Creating an Environment of Belonging and Empowerment: An Interview with Carly Najera - Volunteer Spotlight
KSC Volunteer Spotlight - October 2021: Carly Najera/Photo by Alberto Huichapa.
KENSINGTON, Pa — Running drills alongside the girls and not giving them an easy path to goal helped Carly Najera produce a fiery spark within her team that drove them to want to put the ball in the back of the net, to prove if they can get around her, they can get around any opponent who stands in their way. This is the type of energy Najera likes to produce within her youth teams to empower and build their personal skills and confidence, especially for youth girls. If the girls can approach opponents on the field without fear of a challenge, imagine what they could do out in the world?
Her optimism, confidence, selfless need to empower others and dedication were factors in Najera being chosen to be featured in Kensington Soccer Club’s first Volunteer Spotlight, a new initiative designed to recognize the hard work and contributions of our volunteers.
“I grew up without and now I’m somebody that has,” Najera said. “I think that’s a lot of why I volunteer. Even when we had nothing, my dad was still a volunteer and made sure we had fun. I’m just paying it forward.”
Najera and her family moved to Kensington about six years ago from East Falls and began looking for a club that she and her daughter could get involved in. Upon coming across Kensington Soccer Club, she knew that it was a perfect fit. She had been an on-and-off coach for 20 years across a number of different sports but she always found herself coming back to soccer. Though she currently works as an art teacher and professor, sports were integral to her personal development — helping her establish a sense of teamwork, perseverance, and caring for others.
“Some of my best times weren’t even playing; it was the camaraderie, the tournaments, doing silly things with my friends who were rough and tough like me,” she said. “I’m not all lipstick and makeup. Like ‘Oh, it’s raining? Let’s go outside and slip in the mud.’ A lot of times when you play sports as a girl, you find other girls like you.”
Najera knew that as a youth coach she wanted to be a positive and strong female role model that the girls could look up to.
“Representation is important and it’s important, especially for girls, to see women in positions of power that are assertive and that care about them,” she said. “I often get mistaken for a team mom. I mean, team moms are wonderful but that’s not who I am. I know the game.”
Growing up with a father who’s been a volunteer coach for over 45 years (and still going to this day!), Najera knew a thing about how to organize youth players to get the best out of them, on and off the field. Her dad had modeled his teams around positivity and belonging, which Najera wanted to do for her teams.
“Our girls come from different backgrounds and I don’t know what they go through in a day, so I want the girls to feel like they’re a part of something and make them feel like they belong. They want to be validated. They want to do well and when you praise them, their whole face lights up. That’s probably the most important thing; if they feel like they belong, they will work harder.”
More About Carly Najera
Carly Najera is a volunteer coach for Kensington Soccer Club’s U12 girl’s team and a KSC Board Member. She currently works as an art and tech ed teacher at Bensalem High School, as well as a K-12 curriculum coordinator for their art department. She is an adjunct professor of Art and Literacy at the University of the Arts.
In addition to KSC, she also volunteers with Friends of Harrowgate Park, Friends of Scanlon Park, Philadelphia Athletics Youth Sports Association (PAYSA), and the Philadelphia Dragons. She is currently working with One With Earth (OWE) in Haiti as an Education Ambassador, writing a curriculum and holding a teachers’ workshop with a school and orphanage in Damabiah next summer.
Outside of work and volunteering, Najera enjoys cooking, baking, planting, and organizing get-togethers.
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