CSI INSPIRES THE NEXT MARTA, HER NAME IS EMILY ARANGO!
Emily Arango is a 5th grader at P.S. 146 in Spanish Harlem and she loves to play soccer. Through Downtown United Soccer Club and Gotham Girls F.C.’s outreach program, City Soccer Initiative (CSI), Emily had the opportunity to experience the game with a professional coach, Ivan Perez. Ivan represents the CSI program at P.S. 146. As he coaches and teaches the kids how to play soccer, he is also looking for opportunities to incorporate life skills into his sessions. When Ivan first began coaching Emily he knew she was a special player with a drive to play the game beyond what the school based program could provide, and he connected Emily with the Gotham Girls Football Club.
Emily is now a member of the Gotham Girls FC Magic. Her team trains twice per week and plays in the Westchester Youth Soccer League. The Gotham Girls Magic is one of eight teams in the Gotham Girls Football Club. GGFC develops creative and confident soccer players and provides coaches who build in the CSI life skills component.
Nicola Baker is a former collegiate soccer player and has been coaching youth soccer for ten years. She is Emily’s current soccer coach and sees the same characteristics that inspired Ivan to connect her with Gotham Girls.
“Emily is well on her way to being a star performer. She has shown tremendous creativity using fakes and moves to deceive defenders. Emily shows true flair on the field. She has real confidence on the ball which is so wonderful to see in a player. She is focused in her approach to the game is always working with the ball to improve her control. Her natural level of self motivation to improve as a player makes my job a lot of fun.”
City Soccer Initiative served as a bridge for Emily to achieve higher success with the sport because PS 146 understands the program’s potential and actively supports it. The social, physical, and psychological benefits experienced by the children are lasting and impacting. Sport can create opportunities for children to make positive connections that will enhance their childhood experience and provide them with adult mentors who care and want to help kids succeed. CSI is driven to provide positive soccer experiences to children who may not get to the opportunity to play outside of school. Having a player like Emily come through and connect to the sport on a higher level is icing on the cake.
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