For migrant kids in Chicago, a free soccer program offered a little summer fun

When Mathias Bastó, 8, got to Skinner Park on the West Side on a recent afternoon, he looked in excitement toward the field where about 15 kids were about to start soccer practice. A volunteer greeted him and pointed to a box full of shoes and shinguards.

Mathias followed her instructions as his father helped him pick the right size and his mother grabbed a clipboard to sign him up.

“Mathias is a very hyper boy,” Irene Santos, Mathias' mother, says in Spanish. “We brought him here because he loves running, and activities like this help him better develop while doing something he likes.”

Mathias and his parents are living nearby at a city-run shelter on Ogden Avenue. Like many migrant parents, they know it’s been an exhausting journey for their son, including having crossed a treacherous jungle and dangerous border towns. And free programs for migrant kids aren't always easy to find. Many migrant parents don't know about the Chicago Park District's summer programs, which always are in high demand and for which the registration process can seem complicated. Getting to them also can be an issue. And private programs often are expensive.

That's not an issue with this soccer program — Amigos Unidos FC, or United Friends in English. It's mostly drawn migrant children who are from Colombia and Venezuela. The program — which began in June and recently ended for the summer — isn’t managed by any agency or nonprofit organization. Two friends from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign started it, aiming to reach migrant kids who love soccer.

“These kids just went through such a hard journey to get here,” says Hannah McGee, a pre-med student. “They're the ones that need some support and outlets to let their energy out and just some consistency.”

McGee, who played soccer as a kid, says she paid close attention as the migrant crisis in Chicago has unfolded and thought about how to turn her love for the sport into something migrant children would enjoy.

“I'm hearing all these resources for families but nothing for kids,” she says.

So McGee and her friend Sofia Castro printed flyers and passed them around with other volunteers at parks and migrant shelters.

Castro, a pre-dental student, says they raised $1,000 through family members and friends.

Soccer organizations including the Chicago Edge Soccer Club, which has a competitive youth program, and the Chicago Red Stars National Women's Soccer League team donated cleats, jerseys, socks and shinguards.

During practice, the kids do warmups and team-building exercises as well as scrimmaging. After about 30 minutes of practice and games, Mathias, quiet and shy at first, is clearly into things.

“What I like most about Chicago is the soccer training here,” he says in Spanish during a water break.

Other kids agree.

“I get to play my favorite sport, I am here with my friends, and we all get to win,” says Yilber Benavides, who's 10 and from Venezuela.

Some parents say it’s hard for their kids to play in the shelters, which have strict rules, like not allowing kids to run around and be loud.

Irene Santos and her husband watch Mathias play. Beside trying to find permanent jobs and a place to live, they want to find activities for Mathias like this.

“It’s been hard to adapt to a new world,” Santos says. “The idea is to also support what he enjoys.”