Students participating in the Stay & Play program (photo: DC Stoddert)

As part of a new DC Stoddert soccer initiative, in collaboration with Up2Us Sports, the Stay & Play Program was created with the primary goal of developing a sustainable after-school program for schools in under-represented communities in DC. Although soccer is a critical component of the program’s curriculum, DC Stoddert Stay & Play Program aims to impact students beyond the field.

The two coaches running the program, David Drafton and Giordano Bordoli, are excited to work with such an enthusiastic group of players and have seen growth in some of the participants during the Fall. The coaches hope to gain as much from Stay & Play as their students do, and are fully committed to the success of the program and the students.

Here is an interview DC Stoddert conducted with their coaches about the after-school program.

DC Stoddert: First question for both of you is… “What is the ‘Stay & Play Program,’" and what are some of its goals?

Giordano Bordoli: The program evolved around soccer after-school programs. We wanted to work in underprivileged DC communities. From there we added other aspects that we felt were important, such as spending time with the kids outside of soccer. The first half of the program, before we go outside, is talking to the kids about their day, about some sort of lesson. We spend about 30 minutes doing that before we even go outside and play soccer. That’s one of the benefits separating Stay and Play from a regular after-school program. One thing I’ve noticed is that they’re super excited to be able to talk to an adult, because that’s not something they get to do every day of their lives.

Dave Drafton: It’s not a program where there are just people watching the kids. We’re more in-tune with the kids and involved with them. Whether that’s soccer or teaching them about life lessons, it’s about being involved in their life outside the classroom.

DC Stoddert: What age groups is the program now?

Giordano: We are at Seaton Elementary School at the moment, and work primarily with third graders, with some second and fourth graders mixed in. We’re kind of the “in-between age groups” because there is Junior SCORES at this school and then there’s DC SCORES itself. Junior SCORES is for first and second graders and then DC SCORES does fourth and fifth graders. So for we fit into the gap where the third graders are.

DC Stoddert: Can you talk a little about how its working with DC SCORES at this school in particular?

Drafton: It’s extremely important. We appreciate being connected to Seaton because obviously we were new at starting this program, still learning even today. And DC SCORES has been huge with connecting us with Seaton and the kids, as well as other sites that we are looking into, as we try to expand this program.

Giordano: Neither of us was very familiar with the DC Public Schools system, and DC SCORES works with tons of these schools, so when they contacted us, it made the integration process so much smoother. Within a couple weeks, we felt pretty much at home with the program at Seaton, which was pretty cool.

Dave: They have given us activities to do with the kids that worked well with Junior SCORES. Really it’s just looking at them as a bigger brother, and following their lead while adding our own touch.

DC Stoddert: This program is in conjunction with “Up2Us,” what is it and how is DC Stoddert involved.

Giordano: Up2Us is a national coaching network that provides coaches to programs across the country like DC Stoddert. They provide training and resources for working in underprivileged communities with kids who are dealing with some tough stuff at home, and are dealing with other stressors in their life.

DC Stoddert: How do you want to impact these kids lives? Do you have a specific story of a coach that really impacted you, that kind of made you want to give back in this way?

Drafton: For me, my travel coach Steven. He really made sure that soccer was bigger than all of us. You get coaches who only care about winning, losing, stuff like that. Steven didn’t care about any of that stuff. He took part in our lives, was interested in what we were doing outside of the soccer field, and we would start practice just talking about our day – how school went, any plans for the weekend besides the game, stuff like that. When it came to soccer and when it came to actually learning drills, he knew his stuff… but he impacted us off the field and made sure we felt like we were wanted and we were special. That’s how we want to work with these kids and make sure they know they’re important, because they are.

DC Stoddert: What are the next steps for the program, and goals for the spring?

Drafton: Right now we work with the kids Monday and Friday from about 3:30pm to 5:30-6:00pm, depending on weather and daylight. The next steps are to get a scrimmage or a game, since right now they’re just practicing and scrimmaging against each other. If they can apply some of these new found skills to other teams, I think it would be extremely beneficial and fun for them.

DC Stoddert: You mentioned the possibility of expanding into a new school. What does that process look like? Are there certain geographic areas that you are looking to expand into?

Bordoli: I think the initial launching of the program was a little more complicated just because we have to get cleared by DCPS. Having the connection with DC SCORES is huge for us because they know the other schools, they know their programs. They know where this third-grade gap exists where we can implement more programs in between Junior SCORES and DC SCORES.

DC Stoddert: As this program grows, how are you going to replicate the connections between the players and the coaches?

Bordoli: I think the biggest thing is familiarity. You want to make sure you have the right person going in there as a coach, as a volunteer, who’s going to want to make the connection with the kids. Because the kids are going to want to talk to the coach, so you have to make sure the coach is the kind of person who is comfortable with that.

To learn more about Stay & Play, visit the Stoddert website.