20 Years of America SCORES New York
What’s your favorite memory from the last 20 years?
It might be when the Giants won the Super Bowl back in 2008. Or when Hamilton came to Broadway in 2016. Maybe it was when NYCFC played their first game in the Bronx or when Billy Joel played his 100th Madison Square Garden show. It could even be when the Yankees went to the World Series in 2000. And 2001. And 2003. And 2009.
For America SCORES New York, picking a favorite memory is a little more difficult.
In 2001, we began offering after-school programming with 200 young people in Upper Manhattan with the hopes of partnering with public schools throughout the city.
Today, we partner with 25 schools throughout Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, Brooklyn, and the Bronx that play soccer games all over NYC’s parks, share their poems in historic corners like the Lower East Side’s Nuyorican Cafe, and exemplify leadership, teamwork, and commitment in their schools and around their communities.
How did we get here?
The answer is simple: through the commitment of incredible people.
Earlier this year, several of those people -- former ASNY leaders -- gathered virtually to recount their time with America SCORES New York and their hopes for the future.
Former National Executive Director Paul Caccamo has fond memories of how America SCORES New York came to be in the early days.
“My favorite memories have to be the Poetry SLAMs that we did in Washington Heights," recounts Paul. “You never forgot it because you’re like wow, the power of this program is the power of sports and kids’ voices that they express honestly, genuinely, and most of all, with confidence.”
Former Board Chair Dean Smith agreed.”For me, it was my first onsite visit,” said Dean. “That's really when it hit me and just seeing them practicing for Poetry SLAM was great to see in person. ASNY encourages folks to come and see it first hand and I understand why because that, for me, is what stands out. It was a brilliant experience.”
Long-time Board member Adrienne Reininga and former America SCORES National Soccer Director Caitlin Barrett, both former ASNY coaches, had a difficult time choosing between SLAM and ASNY’s Friday game days.
“Caitlin and I were texting earlier and we have lots of amazing ASNY soccer memories. That's what makes game day so special: families and former players and all kinds of kids from the neighborhood and the school just coming together and playing some soccer,” said Adrienne. “And it was an opportunity to connect with my kids and families not as their teacher, but as their soccer coach.”
"ASNY has always been such an amazing community in an amazing location and it means so much to so many people,” Caitlin agreed. “And so, for me, it was always just such an awesome thing to be a part of."
Another popular memory involved our annual corporate soccer tournament, SCORES Cup, which began in 2009 with the ASNY affiliate the first one to test out this new approach to fundraising.
“SCORES Cup showed just how everyone came around and came together. That togetherness, that camaraderie is different for staff, volunteers, and everyone just comes together and makes it happen,” said Dean.
Founding Board member Emily Jones also mentioned her soft spot for SCORES Cup, saying, “To see that what we started the first year with four teams become this massive fundraiser has been just amazing. That's my best memory and I’ve loved seeing how much it could grow.”
What makes America SCORES New York stand out?
“The support we’ve had straight off the bat was incredible and I would say another hero of this story is Eric Gural and GFP Real Estate, who helped us find donated office space in the city,” said Paul. “I shared with him the transformative power of soccer and spoken word that could help kids find their authenticity and voice and he said okay because he was happy knowing that it would be a space for good.”
“I think the work that ASNY does in the community is great,” said Dean. “I’ve seen the new language in your mission statement and your commitment to diversity within the community. I think continuing to do more events within the community. It’s a great platform to have a voice with the community.”
Rob agreed, “Just the fact that America SCORES exists is something that is special and is designed to fight for equity-based on who we serve, how we serve, and then what we do.”
“I’ve been thinking about what the program entails,” chimed in Barrett. “It's actually three things that are not particularly prescribed -- soccer, poetry, and civic engagement. Soccer is not a prescribed spot and I feel like there's such a component of kids having the space to kind of figure it out. The creative expression piece shows that too, especially with the topics that have only continued to show what our kids actually want to say. And then with the civic engagement piece, we ask them to identify things by looking around and seeing how they can be actors and leaders in that as well.
“Yeah, I think I've seen with a lot of kids that it gives them opportunities to be successful and to find their voices and to become leaders. I think every kid deserves that, to be a superstar at something, and not every kid is going to be a superstar at reading or at sitting in class and raising their hand. Maybe they have an amazing voice that they're going to find through poetry or maybe they're an awesome soccer player or they are charismatic and can lead their team. It's really important to give kids all of those different outlets to find what they're great at and to be able to shine.”
For 20 years, 10,000 young people have grown alongside this city with ASNY programs because of leaders and teammates who saw a greater vision for what America SCORES New York was and for what it could be.
And with 30+ schools on our waitlist, we’re just getting started.
