Why Me?

What is a guy like me doing working at a soccer camp?

Why is someone who has spent the majority of his sporting life as a distance runner learning about playing the 4-1-2-3 and teaching kids how to move off ball and create space for each other? These are questions I’ve asked myself often over the past three weeks that I’ve spent here in Cape Town helping out with Ubuntu’s U13 team and running soccer clinics for kids in Fish Hoek and Meadowridge.

1 Corinthians chapter 12 reminds us of the importance of possessing certain individual, tangible, or highly technical gifts when it comes to ministry. Paul likens the technical gifts that we all have in abundance to members of a body, eyes and feet and hands, working together in unison to create a delicate balance of vibrant life. Yet, Paul also tells us in the next chapter that there are things greater than this: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and knowledge,” he muses in one of the most famous passages in Scripture, “if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

My time here in Ocean View working with Ubuntu has taught me that there truly is no gift you can give someone greater than love: the love that you use to spend time with them, to care for them, to show them even in spite of your lack of expertise in other areas, and in spite of your imperfect way of showing it, that they mean the world to you.

A few days ago, I went for a run and when I came back, I began to do a set of drills designed to improve my form. As I began, one of the boys loitering nearby watched me intently and then began to join in, trying his best to mimic my various leaps and bounds. At first, I was stunned, then a little amused, but eventually I treated him like a training partner, explaining to him what drill I was doing next and what his focus should be, applauding him when he did well and correcting him when he missed a step. The encounter hammered home to me the fact that there are so many people in Ocean View and across the world who need to be not just led, but loved, who need someone in their life who is willing to take the time to show them that they matter, even if it is in some small and seemingly meaningless way.

The good news is that any one can do this. Any person, Paul writes, is capable of bringing that kind of meaningful love into another human being’s life, no matter how bad you may be at pulling the v or playing keeper.

Dylan Thayer feels like he’s in over his head, and would rather be running. He lives in Washington D.C. with his parents and twin sisters. 

Big News

As you may have read about, one of our academy boys Eric Phillips, committed his life to Christ just recently. As crazy as it is the amazing news doesn't stop with just him.

For a couple of years now Casey, Michael, Treswill and the likes of other volunteers like myself, have sought to pour into this core group of Academy boys with love and energy that originates from The Gospel. The Gospel, ultimately being what we long for our boys to come to a knowledge of. For each of our boys to have a life-giving relationship with Christ. And after two years of planting seeds into our Academy boys and watering them (http://ubuntufootball.com/team-players/) we're seeing those seeds start to grow!
The other Wednesday night we decided that it was time to give our boys the chance to respond to Christ for the first official time since we've begun with them. So after Wednesday night's devotion Treswill gave the boys a chance to respond to Christ if he was indeed calling them. And man was He calling them. Juan, Tauraq, Chadley AND Carl prayed a prayer inviting Christ to be their Savior that night! It was amazing! Juan and Tauraq are our two toughest Academy boys to work with and yet in all their struggles and pain they surrendered to Christ and allowed him to come into their hearts. Truly, it was a remarkable night. And as crazy as this sounds, there's more to the story. At our next Ubuntu training session (which was on Monday) Treswill gave our boys another opportunity to accept Christ into their lives and Lutho, Simxolisile, Siya, Robin AND Josh all prayed asking Christ to come into their lives! It all unfolded before our very eyes. We got to watch God call these boys into a relationship with himself which was amazing. They each have such different lives, home situations and backgrounds and yet that desire for Jesus to be in charge of it all was there, heavy on their hearts.
Since the beginning, we've been praying that all of our boys would enter into a saving relationship with Christ though. So after a couple of years to see God's faithfulness and goodness in calling them to himself is such a neat experience. It's humbling, thinking that God would use us as a part of his bigger purposes for their lives. And it's especially humbling for me that I would get to be here for this big moment in their lives as my time in South Africa is coming to a close very soon. I know it's just the beginning of a life-long journey but I look so forward to seeing where it takes them. One of the greatest things about it all is that we'll continue to be in their lives to walk out all the challenges and the struggles and joys that come with living for Jesus in this life. I do know it's going to be an incredible journey to be a part of as God has such a specific call on each of their lives and in such different ways.

