After persistent badgering by NOC students to get soccer off the ground, NOC launched its 2013 soccer season with its first clinic at Oaks. NOC, with support from the Hilton Head Firefighters Association, will sponsor soccer in Hilton Head Island, as well as Bluffton.
Soccer is a powerful connector: it brings people together in a spirited way and communities together in a competitive way, while cutting across racial and economic barriers.
Nelson Mandela said “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair…. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.” Mandela used soccer as a way to unite his people against a rising tide of division and chaos.
NOC uses soccer as a way to connect students and parents to the NOC education program. NOC’s Neighborhood Soccer League, which started three years ago with support from the Fire Fighters Association, had more than 75 children registered for the program in 2012. Many of these young people, already outstanding soccer players with excellent skills, are eager to get the new season going.
