Junior soccer team breaks through cultural barriers
0:00:25.890,0:00:32.890
Basically at the moment we have one team -
Under 13’s boys. The makeup of the team
0:00:35.360,0:00:40.590
is
Vietnamese, Chinese, various African countries
0:00:40.590,0:00:45.930
– Kenyan, Sudanese, Congolese, Ethopian,
a
0:00:45.930,0:00:52.930
couple of Somalians, one or two from the
Horn of Africa and recently we got a couple
0:00:55.059,0:01:01.489
of Burmese boys as well. So it’s quite a
mixed bag with most of them living in the
0:01:01.489,0:01:02.079
local area.
0:01:02.079,0:01:06.130
Training had been cancelled one night and
a few of the kids didn’t know. Their lift
0:01:06.130,0:01:12.979
hadn’t arrived so I was hanging out at the
ground with my son and a few other boys just
0:01:12.979,0:01:19.009
having a kick of the ball. We were about to
leave and two boys turned up after jogging
0:01:19.009,0:01:21.539
from their homes in Sunshine to the ground
–
0:01:21.539,0:01:24.690
at least 5 km’s – in bare feet. That’s
how
0:01:24.690,0:01:29.750
important it was for them to get to training.
0:01:29.750,0:01:36.750
They learn teamwork and the values of Australia
(by playing with the club). They learn about
0:01:42.700,0:01:48.380
the different cultural backgrounds (of other
players) and they can become very good citizens.
0:01:48.380,0:01:55.380
(The importance of) school and responsibility
is something they learn. To be like that they
0:01:56.540,0:01:59.579
need real motivation and support.
0:01:59.579,0:02:03.829
The most rewarding thing about the club is
that we are able to get kids participating
0:02:03.829,0:02:09.369
in
soccer and organised sport which is not
0:02:09.369,0:02:16.369
culturally normal for Asians or Africans to
do. By doing this we are able to help them
0:02:21.980,0:02:24.150
mix and share their cultures around the club.
0:02:24.150,0:02:28.320
It requires a fair bit of commitment from
the kids to come to training and the matches.
0:02:28.320,0:02:34.810
They get to meet other kids so they are not
on their own. I think a lot of these kids
0:02:34.810,0:02:40.730
could be quite isolated if they don’t have
this external environment to come and let
0:02:40.730,0:02:46.730
off steam. The coaches and older players
are good mentors. It gives the kids something
0:02:46.730,0:02:53.730
to do and shows them what teamwork is all
about. Being part of something is great for
0:03:03.069,0:03:09.290
self esteem.
0:03:09.290,0:03:16.290
Every Tuesday and Thursday I transport about
five boys to training and then home again.
0:03:16.769,0:03:23.769
Transport is a big ongoing problem with no
easy solution. To be honest soccer is also
0:03:24.430,0:03:31.430
a very expensive sport. Registration costs
about $75 for each player. Most of these
0:03:33.450,0:03:40.450
families have four or five kids so they
can’t afford it. These kids have real talent
0:03:42.409,0:03:49.409
and they need encouragement but cost is a
problem.
0:03:57.959,0:04:03.099
I’ve got the resources to be there for my
boy to bring him down each week and hang
0:04:03.099,0:04:09.810
out but I’ve met all these kids that don’t
have that family support because of
0:04:09.810,0:04:15.560
different circumstances. It’s been a
learning experience for me wondering why
0:04:15.560,0:04:20.269
these kids aren’t getting that support.
I think with a lot of the Vietnamese kids
0:04:20.269,0:04:25.599
their families are more settled into
Australian culture and generally have
0:04:25.599,0:04:32.250
more resources so their families are
able to bring them down and come to
0:04:32.250,0:04:36.440
matches to support them. They are
generally, not in all cases, more
0:04:36.440,0:04:42.779
financially able to support their kids
whereas I find with the African boys
0:04:42.779,0:04:49.330
their families have so many other things
happening in their lives organised sport
0:04:49.330,0:04:56.330
doesn’t not seem as important. These boys
tend to rely on others to bring them down
0:04:58.419,0:05:04.200
to the club or support them at games.
Being an Anglo-Aussie growing up with
0:05:04.200,0:05:08.520
Aussie Rules the family was always there.
