Transcript Slide 1

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The Mexican American
Soccer Research
Inland Congregations United for Change
Project
Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC), Club Brazil
and University of Redlands students have come together to:
• Show the importance of these existing soccer leagues in the lives of
the city’s young people.
• Make policy re commendations on how the city and school district
can better meet the needs of the city’s soccer teams.
• Identify the barriers they face in their efforts to provide positive
youth development activities.
The Mayor of San Bernardino has
committed to:
 expand after-school programs
 increase youth sports programs
 "fund grassroots efforts to provide youth-oriented programs
in low-income neighborhoods" (Operation Phoenix
Program Summary).
But too often city planning processes ignore existing grassroots efforts to
support the city’s youth, particularly in the city’s Mexican American
communities.
And too often city leaders say they are committed to youth but don’t
expand funding for youth programs.
The Mexican American Soccer
Leagues need to be recognized as
valuable partners in the city’s efforts
to create safe and healthy
environments for children and youth
in San Bernardino.
The Mexican American soccer
leagues of San Bernardino:
 Provide safe and supervised outlets for kids to stay out of
trouble.
 Build the skills they need to succeed as productive members
of society.
 Teach youth important life lessons surrounding teamwork,
discipline, and leadership.
Methodology
Reviewed Literature on Youth Development and
the Effectiveness of Youth Sports programs
Attended 7 Soccer Games and Practices
Interviewed:
 8 Soccer Club and League presidents
 City and School Officials from the Park and Recreation
Dept, School Facilities, SB Soccer Complex, and Principals
from 5 schools.
 6 Coaches and 1 Referee (Chivas, Club Leon, Club Milan,
Club Brazil, Girls United Soccer)
 16 Children & Youth
 11 Parents
Why Soccer Matters
San Bernardino’s Mexican American Soccer teams
help protect youth from crime, violence and
poverty that plague too many neighborhoods .
They create positive healthy environments that
children need to thrive as youth and young adults.
Mexican American Soccer Leagues
Serve Thousands of Children in
San Bernardino Every Week.
 There are at least 4 Mexican American Soccer Leagues with
teams from San Bernardino: Island Premier Soccer League,
Inland Empire Soccer League, Empire Soccer League and
United Soccer League.
 Each league has many participating Soccer Clubs each of
which operate several teams (from 2-8 teams ranging in age
from U-6 to U-18 to adult teams)
 On one weekend the Premier Soccer League fielded 86 teams
playing in 43 games, with an estimated 1200 children and youth
playing.
 One typical Soccer Club, Club Leon has 6 teams with a total of
approximately 84 kids who practice 2 time a week and play
almost every weekend all year long.
Youth soccer programs provide
alternatives to the dangers and
temptations of the streets.
 Research shows that juveniles are more likely to be victims
of violent crime between the hours of 3 and 9 pm. *
 57% of serious juvenile crimes occur from 3 to 7 pm.*
Father of Club Milan
player voiced the
feelings of many
parents and coaches
when he explained,
“They see the streets
and the life it could
bring, it’s important to
get them away from
that.”
*From the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention report (1999)
A soccer coach shared his
biggest motive as a father, “is
to help other parents keep
their kids off the streets.”
One kid explained
that, “after you get
home from school
you’ll be thinking
about what to
do…and instead of
being into drugs or
gangs,” they play
soccer.
Soccer programs protect youth from
the nationwide issue of obesity.
 In the city of San Bernardino:
 16% of high school students are overweight
 20% are at risk of becoming overweight.
 Parents and coaches emphasized how soccer
provides youth with exercise and keeps them
healthy.
One mother explained, “it’s
very good for him physically,
for his health. That’s what
motivates me to bring him…
Now he says, ‘look I’m
getting thinner’ because
he’s exercising.”
Youth soccer allows children to build selfesteem, social skills and develop into healthy
and productive members of society.
 One coach observed that
soccer players, “become
more social, when [they]
spend more time with
groups, [they] have more
