All kinds of things happen on the soccer field. Every season we face a variety of challenges with many of our kids. A lot of those challenges are normal to any youth athletic program. Some of the challenges stem from the particular demographic we serve. On Saturday, November 2 we encountered a different sort of challenge. When I say November 2, I do mean 2013, just a few weeks ago.
Staff member Sara Samchok and her college student volunteer co-coach, Macey, were coaching the U10 girls in a game right here in over-the-mountain Birmingham. On this particular day the NorthStar U10 girls were winning. This seemed to come as a surprise to the opposing coach. The first thing he said to his girls was, “okay, now we really need to play.” He made a few other comments suggesting, for some reason, that the score on the field might have caught his team by surprise and all his team needed was a little more motivation. It seems that this wasn’t working; so perhaps this coach became a little flustered. He now yelled out, “Girls! Do you know where they are from?”
My first thought upon hearing this report was to interpret this outburst as racial bias uttered in thinly veiled code words. That is possible. However, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt whenever possible. The October 24 edition of The Birmingham News contained an article with the heading “Neighborhood Conditions Create Health Inequities, Study Finds.” It seems that there was a study by the Kellog Foundation on the disparities among census tracts in the metropolitan area. The News article states, “This study found significant variation in racial concentration, poverty, life expectancy, infant mortality, and healthy food access between census tracts in the ‘Over the Mountain’ and Trussville areas and census tracts near the Interstate 20/59 corridor. Specifically, ‘Over the Mountain’ census tracts were found to have a higher percentage of white residents, less poverty, longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality, and greater healthy food access," the study stated.
Really? A national foundation had to spend money on a study to tell us that? I could have told them that for free. I expect you could have also. At NorthStar we describe this disparity in neighborhoods as a “deficit of investment” in the lives of youth. The difference in resources within a community leads to a difference in learning opportunities for those youth. Don’t you think that is what this opposing coach meant? What he was trying to say to his team was, “Hey girls you come from homes with lots of financial resources that are located within communities with more homes on the same level. Your soccer club draws its resources from that same community. Therefore, you should easily be beating this team of girls who largely come from the Interstate 20/59 corridor (western Birmingham).” Don’t you think that is most likely what he really meant? Maybe he understands that there is an opportunity gap that exists for inner city youth.
If this is the right interpretation of this coach’s remarks, then he can be applauded for understanding that communities matter! But, there are a number of things that he appears not to understand. He does not understand what is happening right here in this room tonight. NorthStar exists to bridge the opportunity gap for inner city youth. All of us who work for NorthStar, volunteer for NorthStar, or contribute financially to NorthStar are investing in youth in a way that bridges the opportunity gap. His team was not playing a random bunch of girls from the west side of Birmingham. His team was playing a team of girls from the west side of Birmingham who had been invested in by you! So maybe this coach does not understand the full story of where these girls are from.
That reminds me of the story of Nathanael’s call to become a disciple in the Gospel of John. Phillip tells Nathanael that they have found the Messiah and he is Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael’s response? “Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?” Nazareth in New Testament times was a poor village. Phillip and Nathanael were from Bethsaida, a relatively more affluent place. Nathanael knew that community matters therefore he turned up his nose at a product of such a place. What Nathaniel and our cross-town soccer coach failed to understand is that community matters but God’s love and care matter more. Jesus came from a poor community but he did not suffer from the deficit of investment, obviously. In reality he had infinite resource behind him and guiding him.
In the Gospel of Luke (chapter 4, verses 18-19) we are told that Jesus returned to Nazareth on a Sabbath and read from the Scroll of Isaiah,
Later, in Luke chapter 10 there is recorded a conversation between Jesus and an expert in the law. This man confirms that the law is summed up in one great law, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself.” We often break this into two great commandments: love God & love your neighbor. I think they are inseparable concepts. I think that our degree of loving God is demonstrated by our degree and effectiveness in loving our neighbor. Of course you know what comes next. The man, “wanting to justify himself” asks “and who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan which doesn’t directly answer the question but transforms it. Community matters, but building an insulated community and loving only neighbors who are similar to you doesn’t fly. Jesus cuts through that. Your neighbor is whoever God places before you who has a need.
