The Center for Sport and Social Justice:
Integrating Academic and Community Stakeholders to Promote Positive Social Change Through Soccer
DR. MATTHEW ATENCIO( California State University, East Bay, Department of Kinesiology), Professor, Co-Director of the Center for Sport and Social Justice
INTRODUCTION
The Center for Sport and Social Justice( CSSJ), based at California State University East Bay( CSUEB) in Hayward, California, works in concert with various local and global organizations to utilize soccer as a vehicle to make positive social change. The CSSJ originated in 2011 at CSUEB, an institution that has one of the most diverse student bodies in the United States( U. S. News & World Report, 2017). The CSSJ was created to promote more humane and socially just sports opportunities through research and creative scholarly activities.
This article outlines various types of partnership practices that are being undertaken as part of youth soccer coaching interventions. I provide examples of how community and academic stakeholders can come together to establish working partnerships. Since 2018, I have served as the Co- Director of the CSSJ. I will illustrate some of the activities that my academic center has undertaken to integrate and improve the state of soccer in the US and abroad.
Youth sports such as soccer are considered a vital life opportunity for many Americans. Participation in these activities is often considered a rite of passage, with many adults believing that“ sport participation and consumption will create healthy, productive people; decrease deviance and disruptive actions; and alleviate boredom and alienation”( Coakley, 2011, p. 307).
Although these developmental claims can sometimes be overstated- as Dr. Jay Coakley reminds us- it is still the case that youth sports including soccer provide many life benefits to its participants. And yet, despite the potential range of benefits for young people, many academics and organizations have frequently documented the hierarchical and exclusionary aspects of our nation’ s youth sports model. Clearly, the“ pay to play” model in this nation has made it difficult for urban and lower-income youths to be part of the“ Beautiful Game.” Soccer is often considered the most popular entry sport for American youths- and is indeed promoted as an avenue for children to become more physically active- yet we know that many youths leave soccer at an early age when their families cannot afford the costs( Project Play, 2023).
In response, I have witnessed many low-cost grassroots programs- across all sports- emerge with the explicit aim of refashioning youth sport provision to address social causes including promoting inclusion and civic engagement( Atencio et al., 2018). Indeed, youth sport focused interventions in lower-income and urban regions have long existed in the United States( Hartmann, 2016; Martinek and Hellison, 1997). Since the 1990s, there have been numerous community organizations working to serve these youths under the concept of Sport for Development and Peace( SDP)( Coalter, 2010; Schulenkorf, Sherry, & Rowe; 2016). Established organizations in this genre that have gained mainstream public attention and investment represent activities ranging from skateboarding( e. g.“ Skate Like A Girl”) to soccer( e. g.“ Street Soccer USA”).
In this article, I will outline various soccer organizations that I have been fortunate to partner with on a regular basis. As an academic based in the urban East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, it is crucial that my scholarship dovetails with programs making a difference“ in the field”; it is my hope that this is a mutually beneficial relationship. That is, I can contribute research knowledge and data to programs mentoring soccer-playing youths, while I am able to incorporate their vital work into courses such as“ Sport in the Local Community”. Indeed, the leaders and coaches of these innovative youth soccer programs often serve as guest lecturers to the benefit of my students.
Sport studies scholars have suggested that partnership building is necessary to sustain many non-profit sport projects. Svensson and colleagues( 2018) for instance contend that such collaboration provides vital“ access to shared expertise and pooled resources aligned with a shared common mission”( p. 299). Following this view, I explain below how local and global partnership building can enhance soccer coaching and development work.
BAY AREA COLLABORATIONS: Soccer Without Borders and the Oakland Roots and Soul Sports Club
In the Bay Area region, we have observed the emergence of numerous youth soccer projects and partnerships to support low-income urban youths. With the re-emergence of for-profit youth sports at unprecendented levels post- COVID 19, we have seen that many youths such as those in Oakland still lag far behind their counterparts when it comes to sport and physical activity access. For instance, Project Play from the Aspen Institute( 2022) has identified
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