Sport of soccer growing in Detroit's school district
(CBS DETROIT) - Growing the game of soccer in Black communities throughout the country is the goal of a national organization partnering with Detroit's soccer team, Detroit City FC, to make it happen as the sport gains popularity throughout the city and the Detroit Public School Community District (DPSCD).
"[Soccer is] everything to these guys, everything. I mean, they wake up; it's soccer. They go to bed; it's soccer. It's nonstop," Brad Dewar said. "Just trying to get Black kids, in general, to come play soccer is very hard because we're competing with basketball and football.".
As the varsity soccer coach at Western International High School, Dewar says he's faced this challenge for years, but now, he has support.
Black Star, a soccer program committed to celebrating the diversity of Black soccer culture and providing coaching and player development pathways, champions the sport of soccer while attempting to make it more accessible in Black communities.
"I see this as my happy place. Whenever I'm in the field, I'm happy," said Edwin Hernandez, a junior on Western's varsity soccer team.
Hernandez wants other kids to experience the same joy he feels, regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic status.
Currently, Western and Cass Tech are the only Detroit public schools with soccer programs. But, as the game grows in Detroit with the help of programs like Black Star, the game's growing across the district too, with the addition of three soccer teams at three different schools, something Angel Garcia, Western's principal, fully supports.
"Students of all talent levels can play soccer and be successful at it, and I think more exposure would show students the possibilities," Garcia said.