Roxhill Students Using Soccer in the Classroom

Our SCORES school, Roxhill Elementary, is using the world's game in the classroom for its' 2010 CARES Cup program. This program breaks students into 28 teams and each group adopts one of the 28 World Cup qualifying countries. The students and a staff team leader will follow the soccer team's progress in the tournament while also learning more about the countries' culture and environmental issues there. All the hard work culminates in an end of the year all-school celebration showing what the students have learned. Great use of soccer inside the classroom! Here's a link to the copy of the School Beat from Seattle Public Schools.

Tickets Sold Out!

Thanks to everyone who purchased our Sounders Tickets and supported SCORES. Have a great time at the game!!

Sounders Tickets $50 now!

Looking for Sounders playoff tickets? The Seattle Sounders FC have generously donated QWEST Field Suite tickets to America SCORES Seattle for the Western Conference Semifinal vs. the Houston Dynamo. They are $50 and all proceeds help support 192 poet-athletes participate in a five-day-a-week literacy and soccer after school program. We will also give you a FREE parking pass for tomorrow's gameday, if you are one of the first 5 buyers. So call and buy a ticket and cheer on the Sounders FC in their pursuit of the MLS Cup! To Donate call our office at 206-988-1000 or email ckelley@americascores.org

SCORES Playoff Tickets

Still don’t have playoff tickets? The Seattle Sounders FC have generously donated 18 QWEST Field Suite tickets to America SCORES Seattle for the Western Conference Semifinal vs. the Houston Dynamo.

With a donation of $100 or more you can help support... 192 poet-athletes participate in a five-day-a-week literacy and soccer after school program and cheer on the Sounders FC in their pursuit of the MLS Cup!

To Donate call our office at 206-988-1000 or email ckelley@americascores.org.

Match InformationHouston Dynamo at Seattle Sounders FCOctober 29, 2009 at 7 pm PDT (ESPN2)Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field Seattle, Wash.

A suite at Qwest Field is the ultimate setting to experience the best action in MLS. With perfect views of the field, our Suites offer an impressive setting to entertain your guests. Your suite is complete with cutting edge technology, luxurious furnishings, fabulous amenities, and first class service. Your suite also comes with complimentary exclusive club level access. We invite you to secure a suite today to see Seattle's newest professional sports team! Be there as world greats David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Luciano Emilio, Juan Pablo Angel and Cuauhtemoc Blanco make their Qwest Field debuts.

Game Day 2 Pictures

Here are some pictures of Friday's Game Day 2. There were lots of poems slammed at all the schools. Here is one of the poems a young Emerson Elementary poet-athlete read:

Mass in the Grass
by Abdimajid of Emerson Elementary

I saw a mass in the grass, so...
I ran so fast. I'm never last.
I jumped over some broken glass.
I even ran past my class.
I grasped my old mask
And I saw someone with a rash.
I scared them it was a blast!

Highland Park Elementary girls slamming before their game

Game Day Round 2

Today is Game Day 2 and the excitement is here. Many of the staff went to SCORES schools yesterday and the kids were choosing their poems to slam before the games. The poems ranged from personal poems about their own struggles in life to more silly fun poems about the trials of trying to eat a door like spaghetti. You heard that right, eating a door like spaghetti. It's fun to hear their imaginations run wild at SCORES every afternoon. The kids will slam before the games and then it's soccer time. So if there is some extra time today make sure and stop by a SCORES school for the games.

The schedule is as follows:

Maple is at Dunlap

Roxhill is at Gatzert

Emerson is at Highland Park

Game Day was Great Day in the Rain

The game days were a blast on Friday. The weather didn’t hold any of the kid’s spirits or smiles back. The games kept all the players warm, and I even heard one say they were sweating. Before the games we heard great poems about soccer, food and friends. Afterwards a few players received Gold Cards for their exemplary displays of leadership, sportsmanship and teamwork. Go Gold Card winners! When all was said and done, I think the kids were just as happy to be playing soccer as to getting their snacks afterwards. Thanks team coordinators.

Also, we caught this photo of a girl wearing her new scarf. Thanks Sounders!

SCORES-Sounders Pub Event

Everyone on the SCORES staff wants to send a thank you to the Sounders Coach Sigi, Chris Henderson, the George and Dragon for hosting the event and everyone who came out to support SCORES! Thanks!

The pub event on Wednesday was a resounding success. We saw a great game with a stoppage-time header to tie the game for Team USA. There was a heartfelt tribute to Charlie Davies, the Team USA forward who was involved in a car accident. Lastly, we had an insightful discussion with Sounders Coach Sigi and Technical Director Chris Henderson.

With all this great action going on we also raised over $1,000 for SCORES programs!

We'll let everyone know about next month's Scores-Sounders Pub Event when the date is finalized.

Game Day #1 Today!

