On December 10, Street Soccer USA Bay Area was thrilled to host over 150 students, families and faculty of the East Bay Collaborative for Underserved Children (ECUC) 21st Century Learning Schools for a Street Soccer Fest and Tournament at Maxwell Field on the campus of UC Berkeley. Street Soccer USA National Ambassador and San Jose Earthquakes and U.S National Team star Chris Wondolowski came out to meet with and cheer on the kids.
The festival marked the end of the successful first full season and illustrated the positive impact generated by Street Soccer USA Bay Area’s afterschool partnership with the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education (GSE), and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers funded by the California Department of Education at the six ECUC schools. Despite a very rainy day, the kids showed up, played with heart and demonstrated all the skills they’ve learned in the program.
During the course of 12 weeks, Street Soccer USA Bay Area engaged over 300 students in our afterschool program and held over 200 hours of total practice time. We would like to thank the continuous support from our partner UC Berkeley and the ECUC’s 21st Century CLC Schools to bring the SSUSA after-school programs to the youth and families in the East Bay communities.
ECUC is a unique UC Berkeley partnership of K-8 faith-based, urban private schools, community partners and service providers that received its first 21st Century grant in 2009, and has developed robust 21st Century programs in schools serving low-income families that previously had limited or no access to these services. The project is based on a STEEAAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Executive-Functioning, Arts, Athletics, and Math) model that provides academic assistance and enrichment activities during out-of-school time.
“The students enjoyed every day that they were participating in street soccer this fall,” said Greg DeFabio, the site coordinator at 21st Century Community Learning Center. “The parents and students thought the tournament on December 10 was awesome, and the students have not stopped talking to their classmates about the day. Because of the excitement surrounding the event we have had a lot of interest from our junior high students and also from our kindergarteners who would love to be a part of this program in the coming semester.”
Below are some photos from the event.
