Anna-Lesa Calvert at TEDxBuffalo 2014
Anna-Lesa Calvert gave her first TED talk at TEDxBuffalo 2014 to a packed house on Tuesday, October 14. Since 2012, Buffalo Soccer Club (BSC) has developed and grown their Soccer for Success program in partnership with the US Soccer Foundation, United Way, and Independent Health Foundation. I just learned they’re now serving 700 kids (and their families) with a 24-week program at 20 sites around the lower-east and -west sides of the City of Buffalo. 84% of their players show real improvements or maintenance, season over season, on aerobic capacity, BMI percentile, and waist circumference. That’s exciting!
How does BSC encourage healthy lifestyles? Not by stopping play to hear lectures or watch film strips. They actually work healthy thinking into the game. Remember “sharks vs. minnows?” Try playing “Good snacks vs. junk!” Anna-Lesa bets that your kids can surprise you when they get tagged by a “good snack”, naming healthy foods like kiwi to get out of the junk team. You’d be surprised at how good kids are at coming up with fresh ideas.
Even more exciting, BSC recruits 50-60 coaches per season, and keeps the player/coach ratio low. Coaches show up before practice and games, and stay after too. While picking up cones, every player has the chance to talk to a real adult outside their everyday circle of teachers and parents. Players open up about problems, and coaches embrace them. In fact, coaches even get training on how to be better mentors. Who would you open up to when times get tough? BSC coaches care!
