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Albany High School soccer

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Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, except in the United States. Children in other countries learn to play at an early age. Visit a soccer field in Albany any spring, summer or fall afternoon and evening and you will find people playing soccer, at least half, if not more, from another country. Where else but in Albany, NY can you play next to someone knowing they came from across the world in a place you can’t imagine, speaking a language you don’t know, and have something in common? Something as simple as a ball, an open space, and a pickup game of soccer.

It’s difficult to come up with an exact number of refugees and immigrants living in Albany, but it’s a large number. The city is a multicultural community and you only need to look at the AHS Junior Varsity and Varsity Boys soccer teams to see diversity in action. The boys hail from all over the world and the coaches have welcomed them with open arms. Coming from Iraq, Burma, Kenya, the Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Jamaica, to name just a few, the boys have all found a soccer home at Albany High School. They have brought skills, a different way of playing the game, and diversity to the already talented field of players.

When they are on the field playing together, they don’t see each other as refugees, immigrants, or Americans, they see each other as teammates. And as they run down the field ready to pass the ball they don’t see the receiver as an Iraqi, Burmese or Kenyan, they pass the ball to a player on their team. The joy of playing soccer is what brought them together, playing as a team is the gift they give to each other, their coaches and their fans.

Both teams are on top of the Big 10 Leader Board and coaches Weiss, Justice and Hasty were just named large school Coaches of the Half by the Times Union. The last couple of weeks of the season are upon us and the Varsity is 10-0 and the JV is 8-0-2. Sectionals are coming and while Albany has made great strides against the powerhouse teams in the past, it hasn’t happened yet. This year may be different. Watch out Section 2, the world is coming in the form of a united team called the Falcons.


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