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Educating Youth Through Sports

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By Legjenda Rama, YES 2013-2014, Kosovo, hosted by PAX in North Judson, IN

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair.” This is my favorite quote about sports from Nelson Mandela. What could better help us apply this quote in our lives than gathering a group of young children to play sports?!

Being a former participant of the YES program, I wanted to transmit the knowledge that I gained back to my home community. That’s why other returning alumni and I decided to make a change through sports. We decided to gather youngsters from three different cities, Prishtina, Prizren and Ferizaj, for a week long training, which would not only give the kids time to socialize and gain skills, but would also educate them on the importance of sports. The end of the project would be celebrated by a joint match between the three cities.

The first portion of the activity took place in Ferizaj, and was held from November 4 – 8, 2014. Qendrim Asllani (YES ’14) and I led the project throughout the week with the great help of Endrit Bytyqi, who coached with Qendrim. We brought together 18 participants, ages 8-12 years old, from different backgrounds. Ten females and eight males joined us, which I emphasize because it is one of the few traditionally male activities where females participate in a larger number.

A typical session started with a warm-up game. This helped the children start the training with a very positive attitude and got them into the sport. The practice contained different aspects of soccer; passing, receiving, learning penalties, etc. In addition to the technique of playing soccer, the kids learned how to understand the strategies, read the mind of the opponents, be crafty and swift, and really love the art of playing soccer. At the end of practice, the players would be divided into two groups and play a mini soccer game.

The children’s attendance and the positive approach showed how much they enjoyed coming to practice every day. The motivation and the special will to learn a new sport kept the practice entertaining and efficient. “I never thought I’d like soccer because I thought it was a game for boys, but now I can’t wait to play again,” said one of the girls. After the project ended, the children started organizing soccer games on their own. This showed that the project not only reached its goals, but definitely surpassed them.

Soccer taught these kids that certain sports are not inclusive of only one gender. Sports speak a universal language. Sport is what brings people together to a mutual hobby, thus creating peace and cooperation among them. They learned something new to do in their free time – something relaxing and easy that doesn’t require any expense. This awareness will continue during the next weeks in the other cities.


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