In Luke 8 (in between reading the scroll in Nazareth and telling the parable of the Good Samaritan) comes the incident of Jesus healing the man possessed by multiple demons, referred to as “Legion.” After he is healed the man begs to go with Jesus. Jesus says no to this. Instead he tells him to “return home and tell how much God has done for you.” Can you imagine the broken relationships that surrounded this man in his home community? Jesus is concerned not only for this one individual but he is concerned about the community of people who were impacted by this man’s struggles. He desires healing for that community. He has invested healing in this demoniac and wants that investment to have a return on a community that is in need of healing. Mr. former demon-possessed man, “do you know where you are from?” Do you know that your home community matters for so many others? Do you know that it is broken and hurting? I have brought healing to you, now you be my representative in that place and let that healing flow out to others.
At NorthStar we welcome youth and families from across western Birmingham and beyond but we focus our attention on the specific communities located within a 1 to 2 mile radius of Legion Field Stadium. We know where our kids are from and we also know where our source of hope and healing is from. On your table is a brochure featuring one of the many families with whom we work. The mother, Lola, struggles with lupus. She is on disability and does not have much resource financially. Read her story and read how she looks to NorthStar as family. As much as she is able, Lola not only cares well for her own children, she contributes to our team of parent leaders. One of the most exciting things about NorthStar is how parents rally around and take ownership of the program. Before this year Val was bouncing back and forth from the parking lot to the soccer field trying to manage volunteer coaches while simultaneously dealing with communication with parents. Now Sara takes a lot of the on the field supervising coaches duty. But, even more significantly, our parents – knowing that Val will be more limited next spring with her new baby – have formed a leadership team who have taken over most of the communication with the rest of the parents issues from Val. This leadership is great in terms of opening up growth possibilities for the Soccer Club. But it is much more significant than that. This kind of leadership development and the connections that form among these parents translates into what sociologists call ‘social capital.’ Simply put, they have developed a capacity to work together and get things done. Whenever any of us do this, the skills and relationships that are formed are available to be applied in other areas. They are available to be applied to transforming the community much more broadly. This social capital is a great example of the potential for NorthStar programs to lead to broader community transformation which in turn will lead to positive impact even on youth and families who are not directly in our programs.
Going back to Lola and her family - her oldest child, Briyona, is on Sara’s team. She is one of those girls the over-the-mountain coach was talking about. Yes, she is from west Birmingham and yes her family would be considered poor. But where she is from will not determine her long-term outcome. After playing soccer with NorthStar all last year, Briyona was able to be in Camp NorthStar this summer. 1/3 of our campers were in “urgent need of intervention” because they were more than two grade levels behind. This can rightly be considered partially as a result of where they are from. We are here tonight to invest in those kids and make a difference in their lives. Briyona needs our investment, but I am happy to tell you that she is not one of those 1/3. Briyona is on grade level in reading & math. As challenged as her mother is financially and with her health, she is doing all she can for her kids – and it shows. Where Briyona is from has not defined her educational outcome so far. Neither will it define her soccer skill development, if Coach Sara and Coach Macey have anything to do with it.
Perhaps Briyona will prove to be a soccer stand out? Another girl on that same team, Rebekah, has an older brother who is such a stand out. In 2012 we graduated 4 boys out of NorthStar Soccer to play on a competitive (travelling) team at Homewood. All four of them are from western Birmingham and all four of them have been selected not just for a travelling team but the top team that Homewood has for their age group. One of those boys is Rebekah’s brother Matthew. Another of those boys is my own son Jeffrey. I bet our over-the-mountain soccer coach would be really surprised to see them on the field and find out where they are from.
NorthStar Youth Ministries exists to bridge the opportunity gap for inner city youth. Where you are from does matter. There are many who give of their time and/or of their financial resources in order to address the deficit of investment that so many of our children individually, and certainly our community as a whole, suffer from. Do you believe that investment can make a difference? Or are you, like that soccer coach, convinced that where they are from is all that matters. I hope you are one who will join me in investing.
