Promo Video

Here it is! I promised something big and we think this is huge news. We have our first, professionally done, promotional video for the Ubuntu Football Academy!
We're sure you're going to be inspired. Please share it with everyone you know!

They asked to go to church!

Often when Michael picks up our 4 Steenberg boys for practice- Chadley, Juan, Tauriq, and Joshua- he is listening to Hillsong music.  They have become quite fond of it.  After our match on Saturday they finally requested to go and hear this music live.  So, Sunday night we took the 4 of them with us to Hillsong for the evening service.  They were quite overwhelmed at the whole thing, but pretty excited.  Some high school girls approached and gave them personal invites to youth on Friday night, so that definitely got them pumped!

The boys really love the song "Search My Heart" from the new Aftermath album.  They always tell Michael to play #13.  We went down front for worship and even during that, they kept looking at him and saying with their hands, "#13" as if to say, "Tell them to play that one."  Them seem to think Michael has more power and authority than is actually true.  

They enjoyed that part of the service, but now they were going to have to sit still for the announcements, offering, and message.  I was nervous that they would get out their phones, which they did, but without being forced to they put them away.  3 of the 4 boys really seemed to dial in during the message, and I was constantly praying that they would hear something significant.  At the end, during the invitation, Juan and Chadley went forward!  Chadley's parents are Christians and his grandfather is a pastor, but I'm not sure if he has ever committed his life to Jesus for himself.  I don't think Juan's family are true believers.  After they go forward and say a prayer they are ushered out to get a new Bible as a gift from the church and get prayed for.  Michael accompanied the boys and said that he could notice Juan wiping tears away as one of the youth leaders prayed for him.  What an exciting moment!!  I know it's only the beginning, but it's a huge start in the development of these boys spiritually.  

After the service they got to meet Jon, the associate pastor who is a big soccer fan, and Rachel, the youth pastor.  We took them out to dinner and then home for bed.

You know, people say, "You see church differently when you bring a new person or non-believer to church." That's definitely true, but try seeing it through the eyes of a 12-year-old Muslim boy from the 'hood.  It was so interesting wondering how Tauriq was taking things in.  He even asked me once during worship, "Why do you close your eyes?"  It made me really think about why I do it. If you watched the video, you heard the words that these boys are coming in contact with.  How significant that Tauriq is singing this before he even knows Jesus!!

It was such an exciting night and we look forward to many more interactions like this with all our players.  God is on the move, even if they don't know it yet!

Casey

Dylan is taking it on!

This summer we met Dylan Thayer at one of the camps that Sarah was speaking at.  He's a student athlete at Hamilton College in New York.  He was inspired by what we're doing with Ubuntu Sports Outreach and wanted to combine his passions and gifts to our cause.
So this summer Dylan is doing something crazy, and he needs your support!!  On July 24th, Dylan will be running 41 miles across the Maryland section of the Appalachian Trail in one day to raise funds and awareness for Ubuntu Sports Outreach.  How amazing is that?!?!  I have run one marathon, 26 miles, and it was one of the worst experiences of my life!  He's doing a marathon, a 1/2 marathon, and 2 more miles just for fun!!
Dylan's goal is to raise $7,500, which would fully support 10 Ubuntu school teams this year.  That would be 10 of the 24 teams that it looks like we are going to have.  
Please visit his cause site at: http://atxc2011.causevox.com/.  This is a completely secure site where you can give any amount of donation that you would like.  He also has a separate blog that you can get the details for there.
Dylan is doing something significant for Ubuntu, let's get behind him!

Casey

You need to meet Treswill

Treswill (in blue) with Peter, our cook from our recent camp.

This is long overdue!  Back in January, Ubuntu Sports Outreach hired Treswill Overmeyer as our "Community Connector".  Treswill will lead our schools programs, anything else that is community related, and be an assistant coach with the Ubuntu Football Academy.  

