Jesus plays fútbol

In 2003 the Doulos soccer program began as a pet project of Chad Wallace and co-teacher, Shea Stimac. Baseball being the sport of choice in the DR, convincing our students to kick a ball around with their feet was a stretch. Looking back, it’s a miracle that the futbol program even survived the first two years as the team lost virtually every game. Chad had faith and persevered with the kids, who eventually would come to love the incredibly challenging and exciting game that claims the world’s number one spot among sports fans.

The Revolution Futbol Club, in its fourth year, has won many big games, the city championship and several smaller tournaments. The U95 (players born after 1995) are in the finals for the national championship. Their tournament record is 11-0-1 with 50 goals made and only three goals against. For anyone who has seen the recent movie, “Facing the Giants”, that’s been our story in many ways. Until this year, the Revolution has struggled to field two co-ed teams, an older and younger one. Being a small school filled with students that had never played the sport, building the tradition has taken time. We’ve often played short a player or two in a game.

Several stars have begun to rise among these young players on the Revolution roster, but for the most part they’re having success because they play as a team, share responsibility and ultimately because Jesus plays with them. Though schools in Jarabacoa haven’t traditionally sponsored sports teams, futbol has always been a popular sport among kids from La Colonia, a neighborhood in Jarabacoa. The energy Doulos has put into developing a school-sponsored futbol program has encouraged other schools to field teams. In many ways, futbol has become another point of partnership between schools in Jarabacoa. Kids are always drawn to what other kids are doing. The Revolution futbol club has become so popular this year that we opened membership to kids from other schools. On any given afternoon you will see more than 80 kids, boys and girls from 5 years old to 30+ playing futbol on Doulos’ two small fields. We’re busting at the seams as we look for strategies to recruit volunteers and soccer coaches, manage field time and the number of kids who want to play.

Kids from all corners of Jarabacoa are involved in Revolution, from many different private and public schools and from every socioeconomic background. Once again, cultural barriers are being broken down. We just finished a co-ed tournament between 4 teams consisting of players within the Revolution club. The program has grown so popular that we are into the first week of our second intramural tournament, this time divided into two groups; 4 boys teams and 4 girls teams. The Jarabacoa veterans league uses our fields in the evenings for their tournaments, and Jarabacoa’s Division 1 team has used our fields for practice. A platform has now been built, a culture is being nurtured and the light of Christ is being shared.

What began as a dream has grown into a reality now led by Revolution’s head coach, Jose Rodriguez, a Dominican futbol legend. As Doulos students travel around the country playing futbol, they’re bearing witness of the Jesus they serve and emulate. This summer we’re planning our first annual Revolution Soccer Clinic. The three week evangelistic outreach camp will focus on quality play, sportsmanship and most importantly what it means to follow Christ. Kids from all walks of life here in the DR will be attending. The camp will be staffed by Dominican futbol players as well as Christian futbol fanatics from the United States. We will focus on quality play as well as what it means to follow Jesus. This is one more way that God is reaching this community through Doulos.