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| Hannah Smith has played soccer for many years. I should know, I have known her for most of them. Soccer has been in Hannah's blood, and trust me she's a beast. She's currently on scholarship playing SEC soccer, but this is her back in 2011 the year after I originally wrote the story below. |
A few years ago, four to be exact, a friend of mine traveled to Brazil. While her goal was to go and play soccer she received an experience far greater than that. This year Hannah is in her second semester as a freshman at Mississippi State University, and is still playing soccer.
Freshman in high school is much different than a freshman athlete on a college campus, but soccer and faith have been constants in Hannah's life, and will continue to be as she faces her future.
So in honor of the four year difference, here is the story I wrote on Hannah our freshman year when she got back home to The States:
August 2010
How many pairs
of shoes do the average American own? Twenty-Seven. How about Brazilians? One.
In the USA, picking out a pair of shoes to
go with an outfit is a daily occurrence. In Brazil, it’s a luxury to have a
choice in shoes, much less have a pair of shoes to play soccer in.
Eighth Grader Hannah Smith owns a favorite
pair of soccer cleats. She has been
playing soccer since she was four-years old.
“They are comfortable and make me feel good
because when I put them on I know I am about to play,” said Smith.
Over Christmas break, Smith went to southeast
Brazil to represent America in the field of soccer, visit an orphanage, and bring
them some soccer shoes to play in, as soccer is a very popular sport in Brazil.
Smith was joined by a group of girls from
the Dallas/Fort Worth area, who play select soccer. Their goals were to play
local teams, bring clothes, crafts and other goodies to an orphanage where most
of the children lost their parents due to AIDS, and have some fun.
She achieved all of her goals, but claims her
favorite part was playing in a professional stadium.
“It was really exciting,” said Smith.
Soccer is as popular in Brazil as football is
here in the United States. So the
stadiums are huge compared to the other buildings in rest of Brazil.
Because Brazil is so poor in some areas, many
houses are just huts with dirt floors.
“They were all really poor. Only occasionally would you see a nice
[house],” said Smith.
In our part of America, it’s the
opposite. Nice houses abound in our neighborhoods.
The language difference was also difficult.
“We couldn’t understand each other and it was
so confusing,” said Smith.
Many of the Brazilian children were not aware
of the language barrier, so they kept repeating what they were saying slower,
assuming the group would eventually understand what they were saying in Portuguese. Eventually a translator came to help with the
confusion.
Some of Smith’s team goals were to help kids
and play soccer. Along the way to an
orphanage to do just that, Smith and her group saw a few boys playing soccer. They were playing on concrete and were
wearing ragged clothes without shoes on.
The bus pulled over letting a few girls out
at their insistence. The girls grabbed shoes and gave them to the boys.
After two or three tried them on, a winner
was found. His prize: a new pair of shoes.
“He was really excited and started playing in
them right away,” said Smith.
In Brazil nothing is taken for granted. In
America something like a house or shoes is often thought of as a right.
Something deserved, when it is truly not. Brazilians genuinely know what it is
like to work for something you love, even if that is simply a pair of soccer
shoes.
