| Spirit to Host Team Mexico
Waller and her Tulsa Spirit teammates will play the Mexican women's national soccer team in an exhibition. Match time is 7:30 p.m. at George F. Collins Stadium. "I'm excited to not only play a national team, but play the game at my alma mater," said Waller, a member of Sapulpa's 2003 graduating class. "I'm happy to have it here. Everything has worked out nice." The Spirit is a two-year-old program that competes in the independent Women's Premier Soccer League. It's made up of players from 17 to 30 years old, and includes current and former players and high school soccer head coaches like Waller (Bixby), Kristin Lowe (Metro Christian) and Stephanie Pounds (Holland Hall). Lowe laughed when she announced, at 30, she's the oldest player on the team. But she's thankful for the amateur team that's allowed her to continue her passion for playing soccer.
How one woman created an entire village
A self-proclaimed soccer mom, who knows the uniting power of sports, Gilbert has extended her philanthropic mission to providing sporting gears for hundreds of young Jamaicans. With the help of her son, and members of the youth soccer teams he coaches, a soccer ball collection drive was launched and 350 balls have been collected to date. Her activities during the recent trip to Jamaica involved the handing over to the Ellerslie Gardens community in Spanish Town, of a football field, constructed with money provided by Gilbert and her colleagues, Ritch and Mary Guenzel of the USA, who were on location for the handing over of the field to the community. The community-based team, Albion Football Club, will manage the facility. Funding for a security fence was provided by the Sports Development Foundation.
Challenger Sports, parks team up to present soccer camps
Each participant will receive his or her own soccer ball and t-shirt during this camp. Participants will be divided within the age groups for instruction and safety purposes. The Challenger’s curriculum features: Individual Ball Mastery Juggling and First Touch Passing & Control Fakes, Moves and Turns Shooting, Chipping and Bending the Ball Crossing Volleying and Heading Tackling and Defending The last week-long camps will be offered on Aug. 10. The morning session begins at 9 a.m. and the evening session begins at 5:45 p.m. Fees for participation are: $89 for children ages four and five; $129 for children ages six through nine; $139 for children ages 10 through 14. The registration deadline for Aug. 10 camp is Aug. 3. To register, call the Parks and Recreation Department at (260) 427-6000 or visit www.fortwayneparks.org.
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