It was part of the lifestyle. With these
0:05:08.520,0:05:13.760
new communities that are arriving it
hasn’t been part of their lifestyle. The
0:05:13.760,0:05:19.659
kids are all passionate about their soccer.
They played soccer back home but not in
0:05:19.659,0:05:26.659
organised teams or clubs, only with their
mates. With some of the families they don’t
0:05:27.000,0:05:34.000
see playing sport as a priority. They just
don’t have the time, transport or finances
0:05:34.390,0:05:39.990
to come and support their kids.
0:05:39.990,0:05:46.990
First of all the club has to be a welcoming
environment. Having community barbeques
0:05:53.770,0:05:58.870
where different parents can meet each
other works really well. We can see that
0:05:58.870,0:06:03.599
parents take other kids under their wings
making sure they’ve got lifts to training
0:06:03.599,0:06:09.180
and games. With transport being an issue
we’ve managed to hire the community bus
0:06:09.180,0:06:15.289
through the council. This has been great
because this unifies the team when we can
0:06:15.289,0:06:21.719
travel to a match far away together. It’s
a great experience for the parents also
0:06:21.719,0:06:26.050
because they end up car pooling so they
are meeting each other that way too.
0:06:26.050,0:06:30.500
Perhaps we will have to try and focus on
a few more events like Come and Try Days.
0:06:30.500,0:06:34.690
Hopefully by doing this we can get the
kids to bring their friends along. Often
0:06:34.690,0:06:39.180
whilst parents aren’t coming along you’ll
find that older brothers or sisters will
0:06:39.180,0:06:45.089
come to games and training to support
their younger siblings. It’s an ongoing
0:06:45.089,0:06:52.089
program to try and work out how we will
get more families involved but hopefully
0:06:53.890,0:06:55.700
we’ll manage it.
0:06:55.700,0:07:02.700
You’ve got to
0:07:07.450,0:07:12.779
accept the cultural challenge.
There are a lot of clashes between different
0:07:12.779,0:07:18.539
cultures so you’ve got to be a facilitator.
You’ve got to sit down and talk to them
0:07:18.539,0:07:21.659
and
get involved with the families. I spend a
0:07:21.659,0:07:28.659
lot of time talking to the parents to try
and smooth the cultural clashes out.
A lot
0:07:38.760,0:07:45.760
of the African kids are recent arrivals and
they are struggling with life so we just
0:07:49.520,0:07:53.659
have to accommodate them. It’s very hard
but we try the best we can.
0:07:53.659,0:07:58.099
First of all the coaches need to have a bit
of an understanding where these kids are
0:07:58.099,0:08:03.120
coming from. Things that we think come
naturally like parent support; money to
0:08:03.120,0:08:09.649
play sport etc isn’t the case with a lot
of these families. Where they come from
0:08:09.649,0:08:13.839
things operate differently. They are still
trying to adjust into the ‘Aussie’ way
0:08:13.839,0:08:19.440
of
life so we need some tolerance. We need to
0:08:19.440,0:08:24.969
take time to communicate with families to
explain what the club is about and why
0:08:24.969,0:08:31.969
sport can be an important tool in their
kids’ lives. It’s not just about the kids
0:08:32.089,0:08:39.089
having fun. There are other skills. They
get to meet other people in the community
0:08:40.440,0:08:44.680
and have an opportunity to be part of
something rather than just hanging out
0:08:44.680,0:08:51.680
and feeling aimless.
0:08:59.150,0:09:03.940
To get more parent involvement would be
great. I’d like to see more kids coming
0:09:03.940,0:09:06.750
to
the club and know that they are supported.
0:09:06.750,0:09:13.750
I want them to feel like they are part of
the community. We don’t want a club that
0:09:21.450,0:09:24.260
is
all for one demographic. We want everyone
0:09:24.260,0:09:31.260
to
feel welcome, involved and safe in this
0:09:35.260,0:09:35.710
environment.
0:09:35.710,0:09:42.710
We want to push out further into the wider
community to attract more players. The
0:09:44.940,0:09:49.160
perception of soccer is that it is an ethnic
game. I don’t believe that is the way to
0:09:49.160,0:09:53.220
go.
We need to get more Australians and other
0:09:53.220,0:09:58.130
kids involved in the local area involved in
sport so I hope we can achieve that in the
0:09:58.130,0:09:58.430
future.