I know you're all celebrating back home as God is moving mightily in the lives of these Ubuntu boys here in Cape Town, South Africa.
Know that we're all celebrating here as well.

Blessed to be able to write about such good news,
Austin Dietz
Intern at Ubuntu Sports Outreach

[To see the boys who gave their life to Christ click here: www.ubuntufootball.com/team-players/]

Eric Philips is one of the more recent boys added on to our Ubuntu Academy (3rd row, far right-http://ubuntufootball.com/team-players/). And while he had been performing great, the past couple of months he has given us more attitude problems and issues at training than any other boy on the Academy. Little did we know this was all a part of what was going to happen later on. Recently, Michael Jenkins and Casey Prince had to sit down and have a very serious chat with him about his behavior and performance at practice. Even within their meeting, it was like it was it all changed for Eric. Attentive, respectful, he was practically hanging onto their every word. It was almost a new sense of maturity. I think part of what shook Eric that day was the picture Michael painted for him. He started at the end result Eric wants to be at--playing professionally for Manchester United--and then back tracked all the way to where Eric is now. Eric immediately realized the direction he's going won't get him there. From that day forward we already saw a huge transformation in Eric's behavior and performance on the field. 

A week later however, Eric approached Michael Jenkins and Treswill at practice about something even more major. It was about a decision he was ready to make. During their meeting the previous week faith in Jesus had come up and in the midst of that moment Casey and Michael figured it was best to have this discussion on another day. Well the Lord had stirred in Eric's heart from that previous week until that night at training and he wanted to commit his life to Christ THAT evening right there AT practice! So with much enthusiasm Michael prayed the prayer with Eric and Eric became a new creation that evening at practice.

To see one of our boys come to us wanting to give his life over to Christ, truly is an amazing thing. To see how God used these past few months of misbehaving in Eric's life as a part of breaking him down and leading him into a relationship with Jesus and to see how faithfully loving Eric and continuing to point him to Jesus was all a part of God calling him to himself. Truly, it is amazing to see! Eric is also the first of any of our Ubuntu Academy boys to invite Jesus to be his Savior and is something we've been GREATLY celebrating over here at Ubuntu. We spent Thursday morning's meeting celebrating God's work in Eric's life as we know it's the start of an amazing journey. A journey we're excited to walk out with Eric. Because while we're all about our boys becoming the greatest men, soccer players and people possible, this is what it's all about. Our boys coming to know the Lord and enter into a relationship that will change their lives.

It's been a pleasure to share such incredible news,

Austin
Intern at Ubuntu

Football Forward: Special Guests

Ubuntu Football Forward is a grassroots soccer program Ubuntu has started in January of this year. I'm excited to say the numbers of each age group have been growing significantly over the past months. With more and more kids attending each week, the program is really becoming a success. In even more recent weeks though, a local missions organization called All Nations has partned a college soccer ministry from the States (Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma) with Football Forward. They're a group of 12, very able-bodied, soccer-playing, Jesus-loving, college students assisting us each Monday and Wednesday at Football Forward. We've even been able to turn over the life skills and soccer lesson to them at each session which has been great. After months and months of hard work, they've allowed us to take a step back and look at the program we're running which has been cool. The kids at Football Forward have responded incredibly well to the college students as well as they've added tons of energy and really sought to elevate Football Forward as a program. All 12 of the Oral Roberts students are quite talented as soccer players so the kids have also loved that part of things.

The Oral Roberts students being here has also meant some other things. Because while Football Forward exists for many reasons, one of the main reasons is to love and invest in the kids of Ocean View. And more than just having extra hands on staff to make things run smoothly, having the ORU students with us has been such a blessing because of the way they love the kids. There are several kids, one in particular, who has just been tough to work with. He's had a lot of different hurt in his life and so despite our efforts to consistently love and be there for him he can be pretty resistant. But ever since the ORU students have been here he hasn't been able to help but smile and to be in a good mood as they've continued to love him (without even knowing this)! So that, among many other things, has been very cool for us at Ubuntu. They're also here for 3 more weeks which is a real treat!

