*This post was coauthored by fellow Amelia Suarez. 

Soccer, futbol, the beautiful game. For a sport that lacks the media attention of baseball and football (notice the spelling) in our country, soccer has garnered a great deal of attention in this city and gained much of that coveted, gritty Detroit spirit. Emily already did a great job in covering the high-level news of the sport, including talk of an MLS League downtown and Detroit City FC’s move to its own stadium in Hamtramck. We decided to add to the conversation by co-writing about our personal experience with futbol in the D. Not so much playing (although Annie’s goalie skills against seven-year-olds have improved), but observing and contributing to the culture in our own small way.

PAL

Encouraged to partake by fellow Kayleigh Roy, the two of us signed up to coach a U-8 soccer team, along with Annie’s brothers, Curtie and Charlie, through Detroit PAL. The Police Athletic League is a non-profit organization dating back to 1969 and offering a variety of sports to Detroit youth. We were excited for the chance to further engage with the city in a setting apart from our normal work and Challenge Detroit frameworks. We made custom nametags for each child and a binder of various drills and games. After the first practice, we soon realized our kids had little to no experience playing soccer prior to our season, and so we began with feeble passes and no concept of a throw-in. We had our work cut out for us, and as a group of rookie coaches we tried to balance fun with skill development.

Now, to say that Team Thunder made a Hercules-esque transformation would be a heinous lie. We got absolutely creamed our first game, and despite the four of us having dreams of Thunder re-matching that team a month later and taking them to the curb, we got crushed by them a second time. In terms of score, at least. But there is more to coaching youth soccer than the points accumulated in a season, and in other areas we saw great growth over the several months. Some were indeed athletic improvements: the kids went after the ball with more confidence towards the end of the season, and some even grasped onto the concept of strategizing (even if that strategy was simply kicking the ball repeatedly out of bounds as a defensive move, so that we were stuck in corner kick purgatory). But there were other developments not related to soccer at all. As soon as the kids learned all of our names, they would ask with concern and annoyance when one of the coaches was absent. They were willing to share more and more with us of what they did at school or with their families. Amelia caught Curtie doing the “Coach Curtie” (a ridiculously hilarious dance move/ core workout hybrid that only the creator can execute properly) on the sidelines of a game at the request of one of the girls. One of the boys would come up to Amelia at each practice and test her knowledge of Nintendo game characters. With each anecdote came the detailing of the kids’ individual personalities, as well as our own relationships with them.

For those that have worked with children in any type of group setting, none of this is news. At such a young age, the activity is only part of the learning experience, be it soccer, girl scouts, art class or band. Ultimately, they are there to learn fundamental human skills. So yes, we as coaches led the team in scrimmages and dragon freeze tag, but we also repeatedly told them the importance of cooperation and good sportsmanship. We emphasized kicking the ball with the inside of their foot alongside kindness and respect for one another. Our kids also were witnesses to moments when we, their coaches, were shown as not being the invincible figures that adult influences with minimal presence can be perceived as to a child. In regards to these moments, we only hope they are all stronger, more compassionate members of society for them.

Under the guidance of Coach Charlie, Coach Curtie, Coach Amelia and Coach Annie, Team Thunder finished the season with a 0-7-1 record. The numbers may not show it, but these kids improved on the soccer field by leaps and bounds from the first soccer game to the last. We hope that the kids feel they gained something from the games and practices, and ultimately we hope that they enjoyed themselves. We will forever be proud of our Team Thunder.

DCFC

Aside from our experience coaching with PAL, the two of us have also interacted with soccer on a more testosterone-rich level, by attending Detroit City FC games. The minor league team is quickly writing itself a story worthy of the history books, as it has grown immensely and in various ways even in its short five years of existence. Community is at the team’s philosophical core, and the story goes beyond athletes and their success on the pitch. The team was created by a group of friends who saw a need for a proper soccer team in the city, and pooled their resources together to make it happen. Every year, the fan base has grown. So much so, in fact, that the team outgrew its home turf of Cass Technical High School and garnered enough monetary support from said fans to renovate the historic Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck and claim it as the new home for Le Rouge.

It is also worth mentioning the Northern Guard. The team’s dedicated legion of fans is equally important to (and almost as entertaining as) the athletes themselves to DCFC as an entity. From the raucous marches to the stadium before a match, to the color bombs, to the chants (“we’re ruining football and we don’t care”), to the banners (“Club >League”), the Northern Guard is unapologetically proud. Of the team, of Detroit, of themselves.

These matches are a unique sporting experience in Detroit. Relatively cheap entry and concessions situated in “the city within a city” that often gets overlooked, and with incredible amounts of energy permeating the stadium. The atmosphere is often aggressive, but not threateningly so. No matter the score, the fans are always fired up and ready to inhale another smoke bomb.

THE COLLIDE

After a full season with PAL and having attended a couple DCFC games at the new stadium, our two soccer worlds collided. DCFC partners with PAL by inviting teams to walk out onto the field with the semi-pros before home games, and stand with them during the national anthem. The day after our last game, Thunder participated in the walk-out. We saw this as a wonderful opportunity for the kids to engage with soccer on a new level, for them to see how a game is executed among top-performing athletes, and get them excited enough to want to continue with the sport. Our kids seemed mainly indifferent about the occasion, but their parents brought them all the same, and we were enthusiastically greeted by staff who doled out shirts, many that appeared as dresses on our team.

We had envisioned (perhaps foolishly) Team Thunder getting to chat with the DCFC players, learn their names and gather some small bits of wisdom and excitement. Rather, as we were lined up under the grandstand, the athletes gave out high-fives when walking from warm-ups on the field to the locker room. Our kids were amazed at how much sweat had amassed on the hands of the athletes.  A few minutes later, the team was walking onto the field, and as they passed our seven-year-olds, the captain offered a “C’mon guys!”, as if inviting them to join in an outing to Cold Stone. We quickly nudged our kids to walk with them, and within moments they were standing in the middle of the field, in front of the DCFC team and before a large crowd of futbol fans. It happened as much of our Thunder experience had: false preparedness startled by newness and a lack of control. After the national anthem the kids came back to the bleachers to sit with their parents, and some got to be ball boys and girls, standing on the field ready to toss a ball into play when requested.

Most of the kids said they had fun, and it was amazing to see how attentive so many of them were during the match. The ball boys and girls were shockingly focused, and a few more got up from their bleacher seats and leaned against the fence for most of the game to watch. They cheered just as enthusiastically as anybody when Detroit scored their two goals.

There is only so much that these two groups can have in common: one, seasoned athletes with bearded men in gas masks cheering them on; the other, seven-year olds with their parents on the sidelines reminding them which way to kick the ball. Although Team Thunder isn’t quite as tall, and quite frankly not half as agile, one fact remains true: they grew more like their counterparts because they became a team. Despite their rough record, their attitudes remained positive. No one quit the team; in fact we had new players showing up on the practice field at our second to last week of practice. If Team Thunder learned to love nothing else, we hope it was a love for being a team player.