Kensington Girls Invited to Philadelphia City 6 Play Day
Kensington Soccer Club Girls with female collegiate soccer athletes from four of the Philadelphia City 6 organizations: University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, La Salle University, and Temple University./Photo by Alberto Huichapa
PHILADELPHIA — Youth girls between the ages of 12 and 18 from Kensington Soccer Club were invited to participate in a pre-tournament play day with four of Philadelphia’s NCAA Division I women’s soccer programs.
“Our university partners put a lot of work into this event on top of their own tournament and we couldn’t be more thankful,” Kensington Soccer Club Member Services Coordinator Maria Blaszczyk said. “It was really rewarding to see all of our coordination pay off in the best way possible.”
Philadelphia City 6 is a collaborative sports association between six city-area universities: the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, Drexel University, La Salle University, St. Joseph’s University and Temple University. The association is an athletic and recreational collaboration effort between Philadelphia-area schools during the off-seasons to keep athletes fit and competitive and find ways to get the community involved when possible.
Drexel’s Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach Christiana Ogunsami helped lead and organize the pre-tournament activities between Kensington Soccer Club and four of the six schools: Drexel, Penn (who hosted the tournament at Penn Park), La Salle, and Temple.
“It was awesome to see the kids having so much fun,” Ogunsami said. “Our kids from all the Philly schools had fun getting to learn and grow by pouring into the next generation of kids in the city. We inhabit a lot of space in the city as is and we don't want to just be spectators; we want to be involved and actually make a difference. College women are role models to young girls and being with them is always super important.”
Play day activities consisted of a warm-up session, tag game, ball control drills, and 3v3 matches. The young girls were also provided free lunches.
“We had quite a few of our college kids get megged by some of the younger kids, which is always hysterical,” Ogunsami said. “The main thing is when we were finishing our warm-up tag game, watching the kids celebrate and hug some of our college kids was just priceless.”
As an organization set to provide Kensington youth with positive exposure and opportunities for better futures, the City 6 play day was a perfect way for the Club’s girls to meet and train with some of Philadelphia’s best female college athletes.
“We should keep coordinating events like this with universities,” Blaszczyk said. “Moreover, we should give our girls access to all types of collegiate soccer opportunities: community college, trade schools, DII & DIII, and different geographical areas too. We should bring the collegiate expertise to our home in Kensington while also having more opportunities to travel.
From seeing how college athletes have developed their soccer skills to the way they carry themselves on and off the field, seeing student-athletes in real life helps girls understand what it’s really all about.”
ABOUT KENSINGTON SOCCER CLUB
Formed in 2010, Kensington Soccer Club believes in “Community Advancement Through Soccer,” working to make youth soccer and community development opportunities much more accessible and affordable to all residents of the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia.
What started as a small after-school summer program quickly grew into a year-round soccer organization that now offers competitive travel and recreational soccer, after-school programs, summer camps, community clinics and employment opportunities for more than 1,500 families.
As Kensington Soccer Club continues to grow, so has its support from the city and the local community. With that additional support, Kensington Soccer Club moves towards its mission of making soccer and personal development available “For Everyone.”
More information about KSC can be found at kensingtonsoccer.org or KSC’s social media platforms:
Facebook: Kensington Soccer Club
Instagram: @kensingtonsoccerclub
Twitter: @KensingtonSC
LinkedIn: Kensington Soccer Club - Community Advancement Through Soccer
Youtube: Kensington Soccer Club
To contact KSC:
Alberto Huichapa, Communications Coordinator;
communications@kensingtonsoccer.org, 936-488-2817