World Cup excitement was running high at a DEAEF-supported summer program at Kensington Soccer Club in Philadelphia this summer. With the tournament underway, 25 kids ages 6 to 14 were following the games, keeping tabs on their favorite players and bringing that excitement to the field each morning.

When Rick Zeitlin, DEAEF Sports Consultant, visited the program and asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up, about two-thirds had the same answer: soccer players.

The eight-week summer camp was part of DEAEF’s continued partnership with DEA’s Operation Engage and Kensington Soccer Club. The organizations partner to provide young people in the Kensington community with opportunities to stay active, connect with positive role models and learn about making healthy choices. After completing a program this spring, the partners expanded it this summer by adding martial arts as an additional form of conditioning and physical activity.

Tom Wilson of Martial Posture Studios, who has worked with DEAEF for several years, joined the camp twice a week throughout the eight-week program. The martial arts sessions gave participants a different kind of physical challenge while helping them develop strength, coordination and conditioning that complemented their time on the soccer field.

The program also draws much of its strength from Kensington Soccer Club’s own instructors. Many live in the community and have built close relationships with the kids they coach. For them, it’s not just about teaching soccer skills. They want to help young people in their own neighborhood grow up active and healthy.

Drug prevention education also remained an important part of the program through DEA’s Operation Engage. DEA agents visited the camp several times throughout the summer, talking with the kids about drugs, what to look out for and choices that can help keep them safe. 

Bringing those conversations into a setting where kids are already having fun, building relationships and spending time with trusted adults is an important part of the partnership. Prevention education becomes part of a larger effort to give young people positive ways to spend their time, stay active and connect with people in their community who care about their future.

The work in Kensington isn’t ending with the summer camp. The program will continue, with DEAEF, DEA’s Operation Engage and Kensington Soccer Club building on the partnership and looking for more ways to engage and support young people in the community.

For kids who spent the summer following the World Cup and imagining themselves on the field someday, that’s something worth building on.