When Masconomet alum Stephanie McArdle launched Beyond Soccer 15 years ago, she never could have imagined that the men’s FIFA World Cup would come to Boston … or that her little non-profit based in Lawrence might be part of it.
Beyond Soccer was recently announced as one of 27 recipients of the first grants from the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. Grantees come from 10 countries worldwide, and the purpose is to expand education and sports accessibility to youth in underserved communities.
“There were something like 3,500 applications from all over the world,” said McArdle, who attended an event in New York City as the World Cup opened.
World Cup Boston and Mass Youth Soccer also invited some players and coaches to attend a recent training session of the French National team at Bentley University, where they met several players including world renowned superstar Kylian Mbappe.
“Everything FIFA does is first class,” added McArdle. “It’s been such an amazing experience … honestly unimaginable.”
Academic Overtime is the part of the Beyond Soccer program that will be supported by the FIFA grant. The program started with informal tutoring and mentoring during after-school hours and has grown into one of the organization’s most trusted and popular resources
Offered in both English and Spanish, Academic Overtime connects students with trained volunteer tutors that might be local college students, retired educators, and also peer mentors who after often program alumni working their first jobs.
“The grant will help us formalize things a little bit more and elevate the program to make us more impactful,” said McArdle, who starred in soccer and basketball at Masconomet before graduating from the University of Michigan. “It will help us with giving kids the holistic support off the field.”
Humble beginnings
The entire Beyond Soccer program grew out of one girls soccer team that McArdle put together back in 2007. She and her mom, Ellen, couldn’t believe that Lawrence High (a school that at the time had over 3,000 students) didn’t have a girls soccer team, or any kind of youth feeder program. So they started one.
“Sports were such an instrumental part of my life that I wanted to make sure those girls had those opportunities that I did,” McArdle said. “I always think back to the experience of coaching that first team … we’d lose by some big margins and I’d think I’d ruined sports for them, but they’d be in the van signing and asking when the next game was. You can’t help but light up when you see that.”
Beyond Soccer incorporated as nonprofit in 2011 and grew to include programs for both boys and girls at a variety of age levels. Over the last 15 years, they’ve reached over 8,000 youths while providing thousands of hours of summer camp clinic time.
There are both travel programs and in-city teams, with most youngsters up to fourth grade playing in the in-city program.
One of the most satisfying things about the program for McArdle is seeing kids who join up as young as 4 or 5 grow up and graduate from high school and work for the program as coaches or mentors.
“We get these kids involved through soccer and they’re with us for a long time,” McArdle said. “Ninety percent of our teams are coached by former players. For a lot of them, becoming summer coach mentors is their first job.”
Full circle for coach mentors
Declan Murphy, Beyond Soccer’s Summer Enrichment Coordinator, recently graduated from Westfield State University and joined the Beyond Soccer program around age 12. His sister was part of the program’s first team, so he’s basically been around it ever since.
“I love seeing the kids improve on the field. It’s a different kind of connection than you might make as a teacher, and I’m always looking for that positive reinforcement,” said Murphy. “We have two main programs and a day camp in July and kids can be out there all day playing, free and happy.”
There are many ways for coach mentors to make an impact, even beyond coaching, mentoring and tutoring. For example, 20-year-old Andy Guzman was a coach and tutor when he thought that his other passion — photography — might help being recognition to the program.
Soccer director Chris Marin agreed, and Guzman has been helping out with digital media ever since.
“I really enjoy looking at those moments, catching those celebrations and high-fives so that we have the memories,” said Guzman, who estimates he joined Beyond Soccer as a player at age 8 or 9.
“When we say it’s a family, it was literal for me. I joined with six cousins. When the referee read our names before games, it was always the same last name over and over again.”
Another coach mentor, 18-year-old Jared, found Beyond Soccer when he moved to the East Coast from Los Angeles.
“Soccer is a beautiful sport with a special connection. Even just walking down the street, if you see someone wearing a soccer shirt you connect,” said Jared, who’s studying finance and economics at Bentley. “I think Beyond Soccer creates unique bonds because of how welcoming everyone is.”
18-year-old Arabella Sseyondo has been around Beyond Soccer since she was 4. Being in the same shoes as many of the coaches and mentors that helped her get to where she is (heading to UMass Lowell for business) means the world.
“Personally, I always had more confidence on the field than I did in school, so I’m always reinforcing that for our kids. I want to empower them,” she said. “I met my best friend in this program, and she’s like a sister to me. So it truly is a family.”
With help from a ton of donors and now the FIFA grant, that family can continue to grow into its next decade of bringing soccer to young people.
“The connection from soccer is so strong that is breaks the language barrier,” said Murphy. “That high five on the field? It’s universal.”
Besides growing the Academic Overtime program, Beyond Soccer plans to open a lighted, youth-dedicated field at Greater Lawrence later this summer. There are always plans to improve transportation and, in general, grow both the brand and the game.
“I always say soccer is a gateway sport,” said McArdle. “You start there, you can play anything, be anything and do anything.”