Get up U13s!

Getting Up

What makes kids excited to get up at 5am? In Poipet, it's soccer! The March 8 competition was really grassroots stuff... six team, guys and girls playing together, about 90 kids... something simple to get them up, excited and into the experience of playing sport.

Standing Up

We played soccer from 8am-12:30pm and then had lunch. This was time for the girls to stand up... literally. Many had never eaten in a restaurant before and they refused to sit down to eat! Instead, they stood so they could reach all four dishes on the table. They ate two, three or four bowls of rice. They didn't leave the table until everything was finished. The table was a mess. Iced tea was spilled on the floor. There were grains of rice stuck to their cheeks... and they loved it! If there was a trophy for eating the most food at lunch, the girls would have won it!

Next?

A number of the coaches and team leaders asked when the next U13s tournament will be held. I want the kids to keep practicing. I want them to keep competing. I want the coaches and leaders to keep developing relationships with their players. But I can't organize a tournament every month. So I'm holding a meeting to pitch the idea that they organize another small tournament in April. I hope to see emerging coaches, referees and administrators step up to lead so that more young people can get into playing soccer in Poipet.