The first day of coaching and lessons learned so far!

It was a beautiful day in Iringatown and Ilula.
The day began with Kiswahili and then some free time for the girls to adventure. Half went to Neema Craft a cafe that employs Tanzanians with disabilities as their staff. Most of the waiters are deaf and speak through Tanzanian sign language. The other half of the group decided to navigate around the market place once more. They put their bargaining skills to the test and were able to find some real treasures.

We then hopped on the bus and headed to Ilula for the first day of coaching. When we arrived we had lunch, had a reflection, and then headed to Kiheka Secondary School. The leaders of the week (Dez, Amaya, Maya, and Sophie) led and facilitated the soccer practice activities. We began with standing in a circle and passing the ball around, each person that received the ball would have to yell their name and then pass it to someone new. Then we split up into four separate groups and practiced passing with the side of our foot. Each person who received the ball would ask a question, such as “Unamiaka ngapi?” (How many years do you have?/How old are you?) or “Unatoka wapi?” (Where are you from?).

The leaders of the week then started to facilitate drills and relays. The soccer players from Kiheka formed two lines would dribble the ball to a line and back and then pass to the next girl in line. Following many drills like this the Kiheka soccer players were taught how to juggle the ball before entering into a scrimmage for the last half hour that we were there.

Overall, it was a successful first day. There were a few challenges in coaching and communication initially, but the Iringa Session Two girls spent the bus ride back to their homestay discussing what they could do better tomorrow and coming up with a more structured coaching plan. Being able to watch the girls really step up into leadership roles and delegate tasks to one another was a very special experience for me personally and we are all excited for the next few weeks of coaching and getting to know the Kiheka soccer players better.

The girls spent their first nights eating dinner in their homestays and getting to know their families a little better.
We are all excited for what tomorrow has to bring.

Some main takeaways the girls have expressed in our reflections thus far:
-The importance of patience when schedules change and things don’t go how we originally intended (adaptability!!)
-How wasteful the culture of the United States can be and how it is unnecessary in many ways; they are learning to live more simply
-Everything gets done - not everything has to be on a tight schedule like in the United States- it is okay to take some time to slow down and be present in the experience around you (Swahili time)
-Self-care on experiences like this trip are very important
-Our group is an important resource for each of us
-The collectivist culture in Tanzania is very different than the individualistic culture in the United States - and although it is different it is something they truly enjoy taking part in and learning from

Tutaonana,

Dee