With soccer in the air, DC SCORES poet-athletes are kicking off five weeks of soccer along with Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) at LaSalle-Backus Elementary School. The end of the school year isn’t stopping the soccer fun and hard work, it’s just getting started!

Camp runs through July 31, welcoming 50 poet-athletes into a schedule that blends DC SCORES’ program of soccer and poetry with activities focused on DC history and science. Poet-athletes will spend time on the field every day building their soccer skills, and in the classroom diving into computer science, robotics, hydroponics, and DC History.

Fridays are dedicated to field trips around the District, with stops planned at the Air and Space Museum, the National Zoo, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, closing out the summer with a Community Day Block Party on the last day of camp.

World Cup Fever Kicks Off Camp DC

Camp opened with a pep rally last Thursday, July 2, and campers spent the morning making hand-drawn banners of the teams they’re supporting this World Cup summer, holding up flags for the United States, Brazil, Portugal, and more. Naturally, the room split into two camps of its own: Ronaldo fans on one side, Messi fans on the other, keeping the G.O.A.T. debate alive at LaSalle-Backus!

Three DC SCORES alumni, Marcello and twin brothers John and Fernel, also stopped by summer camp to share their own experience representing the United States at the Street Child World Cup in Mexico City this May, where they played alongside 28 teams from 20 countries. At the rally, they shared a video from the trip connecting with peers from other countries, teaching each other dances and swapping stories. The alumni also read “Our Pledge of Allegiance” the poem they performed with the entire team in front of hundreds of other young people.

Back home, these alumni stay just as active off the field. Many of them regularly volunteer with DC SCORES, giving back and supporting the younger generation. Twin brothers John and Fernel spent last year’s summer as camp counselors at LaSalle-Backus, the same camp they once attended as elementary and middle schoolers.