Mpira wa Migu (Football)

During our three weeks here, we will be conducting soccer camps with two secondary schools and two primary schools.  Generally speaking, soccer is a sport reserved for boys in most places in the country while girls play netball (a sport very similar to basketball).  Our soccer camps are reserved only for the girls in order to give them a chance to build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to play soccer.  It is our hope that this sense of empowerment can carry over into other aspects of their lives after the camps have ended.

Our first camp was at Nyalumbu Secondary School.  The first day was definitely a learning experience for our students as they became familiar with the skill levels of the girls, allowing them to prepare a plan for moving forward.  As the girls started trickling in from school, our students played some warm-up games to get to know each other’s names and ages.  They then played a scrimmage to finish up the day.

Days 2 and 3 looked very similar.  Students broke up into pairs or small groups and prepared drills for the girls to practice.  Once the girls finished practicing the skills at one station, they rotated to a new station.  This gave the girls the chance to get some small attention while practicing passing, penalty kicks, and goal shooting. After completing as many stations as possible, the students were divided into four times to play two scrimmages.

Once we have finished the camps at the four different schools, everyone will come together for a tournament.  The two secondary schools will faceoff against one another as will the two primary schools.  The winner of each match will win a goat, so make sure you follow along with our blog so you can see who wins!