A few weeks before the start of the fall Work to Play soccer season, Urban Initiatives received a phone call from Julia Weiss, a former Wilmette Wings player who remembered playing in a Crosstown Classic with Urban Initiatives players a decade ago. Julia wanted to organize a Corporate Coaching day with her company, Huron Education.
“We were pumped to hear from Julia and to meet so many great people from Huron Education,” says Urban Initiatives’ Co-Founder and Executive Director, Jim Dower. “We were honored to have a former Wings player reach out to us to coordinate a volunteer event with her office. It’s really a testament to the impact of Crosstown game days and the impact they have on kids from both Urban Initiatives and Wilmette.”
Two months later, a team of 13 volunteers from Huron took the field with Urban Initiatives players from Nixon Elementary, Morton Elementary, Howe Elementary, and Beidler Elementary. With so many volunteers ready for action, each team of Urban Initiatives kids met and engaged with at least one new coach!
After getting their blood pumping with a few quick warm-up games, the players and coaches got into position for their games. The action was fast-paced throughout the afternoon, and Huron’s coaches were awesome about encouraging their teams to work together and have fun on the field. Beidler’s players demonstrated particularly strong passing, and a third grader from Nixon made a handful of great saves in goal. The players and coaches high fived and shook hands after the final whistle blew, and Urban Initiatives’ players headed back to their schools. It was a great day, and Urban Initiatives would like to thank Huron Education and Julia Weiss for making it possible!
