to successfully plan an HCT (HIV Counseling and Testing soccer tournament). We had been trying, to no avail, to plan several HCT’s at schools on the outskirts of Kimberley at the end of August. The Department of Education was helping us work with these schools but then pulled the plug on the HCT’s last minute. (We’re now running Grassroot Soccer programs at these schools instead). This was an unfortunate setback but we continued to push for an HCT in September. I was delegated to take the lead on the HCT planning along with our Community Programs Coordinator, Coach K. We decided on a location in the Kimberley Township that had two full-size soccer pitches. The surface of the pitches was hard red dirt. The goals were just goalposts, no nets. There were no distinct lines on the fields. Some played in cleats, some in old flats. When Coach K first showed me the site of the pitches, it looked pretty bleak. There was broken glass in some of the surrounding areas and piles of fresh and burned trash. The bleak image I had of the pitches was completely changed on the day of the tournament.

The tournament was on Saturday after a week of long days planning for the tournament. On Friday we had walked through the town surrounding the site of the tournament and hung up posters, handed out fliers and invited people to come to the tournament and get tested. A process we call “mobilization.” It was a humbling experience walking through the town talking to different families and groups of friends. Most of the houses were shacks with tin walls and roofs, and dirt floors. I was certainly outside of my usual comfort zone but the GRS coaches were constantly yelling, talking and laughing. Even though they were speaking in other languages for much of the time, they brought a light-hearted energy that made it all a great experience.

The day of the tournament started early and after picking up other staff members and gathering up the equipment for the tournament, we arrived at the site at around 8AM. The first match was to be held at 9 but teams arrived late (expected delays). The first game started at 9:30 and the second around 10:30 when the other team finally showed up. It was a frenzied atmosphere trying to get games started as quick as possible, monitor the ongoing games and keep the tournament running smoothly. Thanks to a long lunch break, we were able to catch up with our schedule and ACTUALLY finish the tournament on time. Apparently this is a feat that is not often achieved at GRS HCT’s. There were 8 boys’ teams and 4 girls’. (Women’s soccer in Kimberley is still lacking much of the support it needs, but we were happy to at least have a girls bracket in our tournament). Time only allowed for a single-elimination bracket-style tournament. Unfortunate but necessary. Throughout the course of the day, I ran back and forth between the two pitches – about fifty yards apart – dozens of times to make sure we had referees, balls, the right teams and GRS coaches with each team.

One important aspect of our tournaments is the life skills coaching that our GRS coaches provide for each team. Our coaches are paired with teams and they discuss the importance of “knowing your status” in order to live healthy lives. “Knowing your status” means getting tested for HIV. Our coaches engage with participants in discussions about healthy living. The coaches encourage participants to get tested so that they can go on living healthy lives and encourage others to do the same. The importance of being tested for HIV in South Africa relates to the tightknit communities. Community is built on trust and the “Ubuntu” idea that I talked about. To “Know your status” means to care about your community. HIV is not always a sexually transmitted disease.  Overcoming the stigma of the epidemic is a major part of the battle. “Knowing your status” means challenging the stigma by educating one’s self and the community about the importance of healthy living. This isn’t just about being sexually responsible, it is about resisting alcohol and drug abuse, resisting gender norms and their resulting violence, and being an overall positive influence on one’s community. This is what our coaches discuss with participants.

            This is also the focus of the HCT. The HCT targets the GRS slogan, “Educate. Inspire. Mobilize. Stop the spread of HIV.” HCT’s foster a great community environment that brings people together around soccer, but focuses on larger community issues and life skills. While the coaches are with the teams, I’m making sure that everything runs smoothly and that the community is getting the most from the tournament. I was busy running around for most of the day (ref’d one game) but by the time the finals rolled around I was able to sit and enjoy the games. There were several very talented players, in both the boys and girls divisions.

            I’ve witnessed different styles of the game in Brazil, Bolivia, Belize even Kazakhstan (although it’s tough to remember) and of course America. South Africa has its own style and I’ve seen it in the professional games I’ve been able to watch. It’s quick, aggressive, and very technical. It can be pretty hectic tactically. The good players have a sense for the ball that is tough to find in America. It reminds me of Brazil in the way that the ball just seems to move fluidly with the feet. The best players seem to move more naturally with the ball at their feet than without. It’s fun to watch.

            At the end of it all, we tested over 200 individuals, a good number for a small town in Kimberley. Just last night we had a focus group with participants and coaches from the tournament to evaluate what went will and what we need to improve moving forward. This is the first time GRS has done an HCT focus group with participants and coaches (I’ve been told) and I think it is a great reflective process for us to make sure that our programs are as effective as possible. We are hoping that the next HCT will be even bigger and more successful. I’ve included a video slideshow recap of the HCT at the top, enjoy.

            There’s really just way too much to share in one blog post. I need to increase my turnover on blog posts if I actually want to keep up. So here is a quick picture synopsis of the last month or so:

HCT and Focus Groups

Awards ceremony


Focus Group with local team coaches


Focus group with participants from the teams


Soweto Derby in Johannesburg

Soweto Derby: Pirates v Chiefs at Soccer City in Johannesburg with the Joburg interns. 

Celebrating the Pirates victory

Griquas!!

Griquas Rugby Game. The Griquas are the professional rugby team from Kimberley. They're not very good (worst in the league currently) but we still had a great time at the game. 

 

Diamond Cup and Big Hole

Kimberley Diamond Cup and Big Hole weekend with Joburg interns. International skateboarding event that brings together the best skateboarders from all over the world. Why is it in Kimberley? Who knows, but I’m happy about it. Joburg came from the weekend and enjoyed the festivities with us.

At the diamond cup supporting the American Skaters 

The Big Hole. And the not so big Kimberley skyline.

One day, this will all be yours Simba.

Rockin' the Daisies

Cape Town trip/Rocking the Daisies. This past weekend we went to an amazing music festival in Darling, Western Cape (about an hour outside of Cape Town). It was a bit chilly but it was an incredibly beautiful place with an amazing variety of music. We camped outside with some of the Cape Town interns as well as Liza Lepage (that’s James Lepage’s (college roommate and best friend) twin sister)! We also spent a bit of time in Cape Town and got to play 5v5 pickup on turf fields! A true blessing for my mind and body.

Showing some American and Christmas Spirit. Cause why not?

Tents on Tents on Tents. This state of the art tent happens to belong to Liza Lepage and the Bowdoin Crew. 

 And of Course...

The Cardinals winning the NLDS game 5

I've recruited some fans in the office. This is Community Programs Coordinator, Coach K, rockin' the birds hat.

A great moment that I enjoyed by myself at 4:30AM