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Day 5 at the annual Oakland Refugee Community Soccer Camp is a special day. Throughout the week, campers are divided by age/gender, and each day they learn a soccer skill and a life skill. On Day 5, the campers then work together across age groups and gender for the Olympics. On this day, older youth teach younger youth on their Olympic teams, reinforcing the skills they learned throughout the week. It is so inspiring to see the way older youth step up as leaders and take care of the younger campers. A huge thank you to The Olympic Club Foundation for taking these beautiful pictures and for their support to help develop the next generation of young leaders!
Above: Older youth organize their teams for relay races! Top: Two older campers help a younger camper through the dribbling maze.
Throughout the week, 10 youth leaders from SWB programs are hired as Assistant Coaches. They receive stipends, leadership training, and do an amazing job helping the camp run smoothly. Here Coach Tony, an Assistant Coach and member of the U19 team, helps a young camper at the shooting station.
Coach Nyunt Khin explaining the rules of his Olympic Competition.
Here, older participants encourage their younger peers.
Teaching, encouraging and supporting.
Coach Nyunt Khin helps a young camper from Nepal work on his shooting form.
The connections that form between the older and younger campers are an amazing aspect of Day 5. Campers connect across language barriers and create an inclusive, accepting community.