Berger camp: Football as life
We cover this story every year and each time we do, it gets bigger and better. Patrick Jones reports.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
The group of boys and girls on the playground are not just having fun kicking around footballs. According to coordinator of the Berger 404 Youth Summer Camp, Emerson Guild, they are actually learning important life skills.
Emerson Guild, Coordinator, Berger Alumni Summer Camp
“This camp is about developing positive images in our community using these children as the cohesive agent. We do football, but football is only a piece of what we do. We are using the football mechanism as the book so to speak. Since we can’t get the children to read, we use their passion for football and the discipline for football as the example for life skills training.”
The training starts out in the classroom, where the basics of football are laid out on the black board, after which they go to the pitch for the practical sessions, starting with the warm ups.
Emerson Guild
“They were dribbling and learning how the ball feels. And as you feel the ball, you get to control the ball. So they don’t have control yet, but in feeling the ball they begin to understand the attitude of controlling the ball.”
This is the fourth year for football camp, and more than just getting the participants to play leap frog, Guild says it is the result of a need to help young people channel their energies in a positive direction.
Emerson Guild
“In October of 1999 there was a rash of criminal activities in the young age group. And myself along with James Adderley, Mr. Leonard Ysaguirre, Mr. Henry Armstrong, Mr. Karl Robateau, Harold Goff, and a few other guys who were not members of the championship Berger 404 club, sat down and we decide that we would try to do something about it; we would take action. And that action that we took was to develop this youth summer programme and to maintain it. However, it’s bigger than us now and we are asking the community at large to become a part of that “we” so that we can impact more children.”
Guild says that over the years there have been many success stories coming out of the camp, among them Nicholi Fernandez, whose life prior to being enrolled left a lot to be desired.
P.C. Nicholi Fernandez, Football Camp Coach
“First I used to be, how you could say it, out, rude, misbehaved person. But during my four years of camp I learned to conduct myself, how to treat people the proper way, how to go about talking to people, how to help in youths, so that inspired me to go and join the force.”
The children have to maintain strict discipline in order to remain in the programme, which lasts for four weeks. But those who find it difficult to stay in line are given ample opportunity to redeem themselves.
Emerson Guild
“If you notice right now, we have three children walking around with their hands up. We call that “doing the bird”. They are doing the bird, but not only are they doing the bird, but they have to agree to work together as a team so that they can complete. There is one individual out there right now that is consistently putting his hand down, so he has the other two guys doing three or four or five laps when they could do one perfect lap and come back. So the other two kids now have to have a negotiation with him so that he will perform properly so that they can complete the lap properly.”
The camp is open to children between the ages of eight and fifteen who must be willing to adhere to the principles of the programme. And while the community has been, and will continue to benefit from it, Organizers say it is time for more community participation in the form of sponsorships. Patrick Jones, for News 5.
Guild says Grace Kennedy Belize Limited and KREM Radio are two of the companies that have been supporting the programme since it started in 1999. The majority of the children come from the Queen’s Square and Lake Independence areas of Belize City, although there are participants from as far as San Ignacio, Ladyville and Hattieville. The camp will continue until August second at the football field next to the St. Martin De Porres primary school.
