DC SCORES covers DC: Thomson Elementary School, Ward 2

As DC SCORES has grown over the past several years -- from 20 schools, to adding middle schools in 2006, to 27 schools, then 42, and now to 60 sites, including several recreation centers that make up the first-ever DC City Soccer League -- we've expanded our reach across Washington, DC. And now we serve 2,200 kids in neighborhoods throughout the entire city -- meaning all eight wards. This fall, we'll bring to you a highlight program in each ward.

We begin the series with a brief look at Thomson Elementary School in Ward 2. The program has grown incredibly popular under the stability of soccer coach Mark "Popsie" Lewis, an array of tremendous writing coaches, and a large and supportive community of families who travel en mass to the Tigers' games despite them all being away from the school that has no soccer field. The majority of kids in the program at Thomson continue with DC SCORES during middle school, many of them joining Popsie who also coaches soccer at Lincoln Middle School.

"They need a little bit more nurturing, a little more attention, but because of that, you get that back from the kids," said longtime soccer coach Mark "Popsie" Lewis. "The Thomson kids, I will always feel grateful to have the opportunity to coach them because they are so genuine. It really makes the coaches very appreciative of their feedback and the love that they give back.”

WARD 2 PROGRAMS

• KIPP DC: WILL (2012)
• Seaton Elementary (2012)
• Thomson Elementary (2007)

THOMSON FUN FACTS

• Year DC SCORES started: 2006
• Ward: 2
• Team mascot: Tigers
• Soccer uniform color: Burgundy
• Coaches: Soccer -- Mark "Popsie" Lewis, Shayna Tivona, Veronica Emerick; Poetry -- Shayna Tivona, Veronica Emerick, Michael Langen
• 2016 service-learning project: Teamed up with DowntownDC BID to clean up Franklin Park

COACHES' CORNER

Coach Mark "Popsie" Lewis on DC SCORES at Thomson:
"[At] Thomson the teachers are great there: the staff, the principal, everyone is behind DC SCORES so it’s really a special place for DC SCORES because the love is just there for the program. I know I appreciate it, and I know everyone at DC SCORES appreciates it.” 

Coach Shayna Tivona (left) with former DC SCORES coach and D.C. United goal Travis Worra, DC Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer Niles and Poetry Slam! Shine Award winner Dayana P.

Coach Veronica Emerick on the impact of DC SCORES at Thomson
“The kids get really excited about poetry. Now teaching the poetry side, I see how much they start to care about poetry. Then you involve the soccer with the poetry, then it leads to [them] getting excited about learning and using what they do in class with us and transferring it to the field. The skills coincide and they just get excited about learning, which I think is fantastic.” 

KID TALK

"I like DC SCORES because it is fun and it makes me happy." - Diego B.

"Thomson Elementary is a caring, helpful, and creative school, and we help each other."  -Samara A.

"Thomson Elementary [DC SCORES] communicates more than other schools and we are more friendly. I'm glad I go to Thomson now because I think that this is the best school I ever went to." -Saliyah B. 

FROM THE ARCHIVES

BLOGS

2.25.13: Reflections on healthy lessons learned from Winter SCORES
4.15.13: First game day brings teams, families, and communities together
5.21.14: Thomson Elementary School students address hunger in their community

VIDEOS

11.10.11: Game Day!

5.26.2011: Thomson service-learning 

2.12.2013: Why do you like DC SCORES?

12.2.2015: Thomson performs at Poetry Slam!

GET SOCIAL WITH THOMSON

Twitter: @ThomsonES

Facebook.com/ThomsonES

Alumni profile: Edwin blossoms into leader under coach Popsie Lewis

Written by Jake Lloyd
Communications Manager

Edwin Ordoñez's story, by now, is known by many. A front page Washington Post article April 11 documented Edwin’s incredible journey.

From an El Salvadorian village where he lived with his grandparents and worked on a farm. To Guatemala, then Mexico, then walking across a desert and swimming across the Rio Grande River with his dad to enter the United States -- at age 9.

