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5/16/11: First Shot
SKF USA Inc. Sponsors Starfinder Team at 2011 Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden
On Saturday, April 2, eight teams of Starfinder Senior Leader boys battled heroically to be hailed as the inaugural winners of the SKF USA Meet the World Tournament. Cheered on by over 125 energetic spectators, Tottenham Hotspur outlasted all opponents and was crowned champions after a day of pure magic for all of the players. Following the awards presentation, Poul Jeppesen, president and CEO of SKF USA, made the surprise announcement that SKF USA would be paying all expenses 
for a Starfinder team to participate in the 2011 Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The U16 pool of 17 players has now been selected and preparations are moving ahead for a departure for Sweden on July 16th. Participants were selected based upon program attendance, engagement, behavior, performance and written responses to 2 essay questions. The following excerpts from the boys’ essays illustrate the thoughtfulness of their responses and the impact that we strive for in our soccer, educational, and personal development programming.
Question #1: Please tell us about an experience at Starfinder that has taught you something besides soccer.
...The film project taught me that there is kindness in all people, and not to judge people by the way they are dressed. Getting to know a person is the only way you can truly have an opinion on them...
...Julio taught me so much about how to maintain an athletic attitude and how to respect my body and its limits. The last lesson Julio taught me was that we all have the ability to succeed and we all can if we are not sidetracked by health and lifestyle choices...
...Through this experience I learned how to get my point across. It strengthened my social and leadership skills. My eyes were opened to problems that are affecting our society and new ways to view them. Last of all, it encouraged me to gradually make an impact in my community, and in time, my voice will be heard even though I am young...
...For starters, Starfinder made us bring our report cards to them every marking period to make sure that we are doing well in school and not goofing off. Since they started doing that I stopped goofing around and actually did my work. This has helped me become a better person and student...
...Throughout this project, I developed close friendships with my fellow group members and I learned a great deal about the global problem of the lack of sanitary water in many parts of the world. This community service project proved that with clear goals, planning, information, and teamwork, we can learn a lot, have fun, and achieve great results...
...By being at Starfinder I have been able to develop my personal maturity, I now know that it is important to stand up for those around you no matter what the “crowd” is saying...
...The greatest thing that I learned in Starfinder is when your teammates are down or when they miss a goal you encourage them to play their best. Everything is possible if you put your mind to it...
...All of this taught that both in Starfinder and at home I have a family and I will always work in a team. In addition, I have learned that if a family member or a friend is depressed, I should not stand around doing nothing, instead I will try to find a solution because they matter to me...
...During the summer I was able to help think of and design murals for Starfinder. This gave me the opportunity to exercise my creativity while working with others. The project taught me the skills of problem solving with a team towards a single goal...
...The way the Starfinder coaches pushed me last year made me realize that I can always accomplish more than what my mind is set out to do, not only in the game but in life most importantly...
Question #2: Please tell us what you think you will learn by going on this trip and how it will impact your aspirations.
...All of the countries I have travelled to I have gone there to escape war. Each time I left a country I had to leave my friends, and I would think about where I would be playing soccer in the new country. Going to Sweden would be a great opportunity because it would be the first time I would go to a country to play soccer and to enjoy being there not to escape a war or a dangerous place...
...Now that I have experienced the diversity of my own country in diversity of race and culture, I would like to see for myself diversity in a foreign world setting...
...This also gives me a chance to get away from my parents and learn to become more responsible and independent, and also to have fun with the friends I made at Starfinder...
...I want to learn about different cultures because I will have a completely different outlook on life if I get to go on this amazing trip...
...Traveling with my teammates will be a learning experience. You learn a lot about people and you learn a lot about yourself. It’ll be a true adventure...
...This trip would teach me about interacting with people from all around the world. One thing I have learned in my short life is that connecting with people and uniting with others is a needed skill...
...My other aspiration is to work in some sort of business field and I feel that the globalization of this tournament would really help me understand foreign cultures much more which directly relates to the ever expanding business world...
...This trip could have an impact on me by opening up my thinking. My goal is to become a lawyer; lawyers need to be broad thinkers and also to be bold and confident to speak anywhere...
...I believe that by beginning to understand and appreciate cultural differences, we can bring down barriers that can improve international relations and advance business. This trip will be an extremely valuable experience that will be a part of me forever...
...I believe that going on this trip will take me out of my comfort zone to a place unknown for me. It’ll be my first time traveling out of the country and away from my family...
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