Soccer Camp 2024
For our 14th annual soccer camp we had 36 boys from 4 different children’s homes along with 48 volunteers, including 12 current and former Oak Tree Project students. We held the camp from July 31-August 2 at Seoul Foreign School.
This year more than half of the boys were new to the camp. Here staff member Jee is greeting them on the first day.
We had the volunteers line up team by team with their head coaches in front. The head coaches then called out their players one by one.
As each boy’s name was called they came out and received a warm greeting and high five from each volunteer.
We wanted the kids to feel safe right away. It was great seeing them excited.
Each boy received a new uniform (Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, and Man U were our four teams this year), new Nike futsal shoes, and a water bottle.
We made sure to start and end each day with prayer. Due to the extreme weather this summer we particularly prayed for cloudy skies and a gentle breeze. Each day the high was about 94 degrees with high humidity, but thanks to the clouds and breeze we were able to play outside for most of each day. God answered our prayers!
After the morning prayer the coaches each led their team in stretching and warm up exercises. The boys looked great in their uniforms!
Our coaches did a great job both teaching basic soccer skills while also making the camp fun with different mini games during practice time. Here are a few practice photos…
For every camp we try to assign a volunteer to each child to not just aid their coach in running the drills but to also connect with their child and give personal encouragement. As a staff, we love to see each boy personally loved and cared for during the camp.
Seoul Foreign School was gracious to not just let us use their big soccer field, but also two gyms and a cafeteria for our camp. The kids wolfed down each meal.
A personal highlight for our staff was having the 12 Oak Tree Project students/alums at the camp. We had them in charge of afternoon activities so we made sure to feed them first each day so they could go to the gyms and be ready for the kids. They all did a great job serving!
Here are five of our students giving instructions for dodgeball. The other six were in charge of relays and other activities that were played in the other gym. A personal hope of our staff is that some of these students will eventually serve as head coaches and even main staff for future soccer camps. All of them loved serving and they are all already excited for next year’s camp.
Here is some of team Real Madrid waiting for instructions for the relays.
The activities were a huge hit. Our volunteers were mixed into some of the games and they had a great time, too.
Here are teams PSG and Man U doing a “Red Light/Green Light” type of Korea game.
After activity time, the coaches prepped their teams for their afternoon match.
We had many competitive matches and every team got at least one win during the camp.
For our last day the weather forecast predicted thunderstorms and very high temperatures. The day before volunteers were concerned about what we do if it stormed. We had a backup plan just in case, but we prayed together that the weather would be okay. On the morning of the last 9 boys from one children’s home all told the volunteers that they had prayed the night before for the weather. And God indeed answered their prayers. We had thick cloud cover and managed to play outside all morning and only experienced a slight refreshing drizzle. We heard from friends a few miles away Seoul that it had rained, but in our area we were fine. God loves these kids!
For our championship match on the last day it was Team Barcelona against Team PSG. Due to their lineups being similar Team PSG wore practice jerseys.
And the winners of our 14th camp were the major underdog who lost their first game 3-0, Team PSG!
After the championship game we gave out awards for Sportsmanship and MVP of each team. The coaches called the boys up and shared with everyone about each boy and then we gave them a special prize. I personally love it when the coaches affirm the boys in front of people. The boys grow up in children’s homes that don’t have many male workers and it is very rare for them to receive affirmation from a strong male figure. The boys look up to these coaches a lot! Here are the coaches with the Sportsmanship award winners.
And here are the Team MVPs…
Below is a picture of Team PSG’s MVP. He was our only 6th grader at the camp. In Korean culture age is very important and there is clear hierarchy. As our lone 6th grader at the camp he felt a lot of pressure being the oldest boy. It was his first time attending our camp and he wasn’t an experienced soccer player, but he tried hard and kept a great attitude even when his team got beat badly on the first day. His steady attitude helped the rest of the boys on his team feel safe and gave them hope and confidence despite their first loss. We were all surprised (including the boys) when they went on to win the championship. The sixth grader soaked up the camp. We went to a community pool to wrap up the camp and then said goodbyes there. He fought back tears as volunteers and kids said goodbye to him and then couldn’t stop himself from crying after he left to go home. It’s amazing how much love and joy these boys are able to experience in just three days.
The next boy below was one of our most talented players at this camp and was the leader of his team. We were warned by his children’s home that he is very competitive and can get angry/upset easily. We looked out for him and his team volunteers set a great example for him. The boy was competitive, as usual, but he learned quickly by the volunteers’ examples to encourage his teammates rather than be critical towards them. On the second day when his team’s goalie gave up a game losing goal, this young boy ran to him and comforted him. I was so encouraged watching him! A couple of our Oak Tree Project college students grew up in the same children’s home as this boy and knew him well. They were amazed by his change in behavior during the camp. Praise God!
After the camp we gathered with a bunch of our Oak Tree Project students who volunteered and did some debriefing with them. Here is a picture of us about to have dinner together…
During our debriefing they all shared how much they enjoyed the camp and how they would like to serve again. Some of these students we could tell are still scratching the surface in terms of God’s love and His heart for the kids. Giving (and receiving) personal love is something still somewhat new to them, but despite that they still loved the camp. But for a few other students, we could tell they were going deeper.
One student shared how moved he was while putting sunblock on the boys’ faces and showing personal care to them. He felt love for them and it warmed his heart. He also expressed that he felt at peace and safe at the camp.
Another student shared how seeing the joy among the boys at the camp brought healing to his heart. Their joy brought him great personal joy.
For another student she shared that she was blessed by the other volunteers and that their love and their attitudes make her want to be a better person.
Having our Oak Tree Project students represent 1/4 of the volunteers at this camp greatly blessed Jee, Mijeong, and me. It brought us great joy seeing them experience joy during the camp and connect with the kids and want to serve again. Our hope is that in the future some of them will serve as head coaches and even help direct the camp.
In closing, I would like to give a special thanks to Seoul Foreign School and Colm, DW, and equipment manager Paul who all allowed this camp to happen. Thank you also to Saving Grace Church who provided a generous love offering and many great volunteers for the camp. Thank you to JJ Cho and the Nike employees who helped provide discounted shoes for the boys. Thank you to KARIS for providing funds to cover this camp. Thank you to Abe from Crave Catering for aiding us during our lunchtime. And thank you to all 48 volunteers and particularly our 4 coaches (Gavin, David, Nelson, and Minjun) who served during this camp. Thank you to Michael Lee for taking the photos and thank you to Eric Jo for making our camp video. God is good!