Below are some photos of the kids with the Oral Roberts students from the other day's session!

Strandfontein Tournament Excitement

Check out the news and pics on the Ubuntu Football blog: http://ubuntufootball.com/?p=515

Big Mac with Chadley

Every now and then, one of us at Ubuntu Football will take one of our Academy boys out for a meal. At 13 years old, what boy isn’t down to devour a Big Mac and coke at McDonald's? It gives us the opportunity to spend some quality time with our players and talk with them on levels that we don’t get to at practice.

This past Friday I took Chadley to McDonalds after school to grab a bite. Needless to say, he was excited. Big Mac, fries and a chocolate milkshake—does it get any better on a Friday afternoon after a long week of school?! He was surprised that I paid for it with my money though. So I just told him that I’m proud of him and believe in him and that I wanted to treat him to McDonalds. He’s one of our boys who has done the best at Silvermine Academy. I’ve got to say, the most exciting part of our time for me was the questions he asked me though. He asked things like, “Can people who’ve murdered someone else still be forgiven and go to Heaven?” and “Where is Heaven? Is it above the sky in space?” They were some pretty heavy, Christian questions that I didn’t expect our 13 year old Chadley to be wondering about. But he was.

For me it came as encouragement. That as we pray and invest into our Academy boys with our lives that they’re now asking bigger questions and wanting to know the answers to them. As they continue to grow in faith, maturity and age I hope we can always be there to continue to feed them as young men. That we would continue to pour into them to our best ability but that God would do exceedingly more in their lives than we’ll ever be capable of. And Chadley is really one of those boys. One of those boys who we believe is going to be a great, great man one day.   
Kind regards,Austin

An Inside Look

So how does an ever-expanding organization continue to grow while still holding true to its vision? By meeting weekly.

Since the beginning of the New Year we’ve been meeting each week as a staff here at Ubuntu. For a couple of hours each Thursday morning we stop what we’re doing and meet. These meetings have not only brought us closer together as a team but have been highly beneficial to our operations as an organization. Because many different things must happen to keep Ubuntu running (marketing/business, Academy, football programs, transport) and growing as it is, each team member focuses a little more directly on certain areas. Meeting each week has allowed us to report back on those more specific fields and keep everybody on the same page with everything we have going on.

These meetings have also been a time to pray together as a team, hear from each other and also to share some laughs together. I feel like I’ve grown to love what we’re doing even more through these meetings too. I’m consistently shown more of Casey and Michael’s heart for Ubuntu each week at these meetings and how they want to impact the young men of Africa through it. Which has been very cool. Because as much time as we spend out on the field together it’s cool to be reminded of their heart behind it all as well.

Looking forward to keeping you updated,

Austin

And the Verdict is...

Exciting update written by Austin on the Ubuntu Football Blog.  Please check it out there... http://ubuntufootball.com/?p=409

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

At Ubuntu we’ve been training our Academy boys since the beginning of January. At our pre-season camp we set the standard high with timed runs and focused training sessions. Coming back from camp we continued with our high standards for 2012 and kept at it on the training field. The boys have been getting more fit and yet it’s still pre-season. Or I should say was. Because today marks the first official day that “club soccer” starts at Fish Hoek (the club Ubuntu has partnered with and plays at). That means on Tuesdays and Thursdays there’ll be 60-70 Fish Hoek boys at training in each age group instead of just our core group. Ubuntu Football Academy trains separately on Mondays and Wednesdays and the boys train with Fish Hoek on Tuesdays and Thursdays (which we run).

