Bonding with the Bears, Part IV: Game Day with the Players of the Week

Every week this fall we will be visiting the Barnard Bears during poetry sessions and soccer games to document the progress of the Bears. Follow along to see how students develop their writing and soccer skills, and how the team comes together. We will bring you individual poet-athletes' stories in addition to stories about the team as a whole. Follow along our journey with the Bears on Twitter @DCSCORESInterns & Instagram @DC_SCORES. 

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Written by Elaine Lu
Communications Intern

We started game day off by patiently waiting for each student to get ready. While standing in the busy atrium, I had the opportunity to speak with a couple students about how excited they were for game day!

"Look at my new cleats!," exclaimed Angel, the week's featured player. "I got them because I won player of the week!" He explained to me that he was so well-behaved that he got a reward.

A minute later Dynasty, the previous player of the week, came up to me and said, "I got new ones too!!"

Both were overjoyed. I could see the sense of accomplishment in each student's eyes, as well as a little boost in confidence. They were so excited to wear them for the first time on game day.


"Angel is a leader among his peers and he always shows great sportsmanship," said soccer coach Lindsey Sharp. "Angel also supports his teammates on good and bad days, which is a really great quality to have."

Lindsey added: "Dynasty has shown tremendous improvement since the beginning of the season. She is really a team player and has shown great attitude recently both on and off the soccer field."

As soon as each student was ready to go, we rushed outside to the bus to make it over to Raymond Education Campus for game day.

While Lindsey coached the girls, I sat on the sideline with the boys and soon noticed that a few of the students seemed upset. When I asked them what the problem was, they explained to me that there was a group of older students that were bothering them, saying that they were going to lose and that their own school was better. I explained to them that it was important to be the bigger person and still show great sportsmanship.  I was so impressed with how maturely these 8-, 9-, and 10-year-olds were able to handle this conflict. They found a way to easily look past the trouble and focus on their game, cheering the girls on their team on with all of their hearts.


The Barnard Bears were incredible, as always, and now the Poetry Slam! is imminent. I can't wait to see them perform on stage.