From not knowing a lick of English upon entering Washington, DC’s H.D. Cooke Elementary School as a fourth-grader. To graduating valedictorian of his high school, Bell Multicultural, after taking 12 AP classes and six college courses.

To, finally, Princeton University, to which Edwin, a first-generation college student, is receiving basically a full scholarship.

On a mid-July day, Edwin is already at Princeton, taking two courses that take up six hours each day as part of freshman orientation.

“At this point, I’m really excited about all the opportunities that this school has to offer,” Edwin says by phone. “I feel like I will accomplish a lot and I will grow not just as a student but as a leader, and become someone who can really contribute to my community and to the world as a whole.”

That Edwin will lead, that Edwin will achieve -- he can just let his work speak for itself. But how did Edwin become someone all his peers look up to and admire? And how did soccer, the game he grew up loving in El Salvador, fit in?

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Fourth grade for Edwin at H.D. Cooke was about getting his bearings in a new land. He knew, however, that he wanted to play on the soccer team. He saw the aqua jerseys with the school name on the back his peers wore every Thursday for game day. He made that a reality in fifth grade, making many friends in DC SCORES. The poetry aspect assisted him as he continued to learn the English language.

“I feel like I received a lot of help from them,” Edwin says of his two poetry coaches at the time.

Edwin’s next stop was Lincoln Middle School in Columbia Heights. Because of great interest, the boys soccer team was split into a sixth and seventh grade team and an eighth grade squad, which was coached by Popsie Lewis. Edwin enjoyed his first year and a half at Lincoln, but it wasn’t until Popsie took over the seventh graders during the spring of Edwin’s second year that he blossomed.

Edwin with his MVP plaque after one of Lincoln's
Capital Cup middle school championships. 

Popsie didn’t waste time in making Edwin his captain and teaching him at every opportunity what makes a great leader. Edwin embraced each lesson. From early on, a bond was formed that would shape Edwin’s path all the way through high school.


“At that point, I felt like I was more than a player when I was on the field,” Edwin says now. “I was like another coach.”

Whenever his teammates got out of line or “a little bit carried away,” Edwin made sure to speak up and restore order. “That was when I really realized what it meant to be a captain,” he says.

Popsie, now a DC SCORES coach of nine years and the recent recipient of D.C. United’s MLS Community MVP, preaches respect more than any other value with his kids at Thomson Elementary and Lincoln, and with his alumni team. He didn’t need to say a word to Edwin.

“That kid had it down pat from Day 1,” Popsie says.

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Popsie describes Edwin as a “kid that naturally led,” but as Edwin tells it, leadership only came easily on the soccer field. It took him growing in that role and learning from his coach to become comfortable leading in other capacities in and around school.

“I was always really uncomfortable with taking leadership positions outside of the field,” Edwin says. “But getting that practice on the field really gave me confidence to take on leadership positions outside the field as well, and I feel like that really reflected in the way I started high school and the way I carried myself through high school.”

By the time Edwin reached 11th grade, he had four years of soccer captainship under his belt. Not only had he played at Lincoln, but he was one of the original members of Popsie and Simon Landau’s first DC SCORES alumni team that competed in DC Stoddert leagues year-round. Edwin was the no-brainer captain choice.

Edwin (center) with coach Popsie (left), coach Simon (right) and teammates at an indoor alumni tournament. 

Popsie recalls a handful of occasions when both he and Simon were unable to attend the weekly Saturday game. That presented all sorts of challenges for the group of teenagers, chief among them making sure everyone knew where the game was -- locations varied throughout DC -- and how to get there.

“Edwin was always the one kid that I could call and say, ‘Hey, man, call the kids, get them together, make it to the game, coach the game,’” Popsie says.

“A kid at 16, 17 years old taking that responsibility to not only do what I ask but more importantly having a group of kids under his supervision and always doing the right thing and always putting them in the right situations -- meaning nobody ever got in trouble, nobody ever wandered off from him -- I think that itself spoke volumes about Edwin.

“Because to have those younger kids kind of look up to him -- not only look up to him but obviously have a lot of respect for him -- that’s the only way that was able to work.”

