La Tajeada has a ladies soccer team! We are “The Stars” Sports Club (It sounds better in Spanish than in English).
The team has been playing now since the beginning of July. We officially practice three days a week, however the 30 girls show up to the soccer field just about every day. I’m constantly amazed and often a little frustrated by their non-stop desire to keep playing. I’ll see the evening rain clouds slowly sweep over our mountain towards the field, signaling the start of night, and am forced to convince the girls that they need to go home. I remind them that they’ll be plenty of time to play tomorrow. But they beg forjust a few minutes more.
I think playing soccer is a new liberty that they are experiencing. They have so many responsibilities in their homes; making tortillas, cleaning, hand-washing clothes, cooking food, homework, school, that having time to just be girls is liberating.
Soccer is THE sport of Honduras. It is an obsession. Most Honduran boys play it every single day. In spite of that, gender rolesare so strictly defined that many of the girls didn’t even know the basic rules of soccer when we started. It wasn’t something that girls were expected to take part in. What more, it is considered dangerous and somewhat scandalous for girls to attend men’s soccer games. However, now the girls have their own team, which the parents are starting to see as a good after-schoolactivity. Our games are a blast. There is nowhere for the fans to sit but the hills overlooking the field fill with parents, siblings and neighbors standing and peaking around trees as they watch the game. When our offense gets close to the goal the sidelines erupt with cheers and howls. It's fantastic.
We’re making progress during practice. At our first game, nearly half the team played in skirts. Now they wear shorts or jeans. Before, the girls kept trying to catch the ball with their hands. Now they understand corner kicks, free kicks, fouls and penalties.
None of the girls have soccer cleats. Our captain, a smart 17 year old who is studying to be a businesswoman, lost the pair she had. She cried for hours afterwards. Cleats are expensive (About $7.00 a pair) and none of the girls work or have any kind of income. Part-time jobs don’t exist for young women. So we’ve been organizing activities as a team to save up enough to buy 11 pairs of cleats. It wont be enough pairs for everyone on the team, but itwill be enough for those who are on the field playing. We sell water, snacks, and candy at soccer games and the girls organized a dance where they sold soda and candy and charged the boys .50 cents to enter.
I’m really proud of the girls. They are stepping up into leadership positions. They are learning how to organize the group, how to sell, manage money, work towards goals. They are getting out of their houses and out of the community and competing.
Plus, I’m excited because I have an excuse to get out of the house and get some exercise!
Our local soccer field. It’s the only large flat area in our town and it’s got one of the best views of our mountain.
At an away game selling water. I’m showing off my apron, which women wear when they sell so they can shove money into the deep pockets.
Half of our team at an away game in Carrizo. We tied 0-0. Our men’s team lent us their old uniforms and a soccer ball. And yes, I really am that tall in comparison to the ladies.
Cutting the grass and picking up trash from the field the day before a home game. There were over 50 people from the men and women’s teams who came to help work. And in case you were wondering, there were no lawn mowers, just machetes.
Who would have thought when you were in kindergarten chasing the ball around the field that it would eventually become key in a project that has helped so many young women grow in self esteem and also bring such connectedness to this community. Love it! (and love you!)
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