Soccer in the streets of Costa Mesa

Posted on July 24, 2011 by admin
Soccer fun on the streets of Costa Mesa

 Pure Game is based on a street soccer format, but rarely do we get the opportunity to actually play it.

 

The Shalimar center in Costa Mesa CA is an after school program for the kids living in the community on and around Shalimar Street. I use the term center loosely. It is in fact three converted apartments in the center of the community, and this serves most of the local kids. The closest park is a 10-minute walk away, so the only space they have to get the kids doing physical activity is the street!

Pure Game were invited to join the group for their summer Thursday fun days. The idea being simple, local kids on their summer break can come to the center, hang out with a purpose, continued education.

But, its not just about teaching kids about math and English; there are real problems for a lot of these kids during the summer. With less to keep them occupied kids run the risk of getting involved with the wrong type of community member and before they know it trouble is knocking at their door.

I was very excited to join them as I knew the only place to play would be on the street! The first day we played my mind flew back to my childhood, the sound of communities living life, and kids playing on the street. The occasional shout of “CAR!” made it all complete; I was 12 years old again. In Pure Game style we were able to stop and start with no interruption to what was really going on; kids having fun, being encouraged, and learning some valuable lessons for life.

There are communities like Shalimar all around us, what would it take for you to find the one closest to you and get involved?

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Respect, what is it?

Posted on July 13, 2011 by admin

Word respect written in the sky

What would your definition of respect be?

Here is my 2 cents worth…

Respect is treating creation according to the value God has created it with.

It’s been said that all men are created equal. Often times we see the differences between men, and start to weigh these differences as if some things had more value. This perspective often results in a belief, whether acknowledged or not, that different people deserve different amounts of respect.

But when we start seeing things from God’s eyes, a deep respect for all things is birthed in our soul. We see the value God has placed on his creation, whether it be a small soul or a hard soul, and treat him with the love and adoration that God with which God created him.

Please share if you have a differing point of view.

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Fund raiser success!

Posted on July 6, 2011 by admin
Cheers for Charity Event

Thank you to all who participated in the Cheers for Charity event. We had a great turn out and raised just over $3000 for the children who participate in the Pure Game leagues.

The event was sponsored by distributors for Juice Plus and hosted by California Taste Fine Wine in Laguna Niguel CA. The owner, Ken, kindly opened his doors for approximately 60 people, who were also treated to some wonderful chocolate to go with the wine, generously donated by Dove Chocolate Discoveries.

Organizations such as Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A, Chivas USA, Pelican Hill Resort, and Peets Coffee and Tea donated some amazing prizes for the raffle and silent auction. There were also individuals who donated art and other wonderful gifts.

I am honored that people would take the time to help with such an event. I know the children Pure Game serves will be very grateful this summer to be able to play the beautiful game.

Thanks again to all who were involved!

 

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Cheers for Charity May 15 3-6pm

Posted on April 23, 2011 by admin

Playing soccer

There are 2 free tickets available for the Pure Game fund raiser event! All you need to do is spread the word through Facebook, get someone to like us and you and your friend could be the lucky winners of the two free entry tickets! Once your friend has liked Pure Game they can write on the event wall and let me know who recommended them; easy as that.
Cheers!

Click here to see event flier

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A fun way to learn life lessons

Posted on March 2, 2011 by admin

Some would say Pure Game is all about soccer. But we like to think we are more about life lessons and education, and you can use any platform to accomplish this.

During our regular Friday evening session at KidWorks in Santa Ana we changed things up a little for the kids. The session started as it normally does with ten minutes of moral values work; this particular session was all about how to be responsible. At this stage we would normally introduce the soccer ball, but last Friday we had Ridemakerz of Anaheim come join us. The guys from Ridemakerz bought a couple of cars for the kids to race and a couple for them to add their own personal touch to.

Pure Game uses car racing as a soccer substitue Pure Game using Ridemakerz as a soccer substitue

It was a joy to watch the kids smile and have fun with something other than soccer, but still be learning about important life lessons. There are many areas where life lessons can be taught and it is extremely important kids get to experience these lessons. What are some of the ways you have leaned in to a kids life and shown them something they need to know?

There are many who say this is the schools responsibility, but as the schools are overwhelmed and under resourced, how can we as parents, guardians, and/or involved adults do a better job of easing the pressure and helping these kids out?

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The Pure Game story revisited

Posted on January 14, 2011 by admin

When I started Pure game two years ago I didn’t think I would be where I am today. I know I said our heart was for the under privileged kids, but to be running leagues in the parking lot of Santa Ana based KidWorks was not on my radar. I thought there was going to be some nice plush South Orange County leagues mixed in with some outreach projects. Turns out I am spending most of my time with kids in areas like this and wanting to do more in ways to help be a positive influence in their lives. It has been a wonderful journey so far and I am looking forward to where the future will take us.

To help Pure Game transform the lives of at-risk youth click on the donate link below to make a secure online paypal donation.


Thank you for you support and let us know if you would like to see a Pure Game program serve your community.

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Is the Queen of England on to something?