Basically at the moment we have one team -
Under 13’s boys. The makeup of the team
0:00:35.360,0:00:40.590
is
Vietnamese, Chinese, various African countries
0:00:40.590,0:00:45.930
– Kenyan, Sudanese, Congolese, Ethopian,
a
0:00:45.930,0:00:52.930
couple of Somalians, one or two from the
Horn of Africa and recently we got a couple
0:00:55.059,0:01:01.489
of Burmese boys as well. So it’s quite a
mixed bag with most of them living in the
0:01:01.489,0:01:02.079
local area.
0:01:02.079,0:01:06.130
Training had been cancelled one night and
a few of the kids didn’t know. Their lift
0:01:06.130,0:01:12.979
hadn’t arrived so I was hanging out at the
ground with my son and a few other boys just
0:01:12.979,0:01:19.009
having a kick of the ball. We were about to
leave and two boys turned up after jogging
0:01:19.009,0:01:21.539
from their homes in Sunshine to the ground
–
0:01:21.539,0:01:24.690
at least 5 km’s – in bare feet. That’s
how
0:01:24.690,0:01:29.750
important it was for them to get to training.
0:01:29.750,0:01:36.750
They learn teamwork and the values of Australia
(by playing with the club). They learn about
0:01:42.700,0:01:48.380
the different cultural backgrounds (of other
players) and they can become very good citizens.
0:01:48.380,0:01:55.380
(The importance of) school and responsibility
is something they learn. To be like that they
0:01:56.540,0:01:59.579
need real motivation and support.
0:01:59.579,0:02:03.829
The most rewarding thing about the club is
that we are able to get kids participating
0:02:03.829,0:02:09.369
in
soccer and organised sport which is not
0:02:09.369,0:02:16.369
culturally normal for Asians or Africans to
do. By doing this we are able to help them
0:02:21.980,0:02:24.150
mix and share their cultures around the club.
0:02:24.150,0:02:28.320
It requires a fair bit of commitment from
the kids to come to training and the matches.
0:02:28.320,0:02:34.810
They get to meet other kids so they are not
on their own. I think a lot of these kids
0:02:34.810,0:02:40.730
could be quite isolated if they don’t have
this external environment to come and let
0:02:40.730,0:02:46.730
off steam. The coaches and older players
are good mentors. It gives the kids something
0:02:46.730,0:02:53.730
to do and shows them what teamwork is all
about. Being part of something is great for
0:03:03.069,0:03:09.290
self esteem.
0:03:09.290,0:03:16.290
Every Tuesday and Thursday I transport about
five boys to training and then home again.
0:03:16.769,0:03:23.769
Transport is a big ongoing problem with no
easy solution. To be honest soccer is also
0:03:24.430,0:03:31.430
a very expensive sport. Registration costs
about $75 for each player. Most of these
0:03:33.450,0:03:40.450
families have four or five kids so they
can’t afford it. These kids have real talent
0:03:42.409,0:03:49.409
and they need encouragement but cost is a
problem.
0:03:57.959,0:04:03.099
I’ve got the resources to be there for my
boy to bring him down each week and hang
0:04:03.099,0:04:09.810
out but I’ve met all these kids that don’t
have that family support because of
0:04:09.810,0:04:15.560
different circumstances. It’s been a
learning experience for me wondering why
0:04:15.560,0:04:20.269
these kids aren’t getting that support.
I think with a lot of the Vietnamese kids
0:04:20.269,0:04:25.599
their families are more settled into
Australian culture and generally have
0:04:25.599,0:04:32.250
more resources so their families are
able to bring them down and come to
0:04:32.250,0:04:36.440
matches to support them. They are
generally, not in all cases, more
0:04:36.440,0:04:42.779
financially able to support their kids
whereas I find with the African boys
0:04:42.779,0:04:49.330
their families have so many other things
happening in their lives organised sport
0:04:49.330,0:04:56.330
doesn’t not seem as important. These boys
tend to rely on others to bring them down
0:04:58.419,0:05:04.200
to the club or support them at games.
Being an Anglo-Aussie growing up with
0:05:04.200,0:05:08.520
Aussie Rules the family was always there.