Staff member Sara Samchok and her college student volunteer co-coach, Macey, were coaching the U10 girls in a game right here in over-the-mountain Birmingham. On this particular day the NorthStar U10 girls were winning. This seemed to come as a surprise to the opposing coach. The first thing he said to his girls was, “okay, now we really need to play.” He made a few other comments suggesting, for some reason, that the score on the field might have caught his team by surprise and all his team needed was a little more motivation. It seems that this wasn’t working; so perhaps this coach became a little flustered. He now yelled out, “Girls! Do you know where they are from?”
My first thought upon hearing this report was to interpret this outburst as racial bias uttered in thinly veiled code words. That is possible. However, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt whenever possible. The October 24 edition of The Birmingham News contained an article with the heading “Neighborhood Conditions Create Health Inequities, Study Finds.” It seems that there was a study by the Kellog Foundation on the disparities among census tracts in the metropolitan area. The News article states, “This study found significant variation in racial concentration, poverty, life expectancy, infant mortality, and healthy food access between census tracts in the ‘Over the Mountain’ and Trussville areas and census tracts near the Interstate 20/59 corridor. Specifically, ‘Over the Mountain’ census tracts were found to have a higher percentage of white residents, less poverty, longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality, and greater healthy food access," the study stated.
Really? A national foundation had to spend money on a study to tell us that? I could have told them that for free. I expect you could have also. At NorthStar we describe this disparity in neighborhoods as a “deficit of investment” in the lives of youth. The difference in resources within a community leads to a difference in learning opportunities for those youth. Don’t you think that is what this opposing coach meant? What he was trying to say to his team was, “Hey girls you come from homes with lots of financial resources that are located within communities with more homes on the same level. Your soccer club draws its resources from that same community. Therefore, you should easily be beating this team of girls who largely come from the Interstate 20/59 corridor (western Birmingham).” Don’t you think that is most likely what he really meant? Maybe he understands that there is an opportunity gap that exists for inner city youth.
If this is the right interpretation of this coach’s remarks, then he can be applauded for understanding that communities matter! But, there are a number of things that he appears not to understand. He does not understand what is happening right here in this room tonight. NorthStar exists to bridge the opportunity gap for inner city youth. All of us who work for NorthStar, volunteer for NorthStar, or contribute financially to NorthStar are investing in youth in a way that bridges the opportunity gap. His team was not playing a random bunch of girls from the west side of Birmingham. His team was playing a team of girls from the west side of Birmingham who had been invested in by you! So maybe this coach does not understand the full story of where these girls are from.
That reminds me of the story of Nathanael’s call to become a disciple in the Gospel of John. Phillip tells Nathanael that they have found the Messiah and he is Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael’s response? “Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?” Nazareth in New Testament times was a poor village. Phillip and Nathanael were from Bethsaida, a relatively more affluent place. Nathanael knew that community matters therefore he turned up his nose at a product of such a place. What Nathaniel and our cross-town soccer coach failed to understand is that community matters but God’s love and care matter more. Jesus came from a poor community but he did not suffer from the deficit of investment, obviously. In reality he had infinite resource behind him and guiding him.
In the Gospel of Luke (chapter 4, verses 18-19) we are told that Jesus returned to Nazareth on a Sabbath and read from the Scroll of Isaiah,
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.We know that Jesus then asserts that this Scripture is fulfilled in their midst, by him. He is claiming to be the Messiah. It is interesting that the signs of Jesus being Messiah all have to do with the alleviation of physical needs in this world. I remember being a child and reading this and many other similar passages from scripture. I was strongly impressed with God’s concern for poor and needy in this world. I remember thinking, “If this is God’s priority, what am I to be about in my life?”
Later, in Luke chapter 10 there is recorded a conversation between Jesus and an expert in the law. This man confirms that the law is summed up in one great law, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself.” We often break this into two great commandments: love God & love your neighbor. I think they are inseparable concepts. I think that our degree of loving God is demonstrated by our degree and effectiveness in loving our neighbor. Of course you know what comes next. The man, “wanting to justify himself” asks “and who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan which doesn’t directly answer the question but transforms it. Community matters, but building an insulated community and loving only neighbors who are similar to you doesn’t fly. Jesus cuts through that. Your neighbor is whoever God places before you who has a need.
