For the North Penn High School Soccer Club, playing soccer is purely for the love of the game
For the North Penn High School Soccer Club, playing soccer is purely for the love of the game.
This past fall, Ms. Megan Jermain, an ESL teacher at North Penn, was surprised to hear that a soccer club was nonexistent at the high school.
“We were going over all the different activities for the club fair, and I didn’t realize we didn’t even have [a soccer club],” Jermain explained. “I know a lot of our [ESL] students love playing at lunch, and it’s their favorite sport, so we asked people who [would be] interested.”
While there are established school soccer teams at North Penn, to make the team, one must be present for the tryouts and dedicate majority of their time to practice or games. These constant time commitments are difficult for many to meet, especially for students who join the school later in the year, or those who do not have a ride home every day.
“Our school, being so big, can be very intimidating or just a completely different culture from where some of our guys are coming from,” Jermain said. “It’s a great way for students, who aren’t involved with other things yet in the building, to meet each other and get involved.”
As teachers, the student’s excitement and anticipation for the club’s games do not go unnoticed.
“There was a buzz this morning where everyone in class was talking about [the club],” Ms. Michener, another ESL teacher, recalled. “I know that there’s someone here they just met at lunch when they were playing [soccer] and they said, ‘come to club tonight.’”
For students, the soccer club is an outlet for activity and forming bonds with fellow members of the club.
“Meeting new friends and playing with them [is] the best part,” one student said. “And seeing our teachers here, cheering for us.”
The soccer club has already gathered a large crowd with over 30 participants at games, despite only meeting twice. In fact, it’s so new, it isn’t even an actual club yet. Nonetheless, the soccer club has instituted a strong foundation to which they plan to expand on. Although the winter months are approaching which means no more outdoor games, they have big ideas for the future.
“Hopefully, we can spend some time brainstorming in the winter to get more ideas [for the club],” Michener said. “So far, we’ve thrown around the idea of maybe making t-shirts at one event or maybe a time where we would have a watch party and watch a game. Or, [in the spring], we could have a little competition with other clubs. [We could] bring all the different clubs and they can make soccer teams and have some games going.”
“I know a lot of our folks would like to try and play in the stadium at some point. Maybe in the spring we could get a game in there,” Jermain added.
Going to a Union game or meeting Lionel Messi are also not far down on their dream list of accomplishments.
At the end of the day, the soccer club means so much more than being able to play a game after school. It is about the friendships formed and the memories made. It is about the students’ enthusiasm for an activity and the group participation as well as unity that it evokes. The creation of the soccer club has given the students the freedom to express themselves through the sport and on the field.
“As teachers, it’s so fun to see this side of students like maybe someone who doesn’t love school in the classroom,” Jermain stated. “It’s so fun to see them active and enjoying themselves.”
“You see their passion,” Michener agreed.