So that said, our level of expectation for the boys at tonight’s training is high. Last night at the end of practice, Casey reminded them that while all of the boys coming to play at Fish Hoek tomorrow evening have just been sitting around we’ve been training hard since the start of January. Therefore we expect our boys to stand out and to set the bar tonight. They should look sharper on the ball, be more fit, and really set the tone out on the field tonight. We also told them they should be outgoing on the field meeting the new players. On multiple levels we hope our Academy boys stand out. And a part of me wants to tell them, “You should come in with a little bit of pride knowing that you’ve been training harder and longer and at a higher level than the other players out there. That you should have some pride because you’re a part of the Ubuntu Academy so therefore you should put pride in the drills that will go on tonight. You should put pride in being first at the fitness drills. That you should make an effort to meet the new boys at Fish Hoek and make them feel welcome."  However, I also must realize that our Academy boys are still only 12 and 13 years old and still have lots of learning to do.

So as tonight kicks off the first Fish Hoek practice, in which kids from all over this area will be there, the rubber is going to meet the road. All of the training our boys have been doing since January is going to be displayed against all the other kids showing up for tonight’s first practice. Will there be a dramatic difference from our Ubuntu Academy boys and the rest of the boys? Only tonight will tell. So that said, I’m looking very forward to what tonight’s training session at Fish Hoek holds!

Will let you know how things go,

Austin

Holly is running a 1/2 Marathon

One of our old youth group students, Holly Bryce Rizk, who recently visited us in Cape Town, is running a 1/2 Marathon in April to raise money for Ubuntu.  Please check out her causevox site and support her endeavor!  Thanks, Holly!!

Casey

Fundraiser Post

We need to tell you a secret.  We've been holding on to it for a while.
We have just launched our new Ubuntu Football website: www.ubuntufootball.com
This site is specifically dedicated to our work in South Africa, and we're really excited to have it out there.  It contains it's own blog from within, so you can go to 1 spot for everything you need to know.  We'll still be using our ubuntusports.org site for our American audience, so you can still send people there.
Please load it onto your google reader and visit often.  Send your friends along to it as well.  We've blogged there about our first golf day fundraiser yesterday, so check that out there.

Cheers,
Casey

Staying Long Enough

Today marks 4 ½ months that I’ve been serving here in Ocean View, South Africa. One of the most eye opening experiences I’ve had so far though is when the group of Elon students came to help us the other Thursday and Friday. Because they were only here for a couple of days, I realized their experience in Ocean View was dramatically different than mine.

For example--to the Elon students, hearing that we couldn’t use the multi-purpose center in Ocean View didn’t quite make sense.  Over time though I’ve found out it’s rarely allowed to be used because it was overrun with people drinking and using drugs on it and so it was shut down completely. There’s history behind it. But even as we walked in Ocean View, the flats and people the Elon students saw were only that. Overcrowded and run down flats with a large coloured population living there.  For me though it’s completely different. It’s the community I call home. It’s where I stay and it’s become a part of my identity. It’s a place that is being restored and brought back to life with genuine, down to earth people living here. Something that you wouldn’t know if you don’t stay long enough to meet and get to know the people living here.

In staying here for 4 1/2 months now things have changed for me. It’s been a transformation in the way I view the people I came to serve. They are no longer “the coloured people living in Ocean View” but rather my good friends who I live with in Ocean View. I’ve been here long enough to see that I’m not necessarily the one with all the resources to all of their needs. An attitude that was easy to have coming from the background I do going into a more broken community such as Ocean View. Rather, I’ve begun to experience that they’re the ones who have all the resources to all of my needs.

I believe that kind of transformation can only come with enough time. Something that’s been very cool to experience firsthand.

Austin

Nuanced Work

Seth Godin’s blog today included this quote: “My vote: your goals and your strategy must be simple. You must have passion and certainty in order to make a difference as a leader. Your tactics, on the other hand, should be layered, multi-dimensional and reflect the patience of someone who cares about reaching a goal.”

This really is our operating MO at Ubuntu.  We’re pretty clear on our goals and how we’re going to get there, but every day is a new challenge.  Working with people will do that, but when your work is primarily with 13-year-old boys from unsettled environments the challenges never cease.  Obviously we have the challenge of leading practices that are challenging, enjoyable, and making players better.  But that’s the easiest thing we do!  Just this week our job has also included driving the boys around, helping with homework, getting them to study hall, feeding them, meeting with principals, taking them to the library, and a whole host of other things.