Treswill grew up in Ocean View right near our house.  He was one of the few boys that found his way out of the community through soccer, eventually playing in the professional soccer league here, the PSL. Treswill is a unique man, though, and purposely moved back into Ocean View to try and influence young people.  We developed a friendship which eventually led to us asking him to join our team.  He's such an asset for us.  Treswill is the unofficial mayor of Ocean View & the whole South Peninsula!  Everybody knows (and loves) him!!  Whenever we are out he is constantly being greeted by others.  So, he's endeared us to the community even more.  He speak Afrikaans, which is helpful with some families that aren't comfortable speaking English.  And he loves sharing the vision and getting others involved.  He's constantly getting us stuff and sponsorships by just chatting up whomever he comes in contact with.  It's brilliant!

Well, we look forward to a long relationship with Treswill, so you need to get to know him.  I've asked him a few questions below:

What is your Favorite Bible Verse?- Mark 8:34-38

What is your Favorite Worship Song now?- Take Heart by Hillsong

What is the Best Goal you Ever Scored?- For Mother City FC (in PSL) vs Bloemfontein Celtic in the old Green Point Stadium. Was chosen as goal of the week by the league.

Which boy in the Academy you were most like at 12-13 years old?- Juan Cloete because I didn't get involved with stuff unless enticed, which is just like Juan. He's a rascal!

How did you oame to trust Christ as Lord?- I was messed-up! I had been let down by my club at the time, Jomo Cosmos, and had to have surgery which cost me lots of money. During the time at Cosmos I was exposed to witchcraft. My only way out, I believed at the time, was to have Jesus save me from the mess I was in. A guy named Mike Alford, a missionary from the USA for Athletes in Action, was the guy that told me about the love of Jesus.

What gives you the desire to work with Ubuntu Sports Outreach?- Getting to work with 2 good looking white guys! :) I enjoy working with kids, and more importantly I get to use soccer as a tool to share the love of God.

What are you most excited about with your particular role as the Community Connector?- Having worked in schools before, and being passionate about seeing communities restored, I'm excited that I can connect communities to see families healed.

What is your Previous Ministry Experience?- I have worked with Ambassadors in Sport, holiday clubs and camps with Scripture Union, missions into Africa with AIS, and prison ministry at Pollsmoor Prison for 3 years.

What is your Previous Playing Experience?- I grew up playing locally in Ocean View & then FHAFC. Moved on at 17 years old to play professionally with Hellenic (in Cape Town). Moved from there to FC Fortune. Then played for Mother City FC & Jomo Cosmos in the PSL. Last professional club was City Pillars in Johannesburg. After 3 years of no serious football, now leading the team at Fish Hoek AFC!!

In Afrikaans, say something funny about Casey- ''Die American wietie wanner die laaities vir hom vir n apie vattie...hahahaha!!!!'' (This American doesn't know when the boys are making a monkey out of him....hahahaha!!!!)

What is your Current Relationship Status?- Dating Cindy James, who is awesome!

In your opinion, will Mike ever get married, and if so, how old will he be?- Mike will be married before he turns 34 (which will be in about a year and a half).

Last Friendly

We played our final friendly this weekend before the league season starts.  It was the 2nd time we have played Wynberg St. Johns, which is actually playing this year in the league above us.  We beat them 5-0 last time, but their coach was more confident this time around and even communicated that to Mike.
Well, unfortunately for him we played some of our best soccer this whole preseason!  We shared the ball nicely, created some nice goals, and only gave up a few goal scoring opportunities.  We only beat them 4-0 this time (so the coach did make progress), but we played very well.
The way we played has gotten me very excited about this week's practices.  It really showed me that the boys are learning, even when I don't know it's true.
Next weekend it all begins!  I'm pumped!!

Casey

Few pics from Ajax Match

Here are a few pics from the Ajax match from a local website.  Check it out: http://www.sasportsonline.co.za/?p=3287

Casey

Our First Championship

What a weekend!  Our first tournament as the Ubuntu Football Academy/Fish Hoek squad and we took home the Plate Championship of the Strandfontein U-13 Tournament.  It really couldn't have gone much better!  

We started the weekend on Friday night at camp where we hung out, had some amazing lasagna prepared by Peter (pic below), and then watched "Goal" to get us inspired.  Even though they complained when told we would wake them at 7am, they all woke up at 6am!  They seemed to be excited about the games ahead.  After a great and healthy breakfast we headed to the fields.  