It was part of the lifestyle. With these
0:05:08.520,0:05:13.760
new communities that are arriving it
hasn’t been part of their lifestyle. The
0:05:13.760,0:05:19.659
kids are all passionate about their soccer.
They played soccer back home but not in
0:05:19.659,0:05:26.659
organised teams or clubs, only with their
mates. With some of the families they don’t
0:05:27.000,0:05:34.000
see playing sport as a priority. They just
don’t have the time, transport or finances
0:05:34.390,0:05:39.990
to come and support their kids.
0:05:39.990,0:05:46.990
First of all the club has to be a welcoming
environment. Having community barbeques
0:05:53.770,0:05:58.870
where different parents can meet each
other works really well. We can see that
0:05:58.870,0:06:03.599
parents take other kids under their wings
making sure they’ve got lifts to training
0:06:03.599,0:06:09.180
and games. With transport being an issue
we’ve managed to hire the community bus
0:06:09.180,0:06:15.289
through the council. This has been great
because this unifies the team when we can
0:06:15.289,0:06:21.719
travel to a match far away together. It’s
a great experience for the parents also
0:06:21.719,0:06:26.050
because they end up car pooling so they
are meeting each other that way too.
0:06:26.050,0:06:30.500
Perhaps we will have to try and focus on
a few more events like Come and Try Days.
0:06:30.500,0:06:34.690
Hopefully by doing this we can get the
kids to bring their friends along. Often
0:06:34.690,0:06:39.180
whilst parents aren’t coming along you’ll
find that older brothers or sisters will
0:06:39.180,0:06:45.089
come to games and training to support
their younger siblings. It’s an ongoing
0:06:45.089,0:06:52.089
program to try and work out how we will
get more families involved but hopefully
0:06:53.890,0:06:55.700
we’ll manage it.
0:06:55.700,0:07:02.700
You’ve got to
0:07:07.450,0:07:12.779
accept the cultural challenge.
There are a lot of clashes between different
0:07:12.779,0:07:18.539
cultures so you’ve got to be a facilitator.
You’ve got to sit down and talk to them
0:07:18.539,0:07:21.659
and
get involved with the families. I spend a
0:07:21.659,0:07:28.659
lot of time talking to the parents to try
and smooth the cultural clashes out.
A lot
0:07:38.760,0:07:45.760
of the African kids are recent arrivals and
they are struggling with life so we just
0:07:49.520,0:07:53.659
have to accommodate them. It’s very hard
but we try the best we can.
0:07:53.659,0:07:58.099
First of all the coaches need to have a bit
of an understanding where these kids are
0:07:58.099,0:08:03.120
coming from. Things that we think come
naturally like parent support; money to
0:08:03.120,0:08:09.649
play sport etc isn’t the case with a lot
of these families. Where they come from
0:08:09.649,0:08:13.839
things operate differently. They are still
trying to adjust into the ‘Aussie’ way
0:08:13.839,0:08:19.440
of
life so we need some tolerance. We need to
0:08:19.440,0:08:24.969
take time to communicate with families to
explain what the club is about and why
0:08:24.969,0:08:31.969
sport can be an important tool in their
kids’ lives. It’s not just about the kids
0:08:32.089,0:08:39.089
having fun. There are other skills. They
get to meet other people in the community
0:08:40.440,0:08:44.680
and have an opportunity to be part of
something rather than just hanging out
0:08:44.680,0:08:51.680
and feeling aimless.
0:08:59.150,0:09:03.940
To get more parent involvement would be
great. I’d like to see more kids coming
0:09:03.940,0:09:06.750
to
the club and know that they are supported.
0:09:06.750,0:09:13.750
I want them to feel like they are part of
the community. We don’t want a club that
0:09:21.450,0:09:24.260
is
all for one demographic. We want everyone
0:09:24.260,0:09:31.260
to
feel welcome, involved and safe in this
0:09:35.260,0:09:35.710
environment.
0:09:35.710,0:09:42.710
We want to push out further into the wider
community to attract more players. The
0:09:44.940,0:09:49.160
perception of soccer is that it is an ethnic
game. I don’t believe that is the way to
0:09:49.160,0:09:53.220
go.
We need to get more Australians and other
0:09:53.220,0:09:58.130
kids involved in the local area involved in
sport so I hope we can achieve that in the
0:09:58.130,0:09:58.430
future.
