Liga HEB: A Place to Belong

PENNINGTON FIELD — There is no confetti. No grand speeches on the PA system. No raucous crowd cheering. And yet, a handful of young men from Hurst Junior High School are on top of the world. They’ve just won first place in Liga HEB, the district’s intramural soccer league for junior high boys, by defeating their strongest rival 4-2. As they raise the Champions Cup above their heads and shout to the pack of supporters who turned out to cheer for them on a dreary Wednesday, their journey is complete. FC Hurst were underdogs in this, the first championship match hosted by Liga HEB, but they didn’t seem to have gotten the memo. From the first whistle to the last, they played like young men who belonged on the turf. For some, it was the first time they could belong anywhere.

Years ago, 6 Stones partnered with HEB ISD to launch an intramural soccer program for young men who were dangerously distant from their studies. In a district consistently rated as Exemplary and often listed among the best in the state, a small portion of the population was struggling to engage. Young men from disadvantaged households were falling short on national testing, acting out in class, and often failing simply for lack of effort. Hoping to give those students something around which to rally, district leaders established a league that would give them an outlet.

“I felt that it would be a great way to capture the attention of the students who often fall through the cracks of normal American life; let’s face it, soccer is still only a minor sport in this country,” said Franky Girau, a volunteer coach who teaches at Hurst Junior High and who helped to start the league. “There is plenty of research to support the concept that extracurricular activities like football, baseball and basketball encourage low-socioeconomic students to achieve at higher levels. They are more motivated to achieve in school as a result of being part of a team. By creating a soccer league for HEB, we are providing the motivation for a population of students that were traditionally forgotten.”

Boys in the district don’t have access to soccer until they reach high school, and even then it’s difficult to make the team. Both LD Bell and Trinity are highly selective, often recruiting players who have extensive experience within expensive Select leagues. For children who can’t afford such a luxury, the beautiful game exists only on television or in disorganized pick-up games after school. In an environment which seems to be celebrating every interest but theirs, it can be tough for these young men to engage.

“The students who participate in Liga HEB are not involved in other extra-curricular activities at HJH,” said Hurst Principal Elizabeth Russo, who inherited the league when she succeeded founder Lesli Guajardo. “We recognize the importance of having a place or group to belong to; the value that the involvement adds to their educational experience. We were also looking for a way to increase students’ grades and achievement. They have to pass to play and so it has proven to be a huge incentive.”

Much as the students are responsible for their own success, the league runs on dedicated volunteer support from HEB staff on all levels. From teachers to counselors to principals and social workers, everyone has a hand in bringing Liga HEB to life. And they all agree: it’s working.

“The majority of the students who participate at Central live below the Federal Poverty Guidelines,” said CJH Principal Randy Belcher, who has served the district for fourteen years. “Liga HEB is their hook to stay engaged in our school and to put a spotlight on them. When we announce students’ names and wins or losses on announcements each week, students have a sense of pride.”

According to Belcher, students who play in Wednesday night matches through the program were more likely to stay engaged at school during the 12-week season. The pattern repeats at Hurst and in the third school touched by the league, Euless Junior High.

“Obviously, students acquire all of the traits that come with on-the-field action, but off the field student academic performance improved dramatically, and student rates of disciplinary incidents almost disappeared,” said Gary Dobbs, who coaches both Euless teams in addition to serving as a counselor on the EJH campus. “We run this program because simply being involved in a positive program promotes students’ success.”

His data matches with reports from Tara Ryan, a Licensed Master Social Worker serving Euless through Communities in Schools, a federation of independent non-profits in 27 states. She started here in January, and jumped at the chance to be part of the league. She can be found on the sideline supporting Real Euless and Stallions FC, usually with cookies in hand as a post-game treat.

“Junior high school is an awkward time for most kids, so having a group of boys come together over a common interest has given many of them the opportunity to develop friendships,” Ryan said. “I know of one student in particular who was very shy and quiet and did not seem to have many friends… Now that this young man is involved in soccer I have noticed that he has come out of his shell a bit and he seems to have friends. I see him sitting in the cafeteria with other boys from soccer, instead of sitting alone. I notice that he is always laughing and always has a smile on his face when he is with his friends.”

Russo says that many of the students in the league come from families with working parents that are often forced to take on multiple jobs and odd hours so that their families can survive. In those households, it’s easy for the students to fall behind in terms of discipline and success. It’s no one’s fault; simply the fallout of a difficult economic circumstance. Intramural soccer gives those students a place to feel at home, even as it allows their teachers to connect with them outside of the classroom. The league improves circumstances for everyone simply by providing common ground for parents, students, and teachers.

“For many of them, for the first time, they are a part of an ‘official’ team. It builds school spirit which ultimately builds academic success. They want to do well in school so they can play… They move from wanting to disrupt because they don’t care about school to focusing on what has been asked of them so they can play,” Russo explained. “It has also built parent support. Parents that are not comfortable coming up to campus will come out to the field to watch their child play. [Coach] Girau has become their mentor. He speaks Spanish and understands their culture. They respect and look up to a successful male that comes from a similar background.”

For his part, Girau says that the quality of the league has made his job much easier. “The fact of the matter is that buy-in directly correlates to the professionalism behind the league,” he said, “there is evidence to suggest that the more professional the atmosphere, the more the students will take the league seriously. For instance, this season a website was introduced that blogged the league’s events and kept league records. A simple addition like this has had a powerful impact in getting some of the player’s parents more involved in the league.”

That website, run with the assistance of student journalists from the Hurst and Central, is only part of the story. Most of the magic in Liga HEB comes from the hardworking educators who take on extra hours to coach their students after school. Practice is restricted to a pair of 2-hour sessions per week, but another two hours of games and travel every Wednesday make volunteering in the league as demanding as it is rewarding. Before 6 Stones increased our investment this year, many of the coaches were paying for equipment out of their own pockets or taking extra time to write grant proposals from home. In the first pre-season meeting, it was revealed that teams had only a handful of balls to practice with and many players were competing without proper protective equipment.

With the help of three group sponsors and a variety of individual donations, we were able to furnish match-quality balls for all 6 teams, shinguards for all 116 players, and water bottles to keep students hydrated on every sideline. The school district provided transportation for all three schools, and 6 Stones covered the cost of hiring referees for each of 26 games played in the 2016 season. All in all, our network of partners were able to supply $3,496.31 worth of goods and services for the league.

It’s amazing what a few soccer balls and a couple of blog posts can do for a group of students who would otherwise be alienated and alone. They carry themselves with pride, they know their value, and they’re willing to work toward goals that once seemed irrelevant to them. Liga HEB is bigger than a few soccer matches. It’s value isn’t measured in goals or trophies, but in the disappearance of disciplinary problems across three campuses. It can be seen in the 78% drop in players failing at Hurst and a similar rise in grades at Central and Euless. More than anything, however, it was on display in the incredible sportsmanship of Atletico Central, the team that fell to Hurst in the final game of the year. In a clear representation of the league’s transformative work, two squads that nearly came to blows in Week One shook hands as equals by Week Nine.

This is bigger than soccer. This is belonging.