Soccer Buddies learn about positive character, soccer skills – Waco Tribune-Herald

University High School Trojan soccer players will volunteer their weekend time during the next two months to help elementary school students learn the effects of positive life choices and soccer skills.

About 100 students gathered at University’s soccer fields Saturday for the first session of Soccer Buddies, a 10-week soccer camp for students who attend the high school’s elementary feeder schools: Kendrick Elementary School, Alta Vista Elementary School, Bell’s Hill Elementary School and South Waco Elementary School.

University soccer coach Mike Chapman said the program has grown each year and made big strides this year, with more than 500 students signed up for the free program. Each student gets a T-shirt and attends an end-of-camp party.

There are 125 high school soccer players, including both girls and boys junior varsity and varsity teams.

The camp began 7 years ago in an attempt to have the soccer players positively influence the local school children, Chapman said.

Attendance isn’t mandatory, and the sessions last from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Each session will cover a different set of basic soccer skills and character development attributes.

“We really wanted to get our kids involved in the community,” Chapman said. “And we thought this would be a neat way for our kids to mentor our elementary kids in our sector.”

Students say they love it.

High school junior Jose Garcia, 17, said he’s volunteered at the camp before and looks forward to participating each year.

“We enjoy it — being with the kids,” Garcia said. “I know they look up to us, and we want to teach them better things.”

Garcia hopes his groups learns the value of making the right choices to improve their future.

To help drive home the character development, Chapman has chosen a word of the day for each session. At the end of each day, students are asked to explain what they learned that session about the word of the day.

Fifth grader Brandon Gonzalez, 11, said he remembers some of the words from last year but he really enjoys learning the new soccer skills.

Brandon’s grandfather, Jaime Martinez, said Brandon talks about the soccer camp year-round and loves coming.

Martinez appreciates how the high school students volunteer to provide a healthy environment for younger students to learn.

Minerva Chavez, a grandmother of a student in the program, said she wanted her grandson to participate in the program as a way to become more involved with the school and find out what types of sports he likes.

Chavez said she loves how positive the high school students are and appreciates what they’re doing for the community.

Chapman said the camp has become a family outing, with parents often sitting on the sideline during the sessions.