IT'S TIME KIDS HAD FUN AGAIN
Or, how Real Madrid brought joy to a park in a little corner of Ottawa
Life is slowly but surely coming back to normal, and it's not just about businesses gradually reopening or restaurants filling up with diners. The most assuring indication of a return to normalcy is the sight of children once again romping in parks around the city.
Kids love to run and frolic but the pandemic took that away from them. In parks and playgrounds where once joyful screams of playful children bombarded you, silence filled the air. So, while I was on a morning walk recently, it was nice to see the neighbourhood park alive again.
Groups of children were doing drills, running and kicking soccer balls on a neighbourhood field that had been dead for nearly two years. Nearby, the splash pool was open, and the kids were having fun. It seemed like the worst was behind us.
A couple of weeks earlier, I had taken my grandchildren to this very park and was told by my granddaughter that it wasn't much fun because “nobody is here.” Kids obviously love to be in the company of other kids and it would have been nice to have her there more recently to soak in the atmosphere. This time, the Greenboro park was bustling with life.
The kids playing soccer were participating in a camp organized by none other than arguably the most famous soccer club in the world, Real Madrid of Spain. Working with Miami-based Kaptiva Sports, the Real Madrid foundation has been organizing soccer camps across the United States for years, and was in Canada for the first time on a four-city tour to teach kids the Real style and soccer philosophy. It was in Ottawa for a one-week stop. Some 40 kids, aged five to 14 and drawn from around the National Capital Region, took part. For about $600, the kids got jerseys and a chance to learn from one of the best.
Watching the fun these kids were having, there was no denying the joy Real Madrid had brought to this corner of Ottawa. Many of the parents obviously have ambition for their kids — any one of them could be the next Canadian international star — and saw the camp as a great learning opportunity. The Real name was a big draw, but for many parents this was about more than a soccer clinic.
Many kids lost more than a year of play, and for Mohamad Hasoun, this was a chance to get his 11-year-old son, Omar, to enjoy the outdoors again.
“He has friends he hasn't seen in a long time because of the pandemic, and it's good to bring him here to socialize again,” Hasoun said. “It's good to see him happy among his friends doing something he likes.”
Omar agreed.
“Six hours a day learning new things is really good for my game and I have really enjoyed it. But I get bored always staying at home, and this is also a chance to get away from just playing electronic games,” he said.
Taking it all in, the fiveyear-olds are the most delightful to watch as they toddle and squabble over the ball. What soccer techniques do you really teach a fiveyear-old with a short attention span who doesn't really have a care in the world? All the kids seem to want to do is have fun, and that's exactly what they got under the tender care of the coaches.
Ashley Baldwin, the athletic therapist brought along to deal with niggly injuries the kids might have after such a long time away from strenuous activity, says it was a joy to be out with the kids.
“The pandemic has taken school away and the kids haven't seen a group like this in a long time. You'd think they'll be nervous, but they are OK,” she said. “Something like this is a real release for them. It brings normalcy to their lives. For me, it just means the world to be with them.”
It's really good to see kids having fun again. Hope it lasts.