A few pregame thoughts.

Our first game was against Ajax Cape Town.  They are the most professional setup in town.  They have fancy tracksuits and outfits, and they play with discipline.  Our boys were quite intimidated by all of the externals and we started the game poorly.  They jumped on us and took an early lead which ballooned to 3-0 at halftime.  We really started playing in the 2nd half and got 2 goals, but Ajax is a good team and they quickly squelched our comeback with a 4th goal.  The game finished 4-2.  The thing I'm learning as a coach is how to convince these boys that they don't need to fear the perceived "big boys."  

We played better in our 2nd match and picked up a 3-1 victory over Ken Park which meant we finished 2nd in our group of 3 and would be placed in the Plate Knockout Tournament on Sunday.  (Ken Park went on to win the Shield Knockout for teams that finished 3rd in their group.  Ajax was upset in the semifinals of the Championship Knockout.)

We left the field and headed back to camp and then to the nearest beach.  The boys had a good time with each other there.  Coach Mike tried to challenge the boys to a belly flop contest, but he had to demonstrate first.  Not to many followed after him!

Look at that form!

 The water is freezing, but they don't care!

Back at camp we played some cricket, had another great meal, and then had a group time.  We had a really good chat about growing into the type of time that doesn't fear anyone.  Then we looked at Philippians 4:10-20 and compared it to them writing a letter to the coaches that are providing for them and then believing that they can truly do "all things through Christ who strengthens them."  The boys were pooped from the day, so it was easy to get them to sleep.  

I'm quickly learning that I hate that 12 year old goalies aren't tall enough to cover the top of the goal!  After giving up a few goals on Saturday to high, hopeful shots, we started the quarterfinal giving up a 'hail mary' goal.  We were clearly better than the other team but remained down until about 10 minutes left when we finally scored the equalizer.  With about 1 minute left we found the winner.  It was such an exciting comeback and I was proud of the boys' character.  The semifinal actually ended up being our most comfortable victory, not coincidentally it was the best game we played.  We scored some nice goals on our way to a 3-0 victory and really should have scored a 1/2 dozen more.  

So, as we prepared for the final, I expected us to come out with lots of energy, but we were quite lethargic.  About 10 minutes into the game we gave up a weak goal and couldn't find the net on our own end, though we were creating more chances.  Things improved in the 2nd half and we eventually found the tying goal.  With about 10 minutes left we scored the winner on our prettiest goal of the tournament.  It got moved from one side of the field to the other, shot off the bar, recovered and passed to an open player, and then eventually finished!  I was so excited that our last goal was our best!  After 8 weeks together as a group we are the Champions of the Plate Knockout of a very competitive tournament!

This weekend was a success on SO MANY LEVELS!  We got to spend a lot of time together and the boys did a great job mixing and bonding with each other.  We got to play the maximum number of games, 5, which really helps our development.  Almost all of our families were there for at least one game.  All 17 players that we took played at some point, and everybody made an important contribution.  And the coaches had a great time continuing to deposit truth into the lives' of these players.  I'm so excited about the character the boys showed in overcoming deficits, injuries, and fatigue.  I know we have a bright future on the field!

Celebrating their 1st Championship together.

But there is one other thing that I am even more proud of.  On Thursday we talked to the boys about making it our goal to win the "Team Fair Play" award.  We wanted to be known as a team that acts the right way, treats people and the game with respect, and honors God.  Well, during the awards ceremony Fish Hoek was given the Team Fair Play award!  It's nice to have a team that plays well together, but it's even better to know that you're also doing things the right way, and even better when others notice. 

Receiving the Team Fair Play award.

Afterwards we got so many requests from the organizing club to return to the tournament next year.  We will definitely do that!  It was a great opportunity for our boys to play in a well-organized, highly competitive tournament.  Thanks to Strandfontein Football Club for hosting a great event!  And thanks to all of you that were praying for us over the weekend!

What is going to happen next?!?!  I know I'm excited to see what God has in store.

Peter, our legendary cook, with the trophies!