Ten days had passed since our first programming day in the Philippines and after a week spent in the province, it was time to get back to work in Manila. Located just one block away sat the headquarters of our next partner, Action for the Care and Development of the Poor in the Philippines – ACAP.

Rronyth and I stopped by the day prior just to get acquainted with the staff and space, while dropping off about 20 inflated soccer balls to lighten our load the next morning en route to the clinic venue, a covered basketball court about seven blocks away from ACAP’s home office. My main contact at the organization, Kate, had been super helpful in coordinating our session, and was ever-so-responsive in the days leading up to it.

“We have 27 kids aged 7-9 enrolled in the football class,” she had messaged me well in advance. “Is that okay?” she asked.

“Of course!” I responded, computing the numbers in my head before adding that we would be able to give a new soccer ball to each participant.

As a result, Rronyth and I would be arriving with 27 total soccer balls along with matching bracelets prepared carefully by our friends over at Voya Financial back in the states.

Barely one block away from the court, we were stopped in our tracks by an excited shout of “hello” from behind our backs. It was a passenger van transporting some kids, water for the program, and several of the ACAP staff members I had met just hours before. A particularly outgoing member of the team, Jona, had been the one to call for our attention before inviting us into the van for the remaining portion of our (short) journey. Just like the days leading up to the session, ACAP staff were incredibly helpful, asking if there was anything they could help with as I ran through my usual clinic prep.

“Should we have the kids all sit down? Stand? Remain with their parents?” they asked, as I set up our listening drill grid.

“Seated works,” I said with a smile, knowing we’d have a very quick introduction beforehand, followed by diving straight into the program.

The kids flowed in from the wings as some, more curious than others, approached me and Rronyth to ask to borrow a ball to play with before we officially got started. Whether sat beside their parents to complete registration or dribbling around the space to get the legs active, the kids were all super respectful and I couldn’t wait to kick things off as a result.

Finally, we had a solid crop of about 20 participants and I decided it was as good a time as any to start. Our numbers for the day had gone down, but with some members having to commute in for the event and taking into account Manila traffic (and weather) this was completely understandable.

Kate introduced the session herself before opening the floor up to me. “Magandang umaga lahat sa inyo!” “Good morning to all of you!” I started with, as always, before introducing the rest of the program in some very rough Taglish.

With 20 participants and 9 soccer balls laid out in front of me, I called for groups of 3 with a ball in between in order to debut our listening exercise. The kids laughed through this one before I paused proceedings to grab myself a captain. 

A shy girl named Jamaica raised her hand, and I carefully took her under my wing to explain her responsibilities. “Can you do that for me?“ I asked, as she nodded her head softly.

Her demeanor was soft, but I just kept encouraging her to use her voice and to remain confident in the words she was delivering.

“Taas ng boz mo, kaya mo yan!” “Raise your voice, you can do it!” I’d say to her in between listening practice rounds. 

“What’s next?” I’d then ask, making sure both of us were well-prepared.

“Hmmm…. feet!”

“Kamay!” (Hand)

“Ilong!” (Nose)

After our listening drill wrapped up, I utilized the same grid along with 3 teams of 7 to jump into our relay races. Aided by Captain Jamaica, we ran through a bunch of now-familiar variations, focusing on basic motor skills, ball control, teamwork, and more. Pausing ever briefly for a water break, we then crashed into three technical grids led by ACAP staffers – Kate and Myles, and myself. The kids loved these and smiled giddily while performing push passes and especially, headers.

From there, I made one big rectangle on one side of the court to debut our dribbling/listening mashup drill. It’s not often that we have a football for every child, so I made sure to make the most of it along with the space we had. Just like earlier, the kids laughed and smiled their way through this one before I drew them into a tight circle to grab some prize winners using our clapping activity, along with Ulo o Kamay. The prize was a new bracelet, but the secret was that everyone would be receiving them anyway, just to make sure no one went home empty-handed… or in this case, empty-wristed. Things winding down, we broke off into a final water break while some kids elected to stick around the court practicing their dribbling skills.

