Poetry On and Off the Field
Teaching kids to write is
equivalent to teaching
kids to think; giving kids
the tools to write is giving
them the resources
to be successful in life.
Combining all of this
with soccer is like putting
peanut butter with chocolate.
I am surprised every public
school hasn’t adopted a
SCORES program.”
- Best Selling Author, Stephen King
Picture this: A smooth wall-pass to the Center Midfielder, who passes it up the line to the Right Winger, who boots a magnificent cross to the Striker, who heads the ball like a laser beam, into the upper right corner of the net, just inches from the Keeper’s reach and…Ta Da! Goal! That’s The Beautiful Game, also known as, Soccer.
Who thought of combining The Beautiful Game with poetry? America SCORES, that’s who. SCORES is an after-school program for urban public schools, bringing kids a weekly dose of soccer and poetry. As a SCORES Poetry Coach last fall, I had the pleasure of working with students at the Oakland school, Think College Now (TCN). They played soccer twice a week and then they joined me in “playing” with poetry the other two days a week.
My team consisted of a dozen or so high-energy 3rd through 5th grade girls. They were mainly there for soccer, but since poetry is a requirement under SCORES, they had to take my class, too. I knew I had a big task ahead of me.
Week-by-week, we explored the basics of poetry, experimenting with various forms. I tried to keep it fun–mixing activities between music, word games, stories and journal-writing. But these girls loved to talk and tease each other. Plus, they had cliques. I’ll spare you the details. Rather, I’ll just say some of them had a flair for drama.
When I started to doubt their progress, their journals and experimental poetry turned up gems. I watched them come out of their shells, embracing poetry as a vehicle for expression. They wrote about friendship, family, love, hate and crushes. They surprised me by their eagerness to read their poems out loud. Could it get any better than that?
Our final project was to perform a group poem at the annual East Bay SCORES Poetry Slam! at Dunsmuir Estate. The girls took pride in composing their own lines. I also let them choreograph some movements. However, the rainy day weather affected our practice sessions. I found myself managing their behavior more than coaching. I strived to keep the girls focused and busy. I also crossed my fingers a lot.
Performance night brought us together with hundreds of other SCORES kids. We were second on the program. I tried to shrug off the girls’ collective “deer-in-the-headlights” expressions–however, I grew concerned. A few of the girls had stage-fright. I hoped it wouldn’t spread.
My team sat, stiff with fear, as the first group performed their poem. I held my breath as the MC called us up. Thankfully, all my girls stood up and followed me to the front of the auditorium. I watched them file on stage, just as we had practiced.
I remained close by to cue and cheer them on. But once they got going, they were fine. Every girl remembered her line. If someone forgot to recite the group lines then other girls filled in, projecting their voices and filling in gaps. They wowed us with their performance of “All the Colors of the World.”
The poetry slam reminded me of a good soccer match. As a veteran soccer coach, I recalled the planning, scrimmages and drills, mess, mud and grime of the field, ebb and flow of the game, perfect passes, interceptions and hard-earned goals. A coach organizes practices, but the game, itself, is in the players’ hands (and feet).
The judging panel awarded my team: “Most Visionary” and “Rhythm & Rhyme.” Perhaps they, too, were reminded of The Beautiful Game?