Edwin didn’t play high school soccer. He wanted to, but he didn’t take the chance. The interest at Bell far exceeds the number of spots available. There's only a varsity team. So he just played on Popsie and Simon’s team. And as his workload at school got bigger and bigger, his time away from all of it meant that much more.

Edwin (2nd from right) also found time to become a certified volunteer referee for DC SCORES game days. 

“Soccer has always been a way to relax myself,” Edwin says, “a way to forget about the schoolwork for a little bit. During my time at Bell, I felt like that was something I really needed a lot of the time.”

In that 11th grade year, generally considered the hardest of high school, Edwin, in his own words, fully embraced leadership in all aspects of his life. He became the Vice President of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club at school, a position that meant representing hundreds of students from all across the District who are interested in business.

Edwin thrived in the position and his stature in Bell’s hallways continued to grow, too, with more and more students looking up to him. If being named valedictorian was a campaign, this was the beginning of Edwin’s political journey.

“It was a bigger position, a bigger responsibility, and I felt like it was because of the way that I felt after all those years of practice on the field,” Edwin says now of his decision to take on the VP role.

Just this past June, he delivered the valedictorian speech to his fellow graduates.

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When Edwin thinks back on the impact of DC SCORES, he calls it “literally … a second family for me.”

Edwin was relatively calm when he found out about his acceptance to Princeton -- one of 25 schools, six in the Ivy League, he applied to -- but his coaches weren’t. Simon called Edwin 10 seconds after hearing the news.

“They were really happy,” Edwin says. “They were even more happy and excited than I was.

“Popsie has been more than a coach, more than a friend, and I’m really, really happy with the bond that we’ve created -- not only with him, but also with Simon and with my teammates as well.

“I feel like those are people I always can count on.”

Many of Edwin’s toughest obstacles are behind him. Crossing the entirety of Mexico. Learning a new language. Making friends. Getting the full scholarship despite not being eligible for federal loans or grants because of his immigration status.

And one thing is certain: As Edwin embarks on this next journey, studying computer engineering and hoping to play club soccer, Princeton University has a seasoned freshman leader on campus.

“He had so many things stacked up against him,” Popsie says. “But never once did he lose track of what his ultimate goal was.”

Coaches and volunteers celebrated at 2nd Annual SCORE Awards

ATA coaches receive the Teamwork Award.

The mission of DC SCORES is that we build teams through after-school programs for 1,500 low-income DC youth.

However, it's not just the youth at 47 schools who grow together, become friends, and inspire each other to become leaders in their communities — the same can be said for the writing and soccer coaches who make our program possible throughout Washington, DC.

That was showcased — front and center — at the 2nd Annual SCORE Awards celebration Tuesday night at LongView Gallery. Nearly 200 guests were on hand for a night of inspiration, including dozens of coaches.

Many of those coaches took the stage during the event's presentation to receive awards for their dedication to being DC SCORES champions at their schools.

They took the stage together.

The last two trophies handed out during the evening were for the Teamwork Award. First, a group of eight coaches from Truesdell Education Campus crowded in on the small stage to receive their award. There is no way that more than a fifth of Truesdell's K-8 student body would be able to participate in DC SCORES — on elementary and middle school teams — without the unified support of their coaches, who are also teachers in the school.

Next, it was time to celebrate Arts and Technology Academy. Before the coaches took the stage, a special appearance was made by all-star poet Xavier C. — you might remember him from his performance on MSNBC April 7 after the America SCORES National Poetry SLAM! — who wowed the crowd of guests with his powerful and poignant school closing poem.

Charles Robinson and Shannon Nelson
(middle) receive the Kennedy Commitment
Awards from last year's recipients.

Watching Xavier, you could be forgiven for thinking that ATA and its recent streak of four consecutive Poetry Slam! Golden Mic championships is just blessed with incredibly talented students. In fact, it's been a 13-year process led by a group of four coaches who have been there for their poet-athletes from Day 1.

Writing coaches Joyce Newton and Natasha Davis and soccer coaches Rodney Curry and Robert Lancaster developed a tight-knit bond over the years that translated to the teams they built both on the soccer field and in the writing classroom.

