Fellowship Athletes Share Passion for Soccer With Less Fortunate Children

A team of more than 50 Fellowship Christian School boys soccer players, parents, family members and coaches visited the Allen Hills Community in Atlanta to share soccer equipment with less fortunate children, and help coach the children in a series of soccer games. 

The Fellowship athletic department has adopted the theme of "I am Second" this year, which encourages students to think of others first before themselves "as Jesus Christ did when he died on the cross to atone for all our sins," the school said in a news release.

On March 15, players from the varsity, JV and middle school boys teams visited Allen Hills to pass out soccer equipment to more than 100 children ages 8-13, share their knowledge of the game they love, talk about their faith and coach/referee soccer games between more than 16 teams in two separate locations. 

Due to the great number of players, a series of games were held at two different fields near the Allen Hills community to accommodate all the participants.

At halftime of the games, Fellowship athletes shared their testimonies with each team.  

“It was a wonderful opportunity to witness to these children,” said junior varsity boys soccer head coach James Williamson, who has organized this trip for three years. “It is rewarding to give back to the community, share equipment with these kids and talk about what Christ has done in their lives.”

Prior to the clinics, nearly 100 pairs of cleats and shinguards were passed out to children, along with a set of two pugg goals. 

“Seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids was amazing,” Williamson said. “Not only did we make their day, but it was a huge blessing to the parents and coaches to see the bright smiles on our players’ faces as well.” 

Since Williamson was the middle school boys coach, he has been taking groups to Atlanta for clinics and leading the equipment donation drives. Many of the boys participating in this year’s event have been to the Allen Hills community three times. 

“It has been our honor as Fellowship families to collect soccer cleats and gear for this community,” Williamson said. “Many of these kids wouldn’t have the opportunity to play soccer of not for our annual drive and clinics. It has been such a blessing for our school.” 

The drive has grown every year, with this year’s collecting topping 100 pairs of cleats. Proving that soccer is not just a boys sport, nearly one-third of the group was girls. The impressive group filled out more than 16 teams.