Stories from the Field: A Ref-Free Jamboree!

             America SCORES Saturday game days are never without a little excitement: a new player’s first ever goal, a pre-game poetry showdown, or the terrifying appearance of the late Edgar Allan Poe on Halloween. This past Saturday, however, the fields of Crocker Amazon saw whole new levels of drama.

            As part of the SportSmarts Jamboree Soccer Tournament, students acted out original skits depicting the conflict resolution skills they learned during the winter season. An audience of coaches, families and fans watched as a pair of Cleveland boys fought over the only non-gum-covered seat on a space shuttle. At a birthday party, one J. Serra player got a pie in the face, while his teammate was painfully mistaken for a piñata. Meanwhile, the Cleveland girls spilled secrets on the sun-kissed sands of Hawaii.

Cleveland Force gets on the space shuttle while Darth Vader looks on

J. Serra has a birthday cake mistake

The Cleveland girls share secrets on the beach

            While all the original, student-created skits depicted a conflict, they also depicted the peaceful resolution of these conflicts: everybody on the space shuttle eventually found a seat, the pie in the face and piñata injury were laughed off as accidents, and the Cleveland girl who told her secret came clean after an honest talk. The skits demonstrated not only America SCORES students’ boundless creativity, but also their ability to think before they act, and to handle difficult situations with patience and compassion.

            Any remaining doubts about America SCORES students’ abilities to resolve conflicts were settled on the field, where students played in a soccer tournament without referees. Although adult facilitators were on hand just in case, the players were responsible for calling fouls and handballs, stopping play and settling disputes.

Coach Manny reminds his players of the SportSmarts rules

              The seven teams who participated in  SportSmarts played a total of eleven games, with skits interspersed throughout, and left with big smiles.  These players proved to their families, coaches, and to themselves that they could handle difficult situations without resorting to violence. When even professional soccer players occasionally use a head butt instead of their head, our young players have a lot to be proud of. And hey, if a career in professional soccer doesn't work out, there's always Broadway! 


Click here to see more photos from the Jamboree.


Abby Loomis
Education Program Manager