It can happen quickly.
Tyler Deric pulled up to Memphis Scholars South Campus on W Olive Ave in early April not knowing he’d have new mentees and a new nickname four weeks later. Coach Tarzan, as the children scream when he walks through the door, volunteered for the entirety of Memphis 901 FC’s weekly visit program with Memphis Scholars.
Memphis Scholars is a public charter school network offering students in North and South Memphis high-quality education from Pre-K through eighth grade.
After just four sessions of learning the basics and playing with the pros, students are asking their instructors to start organized teams to practice and play after school.
“That’s just kind of the natural process,” said Deric. “You come out here with some soccer balls and the kids have fun and want to do it more. It’s just a special thing that we’re able to do, opening these kids up for new opportunities and I think that’s a great thing. It’s a big smile on the kids face when they see a familiar face and that’s really nice.”
Memphis Scholars saw their kids gravitate toward players during reading visits last school year and approached the club for continued visits, this time working to introduce kids to the game of soccer on the field.
901 FC, All In
Every Wednesday for a month, players and staff took an hour to meet the kids, run through soccer drills and speak about the fun and benefits of soccer. Players also donated equipment like balls and cones for the kids to practice their new skills everyday.
“It’s great being able to have these programs where we can bring the resources to the kids instead of the kids having to find the resources,” said Memphis Scholars Director of Instructional Support Laura Sanders said. “We have parents that work nights or have different duties so being able to bring those things to the kids is really important so they can get exposure to all different sports or activities. When we can bring it to them it allows more of our students to thrive.”
When the initiative was presented, every single player signed on. The entire roster was eager to introduce new avenues for extracurricular sports beyond football or basketball and help students in the community express themselves.
“We do have a soccer unit but I can only teach them the very basics,” Memphis Scholars Physical Ed. Teacher Anna Murphy said. “Getting to expand on those soccer skills, they love it. Also getting to meet new people and hear their stories on how they became professional soccer players, It really helps our students see a bigger picture.”
The game clicked quickly and soon students were asking for more.
“It’s something they want to do more than just one time a week. That’s very exciting to me because you’ve got to think about the area,” said Behavioral Specialist Tavaris Bogo. “They don’t get used to playing sports like soccer and things like that.
“I think if there was a way to get school club soccer teams going, that would be awesome. I know a lot of these kids want to keep playing. They want to do things after school. I think if we had the support to do something like that in the school district and this neighborhood that would be awesome too.”
Just the Beginning
Memphis will have several community initiatives this summer while plans for further growth at Memphis Scholars and other schools in the district continue.
“The next step for us is to try to partner with local businesses in our community,” 901 FC Assistant Sporting Director Caleb Patterson-Sewell said. “We want to try and push this program forward to where we can provide further resources by way of balls, pennies, cones or have a team put together and have an opportunity for the kids as best we can. That’s the next step in the journey, but the first four-week program was a great start.”
