At Colina Del Sol Park in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood, “the beautiful game” is bringing together young refugees and immigrants from all over the world, multiple times a week.
“The moment we started off here, soccer was already taking off in City Heights and San Diego,” said 17-year-old Khalid Hassan, who plays on the team at the park.
He came to the United States as a child from Somalia, by way of Kenya.
Hassan was at the park with his friend Mbekalo Oredi, who also immigrated to the U.S. during his early years; in his case, from Tanzania.
“Before this program, I didn't play in any soccer league or clubs, anything like that. This actually taught me how to kick a ball,” Khalid said.
On the basketball courts at Colina Del Sol, they were two of many young boys and girls gathered to learn the fundamentals, train and play a street style of soccer called futsal.
“We do practices and we also have games too. As of right now, on Saturdays, there's a futsal tournament for the girls,” said 18-year-old July Wah.
She recently joined the program with her cousin Venus Wah.
Their families are Karen refugees from Myanmar and Thailand.
“I’ve been playing soccer before I joined this program. I would come down to the park down there and just play,” July said. “Then one day I saw Ms. Ana and her players just training and I asked if I could join her. And ever since then I've been playing with her.”
The no-cost soccer clinics are part of the FC YAP program put on by a volunteer-run organization called Young & Prosperous.
It’s funded by grants and donations.
Ana Diaz is director of sport for the organization.
“We have youth all the way from 5th grade to (high school) seniors. And we help them with the basic fundamentals of soccer,” Diaz said. “As soon as they get to a certain level then we start reaching out to clubs that are willing to sponsor these youth and we make those connections with them.”
Diaz has helped organize free youth soccer at the park for about a decade.
She said youth in the program share their cultures with one another and find ways to communicate despite language barriers.
“Because of soccer it was like a universal language where we’re all talking,” Diaz said.
In this part of the city, Diaz said there's a lack of access to organized soccer teams because of the cost to play.
FC YAP provides all the equipment the players need.
“If I needed soccer cleats, they helped me with that, if I needed new shoes for school they helped me with that. They really like helped me, they have been a huge part of my life,” Oredi said.
Diaz said the program offers a positive environment off the pitch too.
“Soccer is just the hook. It's more of mentoring, we prep them for college,” she said.
That college prep includes tutoring and making sure the kids are on top of their grades.
“During the fall season I was really stressed out with college and applying and stuff. So, like it helped me mentally and physically,” Venus said.
She said playing soccer helps make the academics feel less serious.
“It was just a little moment where I could just get away from school work,” Venus said.
Her cousin July said it's given her life skills too.
“It's taught me leadership, and also speaking up because I'm a very non-social person,” she said.
The program has even played a role for some of the kids to achieve college scholarships.
Khalid has a full-ride academic scholarship to UC Riverside. He credits the educational help he received through Young & Prosperous.
19-year-old Oredi has continued playing soccer thanks to a scholarship at The Master's University.
“Here I am playing college soccer even though I didn't play high school. I just continually was working hard and listening to my coaches,” Oredi said.
Coaching the FC YAP team is personal for Diaz — she remembers coming from Mexico as a child and not being able to afford soccer in southeast San Diego.
“I was in soccer as well, I also got sponsored. I also was helped a lot by people taking me – coming and going,” Diaz said. “Where I grew up there wasn't a lot of sports, especially for girls. And if you do want to play, you had to pay. So I think it's kind of like a way of giving back.”
To see the kids in City Heights overcome adversity and find success through soccer is what makes Diaz most proud.
“Sports keeps kids out of trouble — it keeps them out of the streets, out of drugs, out of gangs. So I do have a passion for that,” she said.
Oredi and Hassan’s stories are inspiring others in FC YAP.
“Mostly about soccer, what it taught me was the discipline part – keep showing up, keep showing up. Well I kept showing up,” Hassan said.
The organization now has basketball and dance programs. It’s giving more kids the same shot.
“The amount of opportunity they have — all these programs. It really helps people that are not from here and make those people feel at home and welcomed,” Oredi said.
Oredi and Hassan’s success stories are bringing Diaz’s story full circle.
It's also growing the support system for immigrant youth in City Heights to see beyond the borders of their own community.
Plus, they get to play together on a team that they say feels like a home away from home.
