PORT's Street Soccer: The Ultimate Assist

Playing on a soccer team might seem like one of the last things a homeless person needs – and compared with food and shelter, it may be a low priority. But for members of Ann Arbor PORT's Street Soccer team, it's a breath of real life.

"Even though on the surface it's just a game, it's a powerful engagement tool to help them deal with challenges they have in their lives – substance abuse, mental health treatment," says Linda Bacigalupi, one of PORT Street Soccer's coaches.

PORT – the Project Outreach Team – is a joint venture of Washtenaw County and the City of Ann Arbor dedicated to improving the quality of life for homeless, mentally ill people in the county. ()

Both Bacigalupi and the team's other coach, Sara Silvennoinen, are part of PORT's professional staff. The project's goal is to use soccer to provide healthy social activity for homeless people as a positive and empowering experience.
 
"Now when they practice, our players are laughing and they have friends they wouldn't have met anywhere else," Bacigalupi says.

Team members range from 18-year-olds (the youngest allowed) to 60-year-olds.

"When we first started (in August 2007), we'd have one or two people at a practice. Now on a slow day, we have six people. Usually once they come, they realize how much fun it is. Some come just to watch and end up playing by the end of practice," explains Silvennoinen.

SSPORT, as the team is known, placed fourth in the US Homeless Soccer Cup played in Washington, DC last June. The team received awards for Best Female Athlete and the Kevin Carroll Katalyst Trophy, awarded to the coach who best embodies and encourages Kevin's mantra, "A ball can change your life," by his or her work with players on and off the soccer field, which went to Silvennoinen. 

As a result, Silvennoinen has been invited to coach the US team in the Homeless World Cup, set for play in Melbourne, Australia, on Dec. 1-7.

The Ann Arbor team is funded by PORT, which in turn receives funding from a varied group of public sources in Washtenaw County. The team also tries to recruit community sponsors.

"We have money available to pay for basic needs – mostly donations from a lot of different places. The Wide World Sports Center donated a field in the winter so we can practice indoors. We practice at West Park in the summer,' Silvennoinen says.

The Detroit Ignition team, regular-league champions of the Major Indoor Soccer League, donates a portion of ticket sales for a game to the team. Restaurants help out with food and Zingerman's recently made a cash donation

On the wish list – funding for team members to play in a regular Ann Arbor soccer league, as well as money for next year's USA Homeless Cup tournament. It costs a little less than $1,000 to field a team for a two-month, 10-game session in a recreational soccer league, Silvennoinen said.

An ideal sponsorship budget would provide funding to enter three recreational league sessions throughout the year plus team travel for next year's national cup – around $6000 total.

Twelve teams played in the 2008 US Homeless Cup. Sixty-four teams are expected to play in Melbourne World Cup action next December. The Washington trip was memorable, says Bacigalupi. "We stayed in dorms. We were within ¼-mile of the White House, so we walked around and saw all sights, experienced the excitement of the competition and meeting other teams," she explains.

SSPORT plays 4-versus-4 soccer, with seven-minute halves played on a shortened field, much like a basketball court.

"It's a hard surface and the ball moves really fast. It's much faster than 11-on-11 soccer," says Silvennoinen. "Because of the shorter games and smaller field, you don't need as many people."

Encouraging changes for cup team members have occurred since the June tournament.

"All of the (players) we took to DC are now housed. They can only be on the team for one year. People you can take to the US Cup have to be new every year. We welcome everybody to join in, but if they've played on a Cup team, they just can't go to the cup again. All the guys continue to come," explains Silvennoinen.

For now, the two coaches are rebuilding the team, getting more people housed, and, they hope, getting ready for next years national tournament. Meanwhile, practice is coming up again next week.