World of Good Blogburst, Soccer Style

Welcome to another episode of the World of Good (WOG) here at The Scratching Post.

We've covered quite a bit since we've started these. Tsunamis, hurricanes, drug addiction, homelessness, almost every kind of pestilence and plague and disaster known to Man. I know what you've been thinking. "Lighten up, K T! You wanted to make us aware of the kindness and care all around us, but these stories are just scaring the bejeepers out of us! And we're not even sure what bejeepers are!"

This week we take a break from disasters and human suffering to focus on...little kids playing soccer! Whoohoo! Go team!

Haverford College is an undergraduate liberal arts college of 1100 students located in Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1833 by the Quakers. Among their athletics is a women's soccer team. The team does more than score goals and throw elbows when the refs aren't looking. Er, I meant to say they most certainly do not throw elbows. Ever. Anyway, here's what else they do.

Community service plays an integral role in the education of Haverford College students. The women's soccer team participates in numerous service projects throughout the year and is committed to encouraging and fostering relationships between team members and a variety of local groups.

An example of this is an effort they run in conjunction with local college soccer coaches to help teach children how to be better soccer players. Here's what they had to say about it.

Hey! You just scored on our goalie! Want a scholarship?

We assisted college coaches in running soccer sessions for the children throughout the day, and near the end we each coached our own team in the final tournament. We had a wonderful time participating! It was fun playing, coaching, and meeting the children and coaches that we worked with.

Haverford star of the present, meet Haverford star of the future.

The most rewarding part of the day, though, was more than the fun we had and the workout we got from trying to keep up with the kids. It was extremely gratifying to see the kids' having a great time, and to observe their soccer skills and friendships progress throughout the day.

Better living through ball control.

The highlight of the experience for us was sharing our love of soccer with the children through playing and coaching, while having a great time with them. We enjoyed serving as role models for the kids on our teams, and helping them see what they can accomplish, whether it is with their soccer careers, studies, or future life, with hard work and dedication.

A portrait in kindness.
This particular WOG came to mind because I'm organizing a trip for my daughter's soccer team to see a local college women's soccer game. All throughout our league we're surrounded by people giving their time and effort to make a World of Good for the girls.

For more about the Haverford College women's soccer team, visit their website. Images used from their website without permission.

For a description of our WOG posts and full list of the many WOGs we've done, please visit this link. We also ask bloggers who would wish to link to our WOG posts to drop us an email and let us know.

Update: Welcome ladies of the Haverford soccer team! Your coach, Wendy Smith sent me a very nice email in response to this post. Thank you all so much for making the world a better place. Over on the right hand side, you'll see the WOG Squad bloggers who link to these posts weekly. Now you're famous! Drop us a comment if you'd like. You can leave them anonymously if you wish to protect your privacy.

Other visitors, the soccer team has been visiting this post and might like to see what you think of their work. Drop them a note in the comments if you'd like.