Soccer Featured in Town Reminder

Intercultural soccer camp teaches more than just the game
By: David Grant – Town Reminder

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – It’s a bright sunny afternoon.

Nearly 25 campers, volunteers and Mount Holyoke College head soccer coach Kanae Haneishi have already finished a morning session on the field, learning such things as footwork and conditioning.

They break for lunch.

But before the young girls go back on the field for an afternoon session, they learn something just as important as soccer.

They learn about another culture, specifically things associated with the Japanese culture.

“The purpose of this camp is not only learning how to play soccer,” said Haneishi, a Japan native who has run the camp for two years. “It’s also how to learn different culture and to understand a different culture is doing different things. Hopefully this extends their world view.

“If they are exposed to this when they are little and growing up I think they will become a bigger person.”

Haneishi, who played for the New York Magic of the W-League last summer, has been in the United States for eight years. This is her third year as the coach at Mount Holyoke and second year running the camp. Haneishi is currently working towards a PHD at the University of Massachusetts.

On this day, the eager girls are learning how to make a crane and medal using origami, the art of paper folding. Haneishi divides the girls into groups and they work as a team in a step by step process until the crane is made.

“It was really cool. I had no idea how to make it,” said Allison Jenks, 10 of South Hadley, beginning her first year at Michael E. Smith Middle School. “There was someone at my table helping All these cultural things have different meanings so it’s been great learning.”

“I really enjoyed the origami,” said Sarah Fudger, 9 of South Hadley, gearing up for the fourth grade at Mosier Elementary School. “We had to learn how to put it together with each step and then we had to figure out how to make the medal. We finished first and then helped all the other groups.”

Throughout the week, the girls learned a lot about the Japanese culture. Haneishi said last year she even had some Japanese campers who came over to participate.

“Because of the swine flu the parents didn’t want their kids to come,” Haneishi said. “Hopefully next year that will happen.”

“Every day after lunch we do this for an hour,” Jenks said. “Yesterday we did chopsticks. We had to take Skittles out of a cup and put them in another cup.”

Jenks said the girls were also taught formal salutations in Japanese such as “how are you” (Kon Ni chi Wa) and “hello” (Ohayou).

“That is pretty cool,” Jenks said. “I never thought I would know how to say those things in Japanese.”

Of course the girls are also learning invaluable soccer skills. Jenks and Fudger can use the tips as they prepare for their first game on Sunday. They both play for the Ligers, a private soccer team in
South Hadley.

“We’ve done a lot of drills, cutting, passing and training,” Jenks said. “She (Haneishi) is great. She is very good. I actually saw one of her soccer games this year. We have our first game on Sunday so this is good for us.”

“I really like soccer so I’m really enjoying it,” Fudger said. “I know a lot of girls here and we are having a lot of fun.”

“I think it’s a great combination,” Haneishi said. “When they leave here they will have a lot of soccer and cultural skills and they can work with each other.”