Today is the first Game Day for the poet-athletes. The players will be busing around to different schools today playing their fellow SCORES athletes. All the games are beginning at 4 p.m. with a warm-up Poetry Slam! to get everything started. Festivities will be over around 5 p.m.

The schedule is as follows:

Dunlap is at Emerson Elementary
Highland Park is at Roxhill Elementary
Maple is at Bailey-Gatzert Elementary

Come and support the poet-athletes at schools around the Seattle area. See you there!

Sounders & SCORES Pub Event

Sounders FC & SCORES will host a pub event this Wednesday with coach Sigi Schmid, Technical Director Chris Hendersen and a surprise special guest.

We'll be at The George & Dragon Pub this Wednesday in Fremont from 5 to 8 p.m. watching men's team USA vs. Costa Rica. There will be a Q & A session with Sounders personnel.

There will be a prize drawing for an autographed Freddie Ljundberg soccer ball or a pair of 2010 Sounders FC tickets.

You will also be able to enter a silent auction for a signed Fredy Montero jersey.

The U.S. Open Cup will be on display for everyone to come and see!

There is a $5 suggested donation to America SCORES Seattle at the door.

Kids idolize athletes for the performance, but there is more to many

An article in the New York Times from four days ago made an insightful point about N.B.A. players and athletes in general, there's more to them than athleticism. The article followed the efforts of three N.B.A. players, but alluded to the growing number of players who are trying to complete, or begin college degree programs.
The article tells the story that despite the large amounts of money many make, their future isn't always stable. There can be accidents or injuries prematurely ending a player's career. An education gives them a more secure future no matter how their athletic career ends.
It seems, for some, there are reasons beyond financial security motivating players to get their degrees. Some players want to be good role models for siblings, some are doing it for their parents and others want to be the first in their families to get a college degree. The reasons don't matter for attaining a degree, but getting it does.
The normal stories about athletes seem to be about their high-profile lifestyles and their off-the-court mishaps. It's good to hear some players are working in the off-season too, even without pay.
So, when kids look up to athletes for scoring 100 points in a basketball game, hitting 50 plus homers, or even scoring 20 or more goals in a soccer season, applaud the athlete. But remind the kids that athletes need more than on-the-field talents to succeed in life and an education is a big part of what's necessary.

Here's the article:

NYTIMES link

Be in the know: Seattle Schools Consider Lowering Grade Point Average for Graduation

While America SCORES Seattle works to empower young people in Seattle's Public Elementary Schools, we also have to be aware of the academic politics that will affect our students down the road. Currently, the Seattle School Board is considering a change to the grade point requirement for Graduating seniors. As it stands, a C average is required to graduate. Additionally, a C average has always been required to keep one's place on a sports team. This is up for debate as well, and would most likely be changed if the graduation requirement were to be revised.

One of the arguments for the change is that if a D is enough to pass a class it should also be enough to graduate, hopefully encouraging more students to stay in school rather than drop out. To counter concerns that this change will lower the students' level of motivation it has also been suggested that schools institute pluses and minuses, allowing for more opportunities to increase one's GPA. Furthermore, honors level students would see a slight upward scaling in their grades, so a B grade would equal a 3.5, and a B+ a 4.0.

On the opposing side, which vocalizes that changing the GPA and providing GPA incentives is not enough to "fix" the problems plaguing Seattle's public schools, school board member Peter Maier expressed his concern regarding the underlying problem: "One of the troubling aspects of the proposal is that it doesn't address the real issue, which is what we do with these struggling students who are bumping along at the GPA bottom."

To read more about this issue, check out this most recent article. Agree, or disagree? Want to be more involved? Write to the board at this address:
School Board Office
2445 Third Avenue South
Mail Stop: 11-010
PO BOX 34165
Seattle, WA 98124-1165

Or check their website to see their legislative session schedule and agenda.

SCORES Century Benefit Bike Ride

Last Sunday was our first SCORES Century Benefit Bike ride and it was a huge success. Our riders, only 7 of them, were able to raise between $4,000 and 5,000 dollars for America SCORES Seattle. The ride wrapped around Lake Washington, twice. It was 100 miles of fun and fundraising.

A special thanks to Jake Pedersen with the Seattle Athletic Club, the Seattle Athletic Club and our boardmemeber Spencer Jacobs for organizing the whole ride. Thanks to everyone of their sponsors who gave them a chance to raise money for our cause.

It's really inspiring to have passionate people truely "going the distance" for all the SCORES kids. Thanks.

Staff Site Visit Last Friday

The SCORES Staff went to Bailey-Gatzert on Friday to see the soccer scrimages and the kids at their home fields. It was a jumble of kids running, passing and scoring with cheers and screams to highlight every move. There was so much energy on Friday.

We also got a picture of the poetry the students are putting together. The poet-athletes put together an adjective list to increase their descriptive vocabulary.

So many adjectives, so little space to write. Everyone is excited for the poetry-slam in November.