In Luke 8 (in between reading the scroll in Nazareth and telling the parable of the Good Samaritan) comes the incident of Jesus healing the man possessed by multiple demons, referred to as “Legion.” After he is healed the man begs to go with Jesus. Jesus says no to this. Instead he tells him to “return home and tell how much God has done for you.” Can you imagine the broken relationships that surrounded this man in his home community? Jesus is concerned not only for this one individual but he is concerned about the community of people who were impacted by this man’s struggles. He desires healing for that community. He has invested healing in this demoniac and wants that investment to have a return on a community that is in need of healing. Mr. former demon-possessed man, “do you know where you are from?” Do you know that your home community matters for so many others? Do you know that it is broken and hurting? I have brought healing to you, now you be my representative in that place and let that healing flow out to others.
At NorthStar we welcome youth and families from across western Birmingham and beyond but we focus our attention on the specific communities located within a 1 to 2 mile radius of Legion Field Stadium. We know where our kids are from and we also know where our source of hope and healing is from. On your table is a brochure featuring one of the many families with whom we work. The mother, Lola, struggles with lupus. She is on disability and does not have much resource financially. Read her story and read how she looks to NorthStar as family. As much as she is able, Lola not only cares well for her own children, she contributes to our team of parent leaders. One of the most exciting things about NorthStar is how parents rally around and take ownership of the program. Before this year Val was bouncing back and forth from the parking lot to the soccer field trying to manage volunteer coaches while simultaneously dealing with communication with parents. Now Sara takes a lot of the on the field supervising coaches duty. But, even more significantly, our parents – knowing that Val will be more limited next spring with her new baby – have formed a leadership team who have taken over most of the communication with the rest of the parents issues from Val. This leadership is great in terms of opening up growth possibilities for the Soccer Club. But it is much more significant than that. This kind of leadership development and the connections that form among these parents translates into what sociologists call ‘social capital.’ Simply put, they have developed a capacity to work together and get things done. Whenever any of us do this, the skills and relationships that are formed are available to be applied in other areas. They are available to be applied to transforming the community much more broadly. This social capital is a great example of the potential for NorthStar programs to lead to broader community transformation which in turn will lead to positive impact even on youth and families who are not directly in our programs.
Going back to Lola and her family - her oldest child, Briyona, is on Sara’s team. She is one of those girls the over-the-mountain coach was talking about. Yes, she is from west Birmingham and yes her family would be considered poor. But where she is from will not determine her long-term outcome. After playing soccer with NorthStar all last year, Briyona was able to be in Camp NorthStar this summer. 1/3 of our campers were in “urgent need of intervention” because they were more than two grade levels behind. This can rightly be considered partially as a result of where they are from. We are here tonight to invest in those kids and make a difference in their lives. Briyona needs our investment, but I am happy to tell you that she is not one of those 1/3. Briyona is on grade level in reading & math. As challenged as her mother is financially and with her health, she is doing all she can for her kids – and it shows. Where Briyona is from has not defined her educational outcome so far. Neither will it define her soccer skill development, if Coach Sara and Coach Macey have anything to do with it.
Perhaps Briyona will prove to be a soccer stand out? Another girl on that same team, Rebekah, has an older brother who is such a stand out. In 2012 we graduated 4 boys out of NorthStar Soccer to play on a competitive (travelling) team at Homewood. All four of them are from western Birmingham and all four of them have been selected not just for a travelling team but the top team that Homewood has for their age group. One of those boys is Rebekah’s brother Matthew. Another of those boys is my own son Jeffrey. I bet our over-the-mountain soccer coach would be really surprised to see them on the field and find out where they are from.
NorthStar Youth Ministries exists to bridge the opportunity gap for inner city youth. Where you are from does matter. There are many who give of their time and/or of their financial resources in order to address the deficit of investment that so many of our children individually, and certainly our community as a whole, suffer from. Do you believe that investment can make a difference? Or are you, like that soccer coach, convinced that where they are from is all that matters. I hope you are one who will join me in investing.