It’s not just the tasks that are nuanced, but each boy is different and needs different cajoling and motivating.  Some are tough on the outside and need some softening.  Some tend to be soft and need to be toughened up.  Some tend to whine, which we don’t tolerate.  Some are easily distracted.  Some need help getting out of their shells.  Some of them never go back to their shells!  Every day is a new game of chess where you try to discover new ways of reaching the boys.

So, the goal is simple, develop and nurture the next great leaders of Africa.  But how we do that is ever evolving with the needs of these young boys.

Cheers,
Casey

Launch of Ubuntu Football Forward

Last week we launched an exciting new program, Ubuntu Football Forward, which is going to be a prequel to the Football Academy.  Research shows that players touch the ball 6 times more in a game of 5 vs 5 than a full sided game.  Obviously, touching the ball more is a great help in accelerating a player's development in the game.  Football Forward is addressing that need while also creating an environment for mentorship and character building.
On Mondays & Wednesdays (and hopefully a 3rd day per week soon) kids come to the Ocean View Multipurpose Center for a 75 minute session that includes 15 minutes of a skill lesson, a 5 minute life skill devotional, and then 45-50 minutes of 5-a-side football matches.  The kids come at different times based on their age group, which keeps them playing against the right aged kids and keeps the group size manageable.  The U8s come right after school at 1:30, the U10s at 2:45, and the U12s at 4:00.

Austin reminding the kids what time to be there.

We launched the program last week by doing separate launch clinics at each of the primary schools on Thursday and Friday.  The treat of the whole launch was having friends from Elon University in North Carolina there to help.  They are on a Winter Term travel course and spent 2 days serving with us.  This is the 3rd year we have had Elon students with us.  They are service minded and globally focused, so they are a great help to us.  They are inquisitive and thoughtful, so they are a pleasure to have around.  Hopefully they are also inspired by what they see happening with Ubuntu Football.  I know they enjoy it, because we were supposed to have 6 students with us, they showed up the 1st morning with 11, and then returned the 2nd day with 17!!  It's cool, we like having new friends.

The 1st Day's crew: Brett, Nick, Ashton, Taylor, Jenny Steph,
Emily, Jay, Taylor, Dave, & Drew with Sean & Austin

The launch at Kleinberg, on Thursday, was very successful with 80 kids participating.  We didn't expect that kind of involvement the 1st day so we were really encouraged.  Friday's launch for Marine was smaller, around 30 kids, but that was to be expected.  Mosque happens on Friday afternoons just after lunch, so the schools dismiss early, so that makes the day a little more distracted.  We've always struggled with Friday events, so I was pleased with the response.

Steph, one of our Elon friends, working with 2 of the boys  

It was a great launch to what is going to become an important part of our development program.  In Daniel Coyle's "The Talent Code" he talks about 'hotbeds of talent'- places that you wouldn't expect that are producing large numbers of exceptionally talented people in specific fields.  We believe that the Southern Peninsula Valley of Cape Town can become a hotbed of football talent.  There has always been natural talent in these communities, but it isn't always effectively developed.  Ubuntu Football Forward will give kids the best chance to develop their skills in a lightly coached, lightly competitive, and highly relational environment.  They won't be overly concerned with results, but with exploring, taking risks, and having fun.  That's what is going to produce great young players.  Then, as they turn 13 they will be well prepared to have an impact on their local clubs, and a few of them will go on to become the next players in the Ubuntu Football Academy.  Either way, we know they will be better players, and MUCH BETTER people than they would have been otherwise.

Future stars in the making

We need more people to help this grow!  As our pilot program goes well here in Ocean View, we want to expand to Masiphumelele, Fish Hoek, and beyond.  Come join with us!

Casey

It happened!

I'm not sure I ever doubted it would happen, but I'm just so happy to report that the Ubuntu Football Academy boys began their new school year as members of Sun Valley Primary School and the Silvermine Academy.  What a fantastic achievement for them, their families, and our organization!  The 12 new ones (SV- Wandile, Eric, Lutho, Sim, and Keanu; SMA- Sinethemba, Carl, Juan, Tauriq, Chadley, Josh, and Ryan) joined Jesse, Luke, and Alex there.

