Every week, New York City FC’s Foundation, "City in the Community," delivers Recess Soccer on Randall’s Island for public schools in East Harlem. Recess Soccer is an opportunity for students to be play soccer, be physically active and return to the classroom refreshed and ready to learn.
Miss Tsoupros and her a 5th grade class from Public School 83 have participated in the Recess Soccer program for eight years. She describes how much her students love the program:
“They were extremely excited. They have been asking me questions about the program since day one when school started: ‘When are we going to have soccer? When does soccer start? How long is soccer? How long are we going to get to be there?’ Obviously soccer is very important to them.”
In the program, students not only learn how to play soccer but develop important life skills that transfer into the classroom and beyond. “Each year we work on cooperation, responsibility and being a good teammate,” Miss Tsoupros said.
RELATED:Football Effect: The Healthy Hat-Trick Scores Big with Kids
The “Healthy Hat-Trick”, in conjunction with Recess Soccer, helps the students off the field. Miss Tsoupros shared what the book means to the kids. “The Healthy Hat-Trick book is amazing because it introduces one topic each week, such as eating healthy or teamwork. We focus on that topic all week and then we are better soccer players because of it. The Healthy Hat-Trick really reinforces what the kids are learning on the field through soccer. The students like the book a lot.”
City in the Community supports over 3,000 public school students, working to improve the health and well-being of New York City’s youth.