Posted on December 26, 2010 by admin
Royal Guard on Parade
I watched the Queen of England give her annual address to the country. Seven minutes well spent on boxing day morning.
Watch it here.
Certainly sounds like Pure Game could be on to something!
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Teaching children respect on the soccer field

Posted on November 10, 2010 by admin

Street soccer leaguesPartnering with Santa Ana based Kids Works, Pure Game has been running leagues for the past 6 weeks. It has been a blast and I have enjoyed every moment of my time there. They do not have direct access to a soccer field so it made for running a soccer program there fairly tricky, but we found a way. Yes, we set the league up in their parking lot. Every week we reserve the lot and the staff of Kid Works park their cars along the street while the kids play on black top. We have slips and spills, but the kids bounce back up and run around having fun with a ball at their feet.

A couple of weeks ago we started talking about respect, something I feel not talked about nearly enough. I asked what it meant to show someone respect, who we should show respect too, and where respect should start.The lack of answers the children could muster amazed me. Most knew they should respect their elders, but no one thought about respecting self or peers. Not one gave an answer to what respect means. How can this be?

During the following weeks we talked more about respect and slowly uncovered the following…

Self respect is where it all starts, from here we can start respecting others, we do this by listening when others are talking, helping others when they are in need, being honest, showing kindness, not using bad language, and being polite.

We broke the self-respect into 4 different categories and here is what we came up with for each of those.

Physically – We don’t eat bad food and play soccer as much as possible.
Mentally – We try our best at school and make sure we are always learning.
Emotionally – We are not afraid to show our emotions (even when that is sadness).

Spiritually – We want a relationship with God and listen to what he tells us.

All this came from the mouths of the children at Kid Works. Yes, it took some prompting, but when we got them thinking they came up with the goods. It was great watching the kids try to come up with their own ideas on something they don’t hear about often. When you guide and steer children they will amaze you! What do you think? Does anything mentioned above sound like something you could carry out in your own life?

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My thoughts on integrity

Posted on October 17, 2010 by puregame

Soccer teaching Integrity

 

Integrity: I have heard several discussions about integrity, what it is, it’s importance, how to embody it, and more. A few things have stood out from the conversations I have had…

 

Looking for meaning in the word, Egypt McKee of Out of Egypt Ministries, wrapped it up by likening it to the hull of a ship having structural integrity under pressure, forging through the ocean making waves. I liked this as it got me thinking about the choices we make while under pressure, do we forge on and stand up for what is right or do we give up our values for the easy way out. Will we remain intact when the pressure is on?

Russell Williams, a good friend of mine, embodies this and is doing something about it with The Ethical Edge. He recently hosted a leaders of integrity luncheon here in Orange County, a leadership movement who believe in the idea of integrity in the work place.

Integrity is more than honesty; it is embodying positive, life transforming values.

Integrity is important because without it chaos reigns. People without integrity make decisions as the wind blows them, never doing what is right by those around them but putting self first.

Leaders with integrity know the right thing to do and lead with their followers interests at the heart of everything they do. Leaders with integrity do not fear sacrifice for a greater cause.

To live a life of integrity means take the tougher road. In a world that makes it easy for us to bail out, having integrity makes us stand out. Not giving up on a marriage, having your yes mean yes and your no mean no, your hand shake means the deal being done, and your signature means being committed to the contract.

Kids hear what we say, but they learn from our actions. If asked to name someone in your life who has integrity, could you name them? Asking the same question of your kids, would they name you? The kids you coach or teach, would they name you?

Being a man or women of integrity takes courage, are you willing to stand out in your community, work, or home? What is your definition integrity? Does it include any of the above?

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Soccer and Life Skills Training

Posted on September 28, 2010 by puregame
Mia Hamm Soccer fundraiser

Making decisions under pressure.

In the chaos that is the game of soccer lightening speed decision-making is essential. These decisions could ultimately affect the outcome of the game. Trying to make these decisions in the midst of pressure the mind struggles to figure out the best outcome, you may get lucky now and then and things turn out in your favor, but more often than not you find yourself fighting for the ball. In soccer space is your friend, it allows you to take the time to think clearly. Decisions made here are typically the correct ones, you have time to look and choose from the options you have in front of you (or at least should have in front of you).

It came to mind that life is not dissimilar to this. We live in chaos, this is the norm for most of us and decisions made in this chaos do not normally turn out well. Creating time and space to think will inevitably generate the more favorable outcomes.

To play a great game of soccer it takes hours of practice, you do not decide to get up one morning and play soccer against (or with) the Ronaldos of the world. All sorts of preparation takes place before getting in the game. So, what about life? Where and how do we get to practice for that?

Creating a safe place to develop the tools required to live a successful life and introducing kids who play this wonderful game to positive values is where we start. We help children walk through some of the things that lead to those decision-making moments, we are the practice field for life. Introducing the concept of success through accepting responsibility is at the heart of all we do, this is how we create time and space for ourselves in life to make the best choices. OK, so we use a soccer field to do this on, but we are more about the teaching of ethical decision-making than we are about teaching kids soccer skills.

Using the game of soccer and all it stands for Pure Game incorporates a teaching that helps with decision-making in life. We are less about the soccer and more about teaching kids how to best create time and space to make the right choices more consistently, therefore getting the most out of life.

To live the very best life possible kids need a training field. We use the game of soccer and all the skill preparation required to play at the highest level as that training field.

Kids love the game and without knowing it are learning. With the world being as it is today, what else will engage children and grow them? How do we introduce positive environments to these children? How do we develop leaders of tomorrow?

Posted in Soccer ministries, Soccer outreach | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments