The moment you walk into the East DeKalb Boys & Girls Club, you’ll notice Justice Smith. He’s the one dancing and jumping up and down the halls. His mom, Linda, can’t help but smile.
“I’m so proud of him,” she says in her thick Jamaican accent, in between ever-present laughs. “He’s had to overcome so much.”
Justice is a kid that seemingly always has a smile on his face, but things haven’t always been this easy for him. Due to an accident in his early childhood, Justice lives with disabilities that leave him partially blind. Linda Smith adopted him from the foster care system and gave him a loving home, but he still struggled with confidence and self-esteem. But his life changed when he joined the East DeKalb Boys & Girls Club and discovered soccer.
“When he started I was thinking, ‘Goodness, how is he going to see the ball?’” Smith says. “But he figured it out, and he got to liking it.”
Back in 2015, a grant from the Arthur M. Blank Foundation –– now under the umbrella of the Atlanta United Foundation –– brought a program called Soccer for Success into East Atlanta, a program that brings soccer programs to kids at least three times per week. Last year, more than 900 Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta members participated in the Soccer for Success program.
“I like coming to my Club more now that we play soccer,” Justice says. “It made me strong, and it’s fun too. I love dribbling the ball. I’ve played since I was 8 or 9 and now I’m 11… I just love scoring goals.”
But Soccer for Success isn’t just about soccer, it’s just the hook to get Club members engaged to be successful in life. Volunteers intersperse soccer drills with lessons about nutrition, mentoring, and life to help build people, not only soccer players.
“He’s one of the leaders in our Club. Because of sports like soccer, he’s always making sure he helps with the equipment, keeping kids in line,” said Brandon Riley, executive director of the East DeKalb Boys & Girls Club. “He’s always ready to come play when he gets off the bus. The kids respect Justice; they don’t pick on him or anything.
He just loves playing.”
These days, Justice doesn’t lack self-esteem. When Atlanta United’s Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu visited the Club, Justice set up a homemade goal in the field behind the building right away.
“I kicked the ball over Andrew’s head,” Justice says through a sly grin. “I loved showing him how to kick, I taught him a few things. He’s my favorite Atlanta United player.”And more than anything, he lives to play soccer. During classes and on the weekends, he’s just waiting to get out on the pitch.
“When you have a kid like this who comes in and doesn’t worry about the world, he just loves being here, it makes our day easier because it means were making him happy,” Mr. Brandon said.
“Justice is more confident about what he does. His background, for him to get such confidence, he has had to overcome a lot of challenges,” said Linda, Justice’s mother.
And like any proud mom, as she watches Justice dance down the halls, giving out handshakes and hugs, she beams. “I’m just really proud of him.”
To learn more about how you can get involved in healthy lifestyles programing at Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, visit www.bgcma.org/get-involved.
**Special thanks to Geny Decker, U.S. Soccer Foundation**