Soccer Smoking & Prevention

Athlete Recipes

Soccer Recipes

More than 600 kids from rural areas of Arizona attended "Tackling Tobacco" football clinics held in conjunction with the 1999 Fiesta Bowl. The Arizona Tobacco Education and Prevention Program sponsored the outreach clinics, where high-profile football personalities promoted healthy, tobacco-free lifestyles to youth. The Tobacco-Free Sports Playbook 23

Arkansas Smoke-Free Soccer Kids in action at the Green Forest Soccerfest. . AZTEPP took its anti-tobacco mes­sages to the racetrack when it spon­sored Motorsports' Ash Kicker Racing Team in 2000 as well as two races in 2001-the USAC National Midget Series 50-mile race and the Supermodified Racing League 50­mile race. AZTEPP co-sponsored Billy Boat's car during the Copper World Indy Series race and found the Phoenix International Raceway to be a useful partner in reaching new target groups with anti-tobacco messages. Arkansas Smoke-Free Soccer Kids Central Ozarks Soccer League Berryville, Arkansas (870) 438 6034 Arkansas Smoke-Free Soccer Kids sends kids from the Arkansas State Select Teams, the Arkansas Comets, and the Central Ozarks Quest competi­tive programs into classrooms, public meetings, tournaments, and other ven­ues to conduct soccer-related clinics for youth, presenting strong anti-smoking messages. One of the strengths of the program is that presentations are con­ducted by trained, at-risk youth, aged 9-18, whose status as a member of a prestigious soccer team and whose personal skills at soccer earn the immediate respect of their young audi­ence. After each session, the hosting teacher, coach, scoutmaster, or other adult is presented a manual of addition­al soccer-related exercises with anti­smoking messages as well as a whistle lanyard and lapel pin, both with the Smoke-Free Soccer logo. Each young attendee gets a Smoke-Free Soccer sticker and a cloth patch for their uni­form or jacket. The Arkansas Department of Health's Prevention Resource Centers have given the pro­gram handouts, including the popular Smoke Industry Poster Child poster, a Spider-Man anti-smoking comic book, the Donnie Dinosaur anti-smoking col­oring book for kindergartners and first-graders, and a fun brochure of silly jokes with anti-smoking messages that appeal to kids. ("Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from the turkey smoking a cigarette!") In its first year, before receiving any CDC SmokeFree Soccer funding, Arkansas Smoke-Free Soccer distrib­uted several hundred anti-smoking soc­cer posters from the US Women's National Soccer Team and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In its second year, with such funding, the program reached more than 2,500 Arkansas youth with the anti-smoking message and was featured at the Arkansas State American Cup champi­onships for recreational teams in May 2001. In its upcoming third year, its second year with funding, Arkansas Smoke-Free Soccer Kids plans to pro­duce a short instructional video and to hold clinics for another 2,500 Arkansas youth from across the state. Because the video will be youth-pro-duced, the program is being assisted by ATM Productions on a volunteer basis with multiple hours of video being edit­ed down to a tight, entertaining pres­entation of several fun games that teachers and adult leaders can use with their local groups. 24 The Tobacco-Free Sports Playbook

"Exhausted, the 13-year-old climbed into the back of our team van and fell asleep. He'd had a full day at Arkansas' Tide American Cup, our annual state recreational event. For eight straight hours, Matthew had worked hard. And I had watched him bloom. Maybe that's one of the most fulfilling moments in coaching-when a kid suddenly does really good-confident and effective, rising beyond his apparent potential as he discovers his own inner talents. But Matt wasn't playing today. Nor was he refereeing. No, Matt was coaching. I watched in amazement as the seventh-grader came into his own. "Matt originally had not been invited. Instead, we'd chosen Jose, 15, Trey, 13, and our 11-year-olds Marlon, Emilio, and Mikey. But now, surrounded by scores of 5-8-year-olds, Jose seemed just a little shaken. Trey was unexpectedly tongue-tied and self-conscious. Marlon and Emilio had backed out at the last moment. And Mikey had gone on a Cub Scouts field trip. So, who rose to the occasion? Matthew! With great eye contact, he communicated well with the little guys and gals, staying on their level. He listened for feedback and joked and laughed with them-while he led them in a game in which participants, as he explained, 'Gotta kick cigarettes out of your lives.' As Matt watched approvingly, a second-grader took a mighty kick at a ball and yelled, 'You cigarette, get out of my life! Get outta our lives!' yelled a third-grader, walloping an offending ball.'You! Get out of here, tobacco!' yelled a 6-year-old, blasting the ball across the center line. Matt nodded in approval. And the kids beamed." -Rob Kerby, Central Ozarks S occer League Arkansas S moke-Free S occer Kids The Tobacco-Free Sports Playbook 25 Teens take a break from a full day of sports at the Latino Youth Conference Against Tobacco in Indiana.