In the News

Unity in Community: Youth Soccer builds bridge with Somalis

Ken Hanson

September 7, 2006

It's no secret that one of Rochester's biggest challenges remains helping Somali refugees get settled. Though matters have improved in some areas, poverty, drug trafficking and violent crime continue.

Abdul Noor, 26, who immigrated from Somalia in 1993, knows the problems. "This thing is going to kill us; it will give us a bad name, not only as Somalis, but the Rochester community," said Noor in an interview. "If kids are being left behind by their family, by everybody, it's going to affect us, everyone who has dignity."

Noor has tirelessly delivered this message for at least six years via local news media, government and social organizations. And he's been honored for his work through awards from the local Diversity Council and other organizations, including the Post-Bulletin.

Among those who have listened are leaders of the huge Rochester Youth Soccer Association, which serves about 5,000 youths annually. Recently, they have begun ramping up efforts to involve more Somalis in their programs. And as a big, they're bringing Noor onto their board of directors in November.

Noor, who was involved with RYSA as a player shortly after immigrating to the U.S., had in past years turned down invitations to join the RYSA board because he didn't think Somali parents were convinced that it worthwhile. The picture, however, is changing, Noor said.

He said that if RYSA will help them with things like fee waivers, at least 30 to 40 Somali children could be playing in its leagues next year.

RYSA considers extending itself to ethnic groups as central to its mission, and the association has been successful in doing so. However, involving Somalis, who are a soccer-loving people, has been difficult, said RYSA president Max Trenerry, a clinical neuropsychologist at Mayo Clinic.

And as a student of how soccer can build cohesion in communities, Trenerry is a strong voice for building such a social bridge.

"One of the reasons that communities have problems with different ethnic groups is that they do not have any opportunity to mix," he said. But in a cooperative, integrated environment, "the potential for tension decreases dramatically," he said.

RYSA coaching director Neil Cassidy, a native of England, heartily agrees. And he saw firsthand the cohesive power of sports following race riots in Oldham, England, in 2001. Cassidy worked on a government-funded program called "Unity in the Community," which helped cool the tensions by bringing together ethnically diverse children via soccer leagues.

Among Somali teenagers who could benefit from involvement with RYSA is Abdirizaq Sabrie, 17, who immigrated from Somalia a year ago. Guided by Noor, Sabrie is playing soccer this fall for Mayo High School.

Sabrie himself has seen the cohesive power of soccer. In Somalia, the sport has played a key role in helping cool tensions among tribes in recent years.

© 2006 Post Bulletin. Used by permission.

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