Seattle U hosts College Kicks soccer clinic for local low-income youth

Seattle University soccer players and current students are playing host to local nonprofit after-school program America SCORES Seattle for a soccer clinic and question and answer session April 7.

Almost 200 third, fourth and fifth grade students from local elementary schools will visit the Seattle U campus for College Kicks, an event that aims to inspire students to pursue higher education.

The basic criteria for students to participate in the America SCORES Seattle program is that they come from an elementary school in which at least 70 percent of students are on free or reduced price lunch programs.

"We don't like to dwell on the fact that they are low-income students," said Carole Kelley, executive director of America SCORES Seattle.

Instead, the program looks to provide an opportunity for students to participate in an after-school activity since this sort of option is limited in elementary schools in general already.

Kelley said the number of elementary schools that meet this criterion is high in the Seattle School District. She noted one school participating in the program has 98 percent of their students on such lunch programs.

Students are selected to participate in the program by a committee of teachers at their school, based on which students will gain the most out of the program. At some schools there are waiting lists for students to participate in the America SCORES Seattle program.

The 10-week program takes place twice during the school year, once during the fall and once in the spring. Teachers at the schools oversee the after-school programs, and transportation home is provided for the students at the end of each day. Two days of each week are devoted to writing workshops, two to soccer practice and each Friday is a game day.

In the spring, the focus of the program is poetry and in the fall the students work on service learning projects.

"The mission of the program is to make them feel empowered and that they can make a difference in their community," Kelley said.

Kelley said the students that participate in the America SCORES Seattle program often tend to become leaders in their schools.

"Seattle University is a natural match for us," Kelley said.

The College Kicks program has been hosted at Seattle U before because of its location in the Central District and its close proximity to Bailey Gatzert School, one of the elementary schools participating in their program.

For many of the students participating in College Kicks, it will be their first time interacting with college students or even their first time on a college campus.

The students will be separated into groups and will rotate through running drills with the soccer players, touring the campus and participating in a question and answer session with current students.

"It will give them the chance to see that these are people just like them that are going to school and that they can do this too," Kelley said.

Kelley said College Kicks is her favorite event of the year.

"This even really captures the essence of what America SCORES Seattle is all about," Kelley said.

She hopes College Kicks will open the eyes of these students to opportunities they hadn't considered before and will be a meaningful experience for all students who participate.

Taylor may be reached at sports@su-spectator.com