Please enable Javascript to watch this video
While the Lions certainly brought cheers, joy and moments of nerve-racking goals with fellow Purple clads this summer, The Foundation spent their time running expanded soccer programs across groups in Central Florida with a strong concentration in the Parramore area—the current and future home of the Club’s new stadium.
The Orlando City Foundation—who strongly advocates the physical and mental benefits of youth sports education, nutrition and health development—provides free year-round programs using soccer to positively impact children.
Foundation Summer Camps
Indoor soccer camps:
The Foundation kicked off two inaugural ‘indoor soccer’ camps, working out of Shiloh Baptist Church with members of the local church community and the Boys & Girls Club. Campers met twice a week for the specific girls/boys camps over the course of the 8-week program.
Receiving instruction from an all-female staff during the ‘Lady Lions’ camp, the group flourished in a safe and inclusive environment. Guest appearances included the Orlando City U-23A team and Page 15, a creative writing group which tackled topics such as ethical and situational hurdles through guided discovery and reflection.
Futsal purple ‘mini-pitch’ Camp: Sixty kids from John H. Jackson Center—the club’s first center with a mini pitch facility— completed the first ever ‘Foundation Futsal Camp’. The group spent each morning on the purple ‘mini-pitch’ practicing technique and footwork. A highlight of the summer was a ‘field trip to training’, where pro players and staff gave the group a taste of what an elite practice entails.
After School All-Stars summer soccer program:
Eight local middle schools also faced-off in a tournament-style competition for the second annual After School All-Stars summer soccer program. Expanding on the originally girls-specific program, the boys division saw the number of summer participants double.
Within this group, schools reported a 100 percent drop in absences in comparison to before the Foundation came into the picture.
To ensure the sustainably and organic growth of soccer in these schools and organizations, coaches across all programs received free National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) certification. The courses proved beneficial, with both champions for each respective After School All-Stars division including certified coaches Nicole LaBosco and Noah Early.
What were some of the benefits?
- Free NSCAA courses and certification for all schools and organizations
- Safe place to learn and practice a new sport
- Girls’ only teams to help teens practice the sport in a comfortable environment
- Nutrition education from Club partners , including Orlando Health
- Meet-and-greets with City First team and U-23A players and staff
- Yoga sessions to support awareness of healthy stretching habits in sports
- Field trips to First Team training sessions with lunch provided by Publix and transportation by Pegasus
What were significant results?
- The eight schools in the After School All-Star Program began soccer programs with the Club, and now run self-sustained fall soccer programs for both boys and girls
- School absences dropped by 100 percent from first quarter to second quarter, when Orlando City ran its camps across all After School All-Star Programs
- The Foundation expanded its footprint this summer by initiating programs new schools and organizations this summer
What’s next?
- In the fall, The Orlando City Foundation will debut the new U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Soccer for Success program on the mini pitch at the John H. Jackson Community Center.
- The Foundation is currently developing the next sites for ‘mini-pitches’ throughout the Orlando area. As courts become established, programs will operate out of each location.
- 10 new OCPS elementary schools have been selected to begin free after school programming. The Foundation provides an eight-week curriculum which incorporates physical activity, nutrition education, and mentorship.