"We're like family," Curry said after the coaches received their award. "I'm so thankful to be a part of our team. We've been together so long."

The Teamwork Award was only the last of many given out during the celebratory event. First, the Kennedy Commitment Awards — named after DC SCORES founder Julie Kennedy — were given to Shannon Nelson of Brightwood Education Campus and Charles Robinson of Truesdell, two long-time coaches who have built up their school communities around DC SCORES.

Then the Mingo Roberts Coaching Excellence Award was given to Daryl Forte of Burrville, who has been a staple at his former elementary school since the beginning of the millennium (read our blog from the fall) at Mark "Popsie" Lewis, who is the most recognizable man in the Columbia Heights neighborhood for his incredible dedication to coaching two DC SCORES teams and our older-youth U-16 team (also profiled in the fall).

Next, DC SCORES alum and current high school student Jarmar L. took the stage to read a beautiful ode to coaches that demonstrated the recognition so many of our alumni have for the difference coaches like Popsie — who mentored Jarmar — make in their lives.

Upon completing his poem and receiving a rousing ovation, Jarmar stepped off the stage and was greeted by Lewis' big embrace.

The night also demonstrated the immediate impact that passionate coaches and volunteers can have on DC SCORES students. Rich Myers of KIPP KEY received the Rookie of the Year Award for his work leading the soccer program at the school that began programming this fall. About a month ago, I had the chance to watch a KIPP game. The boys team was getting beat soundly by their opponent, but what impressed me was that the kids didn't let the score affect in any way their joy in playing soccer with each other.

The event was held at the beautiful
LongView Gallery.

That's a rare sight in this win-win-win society, and all the credit goes to Myers for building a program with the right priorities.

Another first-year difference-maker is Justin Feltman, who received the Chris Richardson Community Service Award. Feltman found DC SCORES through a google search this past fall, and has already become one of our most dedicated volunteers — refereeing elementary school games throughout the city and helping at any big event he can.

From our veteran coaching teams to our rookies, the SCORE Awards shone the light on the very best of our 190 coaches and hundreds of volunteers who make DC SCORES' mission a reality every day after school in all corners of the District.

Thank you to LongView Gallery, our sponsors Volkswagen Group of America and CIT Group, event planner EVOKE and everyone who attended Tuesday's event for helping us celebrate such amazing leaders.

DC SCORES U-16 team gives program participants, alumni chance to get better and be seen

Edwin Ordonez couldn’t stop smiling.

The game was 10 minutes over, the field cleared, but the 15-year-old kept beaming as he described his role on DC SCORES’ U-16 soccer team.

“Just the leader and the one motivating everyone,” Ordonez said. “Sometimes we might be down and you need someone to keep pushing your team, someone that has to be playing. I like doing that.”

Ordonez described for a non-Spanish speaker what he had been barking out from his defensive position late in the game as his team clung to a one-goal lead.

“I was telling them to work harder, don’t get tired, it’s the end of the game. We’re still winning, keep it up. And as you saw, we came through.”

That’s right. Despite giving up a goal in the opening 3 minutes, the team of 17 players from six to seven different schools and spanning ages 10-15 had fought back for a 3-2 victory.

The win capped off a successful fall season that even the coaches didn’t know would happen months before.

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The idea was two years in the making.

Since 1994, DC SCORES has provided the opportunity for elementary and middle school students in the District to play on a soccer team. However, kids often run into a roadblock upon entering high school.

Some DC high schools don’t even have soccer teams, especially for girls. This was detailed in an Aug. 1 Washington Post article. But even schools that do have soccer teams don’t have junior varsity and freshmen teams (Wilson High School is the only exception). This leaves boys like Ordonez, who attends Bell High School, competing with 60 classmates for 15 to 20 roster spots.

Former DC SCORES Athletic Director Kenny Owens and coaches Pharis Owens and Popsie Lewis were the first to discuss organizing an older-youth team. When Simon Landau began coaching at Tubman Elementary School — at the same location where Lewis coaches the Lincoln Middle School team — he joined the cause.