respect for society. [One]
knows better how to live
together with people.”
A player explained that soccer, “…teaches
friendship. You help your teammates if they
fall down. You help them get up."
Youth soccer programs help kids connect with
the people in their community.
The Club Leon U-12 coach shared that families and
friends come together through soccer; "At a good game,
with all our parental support, I would think we get about
20-25 spectators.”
Soccer brings
kids together
amongst local
schools and
neighborhoods.
One coach said,
“Most didn't know
each other before
joining, but now
they are all
friends.”
Soccer programs encourage youth leadership
and motivation both academically and in the
home.
Research has shown that participation
in sports is associated with completing
more years of education.
A player said
that his coach,
"teaches us
never [to] give
up; keep on
trying,
because if you
keep on trying
you'll get
there."
One child
explained, “I
love to play
soccer because
it makes me
stay focused
and if I get bad
grades, my
father will take
me out of the
soccer league.”
Barriers Leagues Face
and Recommendations
For Change
Field Space is Limited
 The Park & Recreation Department only has 3 fields available for
soccer teams to use for games (Delman Heights, Nunez Park,
Meadowbrook Park).
 Soccer teams can also sometimes practice on the outfields of the
city’s 36 baseball/softball fields when its not baseball season.
 The number of San Bernardino soccer teams has increased drastically
over the last 15 years but the city has not increased the number of
free fields for teams to play.
 As a result, most soccer teams have to practice on school fields.
Lack of Fields Leads to Nomadic Teams
 Teams often struggle to
find stable fields where
they can practice and play.
 Teams become nomadic
as they move between
fields where they can get
permission to practice and
play games.
 Unfortunately, children
whose parents work long
hours are not able to
travel to these far away
fields.
There are Not Enough Lit Fields
 There are only 3 lit fields
that soccer teams can use
at no cost (Nunez Park,
Golden Valley MS and
Richardson MS).
 During the Winter, the lack
of lit fields makes it very
difficult for teams to
practice.
 Mitch Assumma (Park and
Recreation Dept) can give
coaches a pin number to
turn these lights on at no
cost if they reserve one of
the 3 fields.
Several teams have bought
their own generators and
lights. But for others, they are
unable to afford this expense,
causing them to cancel
practices.
Cost of Using New Soccer Complexes Makes
them Inaccessible
 The city has built two state-of-the-art soccer
complexes (SB Soccer Complex with 17 fields including
4 lit fields) & Blast Stadium with 6 lit fields. They were
developed primarily to make money for the city; not to
meet the recreational needs of San Bernardino
residents.
Many soccer clubs that serve San Bernardino’s Mexican-American
working-families cannot afford to practice as the SB Soccer
Complex.
 As of 2006, 19% of Latino
families live below the
poverty level.
 Approximately 60%
Latinos under the age of 18
live in poverty.
 45 % of San Bernardino
families (family of four)
make less than $30,000 a
year.
The cost of using the Soccer Complex ($220 for a 2 hour
practice, twice a week) is more than many of these families
can afford.
*2006 U.S. Census & Kids Count Census Data 2000
Recommendation: Expand Number of
Free Fields w/ Lights
 The Mayor’s Office and
Dept. of Park &
Recreation should
commit to expanding the
number of multi-purpose
fields in the city’s parks.
 SB Soccer Complex and
Blast Stadium should
open its unused fields
during the week to teams
from San Bernardino for
free or reduced cost.
Process of Acquiring Soccer Fields
 Many coaches have
complained that the
process of gaining access
to soccer fields is
cumbersome and
confusing.
 This simply means that
some teams don’t reserve
fields. While, others must
move locations on a
regular basis.
City and School District Planning
Processes are Not in Sync
 The Park and Recreation
Department holds a
meeting 2 times per year
to organize field
allocation.
 The School District
Facility’s Office gives
permission for teams to
use fields for 3 months.
Line staff attempt to work together, but there seems to be
little desire by the school district to unify the 2 processes.
Is the San Bernardino School District
fully obeying the California Civic Center
Act?
 This Act mandates
that school facilities
