Running, kicking, high fives and more for children aged 3, 4 and 5 – this was the scene at American Samoa’s Pago Park Soccer Stadium earlier in the week as a new football project called Soccer Footies got underway.
The fun-filled project is a joint initiative by the American Samoa Parental Information Resource Center (ASPIRC) and Football (soccer) Federation of American Samoa (FFAS).
Every child loves to kick a football and in this four-week program – to be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays – a little more than 50+ children will be in playground heaven as they get to do nothing else but kick a ball and then kick it some more.
The Soccer Footies starts at 4:30pm and lasts for one hour. Those responsible for running the program include FFAS Development Officers Ruben Luvu and Naomi Oney, OFC youth-licensed coach Terrence ‘Pati’ Sinapati, FFAS junior-licensed coaches Lemusa Alatasi and Travis ‘Pita’ Sinapati and FFAS members Tupu I’aulualo and Nicky Salapu.
On ASPIRC’s side, CEO Sandra King is also taking part as well as several other staff.
Parents are also encouraged to help out with the coaching of their children.
“It is important for our community to invest in initiatives that help develop our younger children from the ages of 3 to 5,” stated Sandra King.
“The Soccer Footies initiative will address the emotional, physical and social development of this age group in a fun and exciting way.
“This program will also help parents learn new skills in working with their children,” King added, “in a constructive and positive manner that will nurture very intelligent young children.”
“Having a program for children aged three to five is something totally new and different for us,” explained FFAS CEO Tavita Taumua.
“In our Summer Youth Leagues we deal with children starting from ages six to 17 so these children from the ages three to five are something of a shock to our coaches but they are adapting very well.
“The main challenge is to keep their attention focused on having fun,” he added. “That’s it, just fun. No actual coaching drills but just what children of this age category want to do and that is to have fun by kicking the ball.”
Parents come out in full force and enjoy seeing their kids running around on the pitch. Lika Mahe from Nu’uuli brought her five-year-old son Na’i on Monday and on their way home she said he could not stop talking about it:
“He loved it,” she exclaimed, “and he kept reminding us about it today when we took him to school to not be late in bringing him to soccer. I think this is a great thing and I hope it continues for as long as we are here in (American) Samoa.”
She and her husband Mike Rosenburg also bring along two of their older children, 6-year-old Siuea and 7-year-old Eddie. The program is only for three, four and five-year-olds but the FFAS will not turn away these older children that do show up, so there are coaches available to run drills and fun games for them.
FIFA Development Officer Glen Turner, coincidentally, was on island for the start of the program on Monday, May 4, 2009 and he had a ball having the children try to steal the ball away from him.
He told the FFAS coaches that they were to focus on the children having fun because at this age they have a short attention span. He went on to say he has coached in all levels of soccer and to him the age group he cherishes the most is this one.
Registration is open, free of charge and can be done at the ASPIRC offices in Tafuna or at the FFAS National Headquarters every day.
Story courtesy of FFAS Media
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