After a successful City in the Community Holiday Festival that combined the East Harlem and Brooklyn after-school programs at the new blue-turf field at P.S. 24, community coaches Mike Salvador and Ivan Perez sat down for an interview. Salvador and Perez started coaching the Lexington Academy in 2010 and are still involved today.
Q: When did you start coaching at Lexington Academy and what impact have you seen from the rooftop field and programs?
Ivan: I started coaching at Lexington Academy in the winter of 2009. I was introduced to the school by one of the many devoted mothers in the East Harlem community. This mother brought me to her daughter’s teacher, and I started coaching her Kindergarten class that same week.
Now that the Lexington Academy has both a rooftop field and programs running all year long it has changed dramatically. I have seen it grow from a small class of 30 kindergarteners to over 1,000 children take an active role in the soccer program.
Q: What are some of the values you promote in your sessions?
Mike: First and foremost, respect for oneself and others and displaying that on the field and in the programs. Secondly, the importance of living an active and healthy lifestyle on and off the pitch. Confidence is a huge value that we strive to promote with our kids. We look for them to learn new skills, to set concrete goals and improve their technical abilities as well as social skills. As coaches, we look to build this improvement in their confidence, abilities on the field as well as in the classroom.
Q: With the new blue-turf field in Brooklyn what benefit can the community expect from this project?
Ivan: With the new field in Brooklyn, the families in Sunset Park can expect a vibrant community center; a place where their children, regardless of gender, ethnicity or socio-economical background will be able to play soccer year-round, receive mentoring services regarding healthy habits and ultimately a place where they can play soccer safely.
Q: It was great to see two communities come together for a fun soccer festival. Can you explain how these type of events can benefit your programs?
Mike: Our programs benefit the children and families that participate. The vast majority of children we serve come from under privileged social backgrounds rendering them highly vulnerable to being excluded from extracurricular youth organizations, such as youth travel soccer clubs.
These festivals set the stage for the creation of positive bonds between players from different communities as they play and compete, in an atmosphere of family and hospitality and belonging. They know that they are a part of a larger family, the NYCFC in the Community Family.