This past summer, there was an opportunity to enter a team into a month-long tournament organized by the DC Office on Latino Affairs held at Bell’s field in Columbia Heights. Lewis and Landau jumped at the chance to test out the model of bringing kids together from different schools to form a team. The team played three round-robin games and a playoff game, and many of the same kids showed each time. It didn’t matter to them that they were playing with strangers. Or that they didn’t get their T-shirts until the day of the game. They relished the chance to play on an organized team.

“We did this as a trial run,” Landau said. “I don’t know how sure a lot of them were because we had no assurance about anything panning out. But it did.”

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Fast forward to the second Saturday of November. It was a beautiful, sun-soaked afternoon in the Glover Park neighborhood of the District, and 17 kids of various sizes were warming up in their blue DC uniforms.

There was Ordonez, the leader of the group. And wait, emerging from the trees around her came Ariana Reyes, the only girl on the team — and she’s 10! But none of the boys complained when she entered the game. That was the case all season.

Larry Drummer controls the ball for the U-16 team.

After the positive energy around the OLA tournament and the high attendance, Lewis and Landau decided they had to keep the momentum going in the fall. Working with DC SCORES’ longtime partner DC Stoddert Soccer, they entered a U-16 team in a Saturday league.

The logistics weren’t easy. The team met each Saturday in Columbia Heights where most of the kids live, and the commute on public transportation to game sites throughout DC often took over an hour. Kids were making a large commitment by showing up every weekend.

But they did. And got better. And got to know each other.

Alfredo Coreas Jr., 15, said that before joining the team he didn’t like to share the ball when on the soccer field. Now?

“I pass the ball more. Now I run, give passes, start plays.”

Late in the second half of that 3-2 season-capping victory, Coreas fed a teammate a perfect pass for a shot on goal. When the goalie made a great save, Coreas gathered the rebound and pounded home the clinching goal.

“In this team for you to play, you’ve got to work as a team,” he said.

It’s an amazing feat, really. Tenth-graders share the ball with sixth-graders, who give it back. Ordonez yells out enthusiasm from the back line, and his teammates listen.

According to Landau and Lewis, team members made large strides individually and collectively during the eight-game season.

“We have a great group of kids,” Lewis said. “Those kids like each other, like being around each other, and like playing for each other.”

Added Landau: “Whether it’s a sport or life, you can sit and complain or continue to make the best of it. Some of these kids don’t go to school together. Nobody ever complained about another. It was all encouraging and working together and having fun together.

“When we first started the team, maybe people weren’t as excited as they are now. But now they are really proud and wear their jerseys with pride. We started something from scratch to where we are now.”

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The DC SCORES U-16 team.

Lewis knows the boys soccer coach at Archbishop Carroll High School, Nixon Clermont. On one fall Saturday, Clermont came to watch the DC SCORES team. He was impressed with a number of the players, especially Ordonez.

Now Ordonez might have the opportunity to play high school soccer as a junior next year.

That is Lewis’ and Landau’s hope — that through playing on the DC SCORES U-16 team, kids will not only improve and get the chance to be on a team but will also get noticed by high schools where they can play.

“The goal is to not only get them to play high school soccer, but also to get them into college,” Lewis said. “I see the potential from early on. One thing I feel like I’m fairly good at is after the first 5 minutes of watching a player, I know what they are good at and need to work on.”

But the ultimate goals don’t distract from the present objective, and that’s being leaders for the kids — a role both coaches relish.

It’s always a challenge to find field space for practicing. During some weeks, there are two practices. Others, there are none. But whenever Landau or Lewis asks on the team’s Facebook page — the main form of communicating with the youth — whether anyone wants to practice on a Sunday morning or Friday afternoon, the response is always overwhelmingly affirmative.

Larry Drummer, 13, is an eighth-grader who also plays on Lewis’ DC SCORES Lincoln team. But he enjoys the challenge of the competition the U-16 team faces as he gets ready for high school.

“It’s pretty good and prepares me to play better in the future with bigger, tougher guys,” he said.

Guys like Ordonez.