and fields be open for
community use when
they are not being
used by the school.
Principals
 School principals make
the final decision
whether teams can use
fields.
 To maintain the
cleanliness and safety of
school grounds, they
may disallow teams from
using fields.
 But sometimes they deny
access without explaining
why.
School Districts Should Provide Clear Guidelines for
Principals on the Civic Center Act.
Community groups should be able to reserve fields
unless the fields are in use by school teams.
 Normal wear-and-tear on soccer fields is not a
sufficient reason to turn down a team.
 The presence of a CAPS after-school program should
not close the fields for the whole evening.
Accountability
 Teams/leagues should follow-up and document the
reasons why they were turned down by principals to
make sure they are living up to the spirit of the Civic
Center Act.
Locked Fields Pose a Barrier
 The cost of acquiring
the key to get into
locked fields is too
expensive for most
soccer teams ($250).
Gate Key Recommendation
 The School Facilities
The Department of
School Facilities and
Maintenance should
work together to
develop a policy that
janitors open school
facilities for teams that
have been approved.
Lack of Public Restrooms
 Many schools lock their
restrooms so that kids
practicing soccer can’t use
them.
 An Under-10 soccer player
explained, “The problem is
when you have to go
number 2. [You have to]
just hold it.’”
Bathrooms
 Schools should open
bathrooms to approved
soccer teams for free, or a
minimal fee.
 Bathrooms could only be
opened at the time/day
when approved teams
practiced in order to
establish a system of
accountability.
 Janitors could arrange their
schedule so that they only
cleaned field bathrooms
after soccer practice is over.
Language Barriers
 Soccer field
applications and
meetings are in
English which only
serves as a barrier to
Spanish-speaking
residents.
 74.2% of adults in San
Bernardino speak
Spanish at home.*
*(US Census Bureau 2006)
Stereotypes & Lack of Trust
 The Park and Recreation and School Facilities
department don’t know or trust many of the
Mexican American soccer leagues.
 Some staff have racial and cultural stereotypes
that stand in the way of creating a healthy
relationship with these leagues.
 A Park and Recreation employee described
many Mexican American leagues as
“manipulating” the system, trashing fields and
not following policies.
Translation
 The School District and
Park and Recreation
Department should
translate all application
materials into Spanish.
 They should reach out
to and invite Spanishspeaking teams to
bilingual meetings.
Transportation
 Many working parents struggle to transport their
children to soccer practices and games.
 Coaches and other parents often pick-up as many
players as they can.
 One kid we met biked 1 hour to soccer practice
each day.
 “In reality I have to drive at least maybe seven
miles [to games and practices].” (Victor Perez –
Coach of Club Leon)
Keep Team Practices Close to Home
 School facilities and the
Dept. of Park &
Recreations planning
processes should give
priority to teams who
live close to particular
schools so that kids can
walk to practice.
 They should try to
create consistent
assignments of fields to
reduce nomadic teams.
National Mexican American
Sports Association
Mexican American Leaders across the United States are working together with
the Mexican consulate to build this organization that will help soccer leagues
teams and leagues become a more unified and powerful force in the U.S.
This Organization aims to:

Help leagues form better relationships with city officials and lobby
for access to space to practice and play.

Provide insurance tailored to immigrant communities.

Create a more systematic structure and set of rules

Help connect ex pro players to volunteer as coaches with teams

Hold a yearly national tournament (Sept 7 and 8, 2008).

Host a yearly convention and state training institutions to train
coaches and referees.
For more information about this effort in San Bernardino, contact Cecilia
Miranda Mijangos (909) or [email protected]
What are the next steps?
 Bring representatives of the leagues together to
develop strategies to remove some of these
barriers and to change city policies.
 Insure that all soccer clubs and leagues are
included in the Park and Recreation bi-annual
planning meetings.
 Insure that the School District follow through on
commitment to translate application materials.