Some of the Primary School Boys

You could tell it was a mix of nervousness and excitement for the boys the 1st day.  Wednesday morning was the start of a beautiful summer day as we joined the boys at the school.  I haven't yet had the experience of dropping off a child for the 1st day of school, but I experienced that to an exponential degree on Wednesday.  I was so proud of and excited for the boys, while also being amazed that God had brought us that far.  Seriously, can you even believe it?  It's the type of miracle that only God could accomplish.

The 7 Silvermine Academy Young Men

The 1st 2 days seemed to have gone well.  From what they share they seem to like their teachers and are starting to make friends with other students.  We're hopeful that they will continue to adjust and become part of the greater community.  And we're confident this experience is going to accelerate their growth as they become great men and leaders.
If you're interested, we'd love your help in continuing to pay the fees for the boys.  You can give online or mail checks to our address in Raleigh.

The Long, Anxious Walk to the Rest of Their Lives

Cheers,
Casey  

New Student Social

The Ubuntu boys that are attending Silvermine Academy had a New Student Social tonight.  They got to meet some other students, check to see where all their classrooms are, and get to know some of the teachers.  Tomorrow is the big day!  I'm so excited for them as I know this is going to accelerate their development as men and leaders.  They seemed to have really embraced the opportunity and will have each other to walk through it with.  They will certainly be a crew to reckon with!  There will be 7 in Silvermine Academy (3 Grade 9s, 4 Grade 8s) and 5 new ones in Sun Valley Primary (Grade 7).  But those are in addition to our 3 that were already there.  So, starting tomorrow we will have 15 of the boys in the same school!  At least I'll know where to find them.  

Please pray with us that their first day will be a success.  That they will be comfortable enough in their new surroundings, connect with their teachers, and befriend their classmates.  It's such a major step that God has brought them to and He's prepared to bring it all the way to fruition.

Cheers, Casey

The Grade 9s showing me their schedule.

ALWAYS charming the older ladies.

All the boys and parents.

Camp Time

What's up everybody?
Hope everyone has had a nice Christmas and great start to the New Year. Any New Year's resolutions? Time to start hitting the gym again?

Here at Ubuntu we're starting the new year of in a big way. Last year we took the Ubuntu Academy boys to a pre-season camp that we hosted ourselves. It was great, but this year we're traveling to Worcester to attend High Africa Adventure Camp and letting the professionals do their thing. They'll take care of catering, lodging, team building activities and the overall structure to the weekend. As a coaching staff, we'll be providing the actual pre-season soccer training which will really set the bar for our standards for 2012. That means high intensity and focused training sessions.

One of the greatest parts about going to High Africa Adventure Camp too is that with them in charge of most of the details, it allows me, as well as Casey, Michael and Treswill to really invest in the boys over the weekend. I know all of us are looking forward to being away from our normal settings and just get to spend some quality time with the Ubuntu Academy boys. This is also a huge weekend to make an impact on the boys spiritually. Casey, Treswill and I met earlier today to go over the group and small group sessions we'll have this weekend. Our heart for this time away is to focus on true relationship and not religion. We're also going to be looking at prayer which I think will be good. The reason being is that there's such a culture of just going to a church in these communities that many of these 13 year old boys can be just drowned out with religion and turned away from a genuine faith. The goal is to show them that prayer can be simple and real and a part of an alive relationship with a God who loves them. We're each in charge of a devotion throughout our time at the camp (Thursday-Saturday) which I'm pretty excited about. As much trash talking and joking around with the boys that we do, it will be a nice change of pace to share some serious truth and have some deep conversations throughout the week. I hope we can passionately show the Academy boys who we love this week, that we're who we are because of our relationship with the Lord.

So needless to say, I ask that you'll be lifting up our time together with the boys this week. This is an incredible opportunity for some serious team bonding, for the gospel to be shared and to for these guys to continue to grow in maturity and wisdom as young men.

Austin