WS Chronicle

Photo by Timothy Ramsey

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

Soccer is the most popular sport on the planet.  Starting on May 12, third, fourth and fifth grade students will be participating participated in the third annual Speas Global Elementary School co-ed intramural soccer league.

The aim of the league is to build students, character, social skills and promote a healthy lifestyle through sports while continuing to strive to give students the necessary tools to be competitive in a global village.

The league is separated into six different teams that represent different nations from each continent. For the students to be eligible they need to maintain good grades and have good behavior in the classroom as well.

Speas Elementary teacher and soccer league organizer, Joseph King, says because the school is a global school and soccer is a global sport, the two go hand in hand.

“The kids get to work together and learn to get along with one another better,” King said.  “For me I enjoy seeing the smile on the kids faces.  Being able to see the kids that can actually play soccer influence the ones that do not have that much experience is a great thing to watch.”

Speas Elementary Principal Robert Ash thinks the soccer league is a great incentive for the kids to maintain good behavior in class.  He says the league fits right in line with the ideology of the school while also teaching the kids about geography at the same time.

“The students really like to participate in the league because we have a large number of students who play soccer,” he said. “Whether it be in the neighborhood or outside of school so they are familiar with the sport and they enjoy it.”

“By linking the teams to the different countries, it goes to our philosophy and our belief in being a global school. Even with the coaches and some of what they do is talk about the different countries that are being represented.”

Ash says that each grade level has a particular continent they focus on and each class within the grade levels concentrate on a particular country.  He said this allows the students to learn about different cultures.

“We know that soccer is a global sport and that every country plays it,” Ash went on to say.  “This is just a great opportunity to link all of this together.”

The opening ceremonies for the league took place on May, 12.  The league will run until June, 2 and will conclude with the playoffs, where two teams from each group will face off until a champion is determined.

The school says that the league is an avenue for positive development for their young people.  They encourage parents, teachers and staff to come out and cheer on the teams.  The games will be played each Friday at 3p.m.