For six little boys from Africa, the Schwan's USA CUP, presented by PUMA, has been an opportunity to experience a lot more than soccer.
Victor Allam, Oba Fatokun, Mano Schrowange, Wesley Simbine and Damini and Luke Ige attend the American Christian Academy in Ibadan, Nigeria, which primarily serves the expatriate community. They are playing on the U11 Minnesota Thunder Academy (MTA) South Jrs. 98 team as guest players and homestaying with three MTA families.
Former teachers Josh and Amy Obholz of Indiana and Meghan Donner of Clara City, Minn., are chaperoning the boys' visit to Minnesota and said it is a truly unique experience. "Safety is such an issue in Nigeria. You can't just go out bike riding. I think they like being able to just ride around the block with no one following them," Donner said.
Many of the boys have been in Minnesota for nearly a month now, attending Bible and soccer camps and simply spending time experiencing a new culture. "Most of them have never been in the United States," Amy said. "It's been great being around to see that."
Their teachers said the boys are bold and want to try everything. "We went to the lake for a day. And my dad is a fireman, so they got to go on our local fire truck," Donner said. They also went four-wheeling, hiking, tubing and had root beer floats and s'mores for the first time.
Planning AheadStarting six months ago, Karen Nwulu, the principal at American Christian Academy, worked with MTA coach Phil Walczak to create a special team for the boys to play on at USA CUP. The boys from Nigeria are ages 8 to 11 and played on a U13 team over the weekend tournament but are playing in the U11 division this week.
"The worst part was working all their airplane tickets together," Josh said. They wanted every boy to fly with a buddy, which took some time to arrange. "Mostly, we spent a lot of time consoling the parents, telling them their kids would be okay," he said.
The boys are staying with soccer families, two boys to each house, but the Obholzs and Donner are the only adults the Nigerian parents know. They came so there would be someone familiar. "Basically, we're here to kind of keep an eye out and make sure everything goes smoothly," Josh said.
Besides a few temporarily misplaced jerseys and shin guards, the tournament has been going well for the boys, and they are fitting in with their new teammates. "The first time [the Nigerian boys] met their teammates was shortly before their first match," Josh said. After the game, one of the boys approached Donner with good news. "'I already have a new best friend,' he said."
Smaller Soccer Fields, but Big CompetitionThe boys may be experiencing Minnesota for the first time, but they are certainly not new to soccer. "Soccer is life out there, but they play it a little differently," Josh said. Josh coached the team when he was teaching at their school in Africa. "They play on very small dirt fields, and there are no referees," Amy said. "It's got maybe a tree in one corner," Josh added.
The boys play soccer every day at recess, but rarely play in organized competition. "They played three organized games last year, and one was against the girls team," Josh said. "Everything out there is street soccer for the most part. They're not used to playing such fast guys."
Damini and Wesley both scored a goal in their weekend game on Sunday, and the boys are giving their best. "They're super competitive for the most part," Josh said. Their style of play is still catching up. "They would slow down because they're used to running out of space, but speed is your friend here," Josh.
A Stretching ExperienceSome of the boys are a little homesick and have asked for local food from Nigeria. Unfortunately, for a lot of the dishes, the ingredients aren't sold in Minnesota. "We can't make those foods," Donner said. But Donner says it's good for them to eat American food and try new things. They could probably eat a little less sugar, though.
"Some of them have eaten way too much."
Donner and the Obholzs understand the challenges of adapting to a new place because of their experience moving to Nigeria to teach for a year. The three were recruited directly out of college. "We were hired and went," Donner said. It took some time to adjust, but "once you got used to it, it was good," Amy said.
"It was a stretching experience," Donner said.
The MTA South Jrs. 98 lost 2-1 to the Phoenix Strikers in the final round of the U12 Red Flight playoff during Schwan's USA CUP Weekend. They ended Schwan's USA CUP pool play yesterday with a 1-2-0 record.
Team captain Cassian Ferlatte is the lone representative from the city of Saint John. He says the competition at USA CUP has been strong. "I think the first two games they had some really skilled players, and it was definitely worth the trip to come up here and play against that competition," Ferlatte said. "This game a little bit less, but it still prepares us for the quarter finals."
Coach Hanson said USA CUP has been good practice for his team. "We were able to play in the top flight for the weekend tournament, and now we're playing in the second flight for the weeklong, and it's been great," he said. "We've been able to see lots of the competition that we need to see to prepare us for the Canada games."
Economic impact Schwan's USA CUP has on one local business and theBunker Beach party.
