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| Shipley hosts workshop for young athletes where soccer is the theme but character, attitude, and education are the true goals. |
For the third year in a row, Shipley hosted Starfinder Foundation’s Passport to Excellence program. The day-long workshop reaches out to city kids and brings them together with suburban kids in a program that stresses character, attitude, and education. The mission of Starfinder’s is, “To create inspirational learning environments where children are encouraged through soccer to develop strong moral character.” 
This is done through skill building soccer drills, lessons on good decision making and conflict resolution, and a service component. It was a non-stop day of fun, sports, education, cultural awareness, and making friends for the 60 budding soccer stars.
Achieving this goal is no easy feat. This year’s program was coordinated and organized by students from Wharton’s undergraduate business school who worked tirelessly to design an educational component for the students as they learned about other countries, and how to deal with challenges that they might face in their everyday life. Other volunteers included some from City Year (an AmeriCorps program with nearly 1,000 young people in full-time volunteer service in communities across the country), the Haverford College girls’ varsity soccer team with soccer coaches from local clubs, as well as Shipley students and faculty. 
It was the opportunity of a lifetime for senior, Hilary Dykes, a Shipley student volunteer. “The volunteers weren't really the only ones that made the day a success in my view, it was the willingness and eagerness of the kids to participate and learn something new that made the experience worth it for me.”
Athletes were divided into teams representing six countries. In an opening ceremony, one representative from each team paraded into the theatre carrying the flag of his or her “nation” to the tune of the Olympic Fanfare. Then the kids spent the day alternating between practicing soccer skills, lessons and games on making the right choices, and creating posters of snowflakes and snowmen for display at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). 
The day was capped off with a soccer World Cup. Hilary Dykes summarized the success of the day, “Though all the children were divided into teams, or "countries," everyone got medals during the closing ceremonies because they all had accomplished the sole objective through the soccer and leadership games, which was to have a good time and learn good sportsmanship.” 
The participants had made a difference for others in the global community with their service efforts as our volunteers had made a difference to them with their help and friendship. They had not only learned about the sport of soccer and the world, but they had learned about each other.
December 2005
Copyright © 2006 The Shipley School, www.shipleyschool.org