Grabbing some water ourselves on the sideline, myself and Rronyth watched as a boy accidentally knocked a glass bottle off the adjoining stage, sticking around to sweep the broken shards into a pile safe from the limbs of our participants.

“What’s your name?” Rronyth asked the young fella.

“Cyrus,” he said with a smile.

I whispered to her, “Very masipag naman si Cyrus,” “oo!” Rronyth answered, nodding her head in agreement.

(Cyrus is very helpful! Yes!)

To close things out before distributing our brand new soccer balls for each participant, I sat them all in front of me for a wrap-up conversation.

“Did you guys have fun?” I asked.

The kids all nodded their heads.

“What’s something new you guys learned?” I asked as a follow-up.

“Dribbling!” answered a young man.

“How to head the ball,” answered another participant.

“Volleyball!” said a young girl.

“Totoo?? Paano naman?” (Really? How?) I answered quizzically, unable to do anything but laugh and smile at the sentiment.

We had the court rented for 2 hours which was plenty enough time for the session, but I really wanted to use the time wisely so we ended up going for about 100 minutes before drawing things to a close for prize distribution. Kate, Myles, and Rronyth were ever so helpful as each child stepped forward to receive a brand new yellow Sondico ball along with a customized soccer ball bracelet.

“Can you help me?” they’d ask, holding the bracelet undone in their hand. “Thank you!” they’d say with a squeal, once it was carefully tied around their wrists.

Most of these kids, all ACAP pupils, would be returning back to the same basketball court the following day for a school supply distribution event, yet another part of ACAP’s commitment to help foster inclusion and access to education for their nearly 170 beneficiaries. 

Kate said they were excited for the prospect of a free football program in order to expose the kids to a new flavor of recreation, as they’ve been fortunate to partner with a local college for the past years in order to hold a summer sports camp providing the kids with regular lessons in basketball and volleyball. They were ecstatic to implement a shortened version of a football-centric edition thanks to us.

Myles approached Rronyth and I, as I started my clinic takedown prep, with two bundles of napkins wrapped around some snacks. 

“Here guys, fresh empanadas,” he said with a smile.

He watched as I scarfed down two with ease, “we have more if you’d like, but save some room as the staff would like you to join us back at the office for lunch.”

It was lutong bahay (homecooked food), how could we say no! Before walking back to the office, the kids and their parents approached us wave after wave, with an empanada in hand and a soccer ball in the other. “Thanks again, Coach!” they all said, greeting myself and Rronyth with hugs, high fives, and handshakes. Some, at a distance closer to their parents, offered a beaming smile while clutching their new football gifts.

“Thank you din (also)!” I’d yell out, offering as big a smile in return.

“Kuya!” yelled out one of the older boys in our session. “Messi or Ronaldo???!!” “Messi!” I answered quickly, “easy answer tol! Ikaw? (You)”

He jumped up and put his arms on either side and I knew immediately that he was a Ronaldo fanboy, but hey, I was just happy to be having the debate in the Philippines… a country long-known to be affectionate about basketball rather than anything else. We grabbed our leftover footballs and made the short seven block walk back to ACAP campus for a team lunch. And man… when I tell you, this was a heck of a spread.

Fried fish (tilapia), lanka, rice, and a leftover cake to celebrate my birthday albeit a week in advance. I scarfed down a plate and made sure to compliment the chefs downstairs. The lunch featured delicious food, but even better conversation, as we chopped it up with ACAP staffers, even the organization’s executive director, Didit, who I had emailed barely a month and a half prior. The backdrop of our lunch was paintings from the kids that had been displayed in an art exhibition in the Netherlands and a huge mural painted by the kids reflecting the things they see everyday in metro Manila.

Their art was a reflection of their reality. And though that reality may be one full of challenge and strife, it’s one teeming with triumph and hope, too. All thanks to the incredible work of ACAP.