Indira Varma
After 6th visit
November 2015
Kira Edwards, KEdwards@bgcp.org

After my sixth session teaching lacrosse, I had established relationships with some of the kids who had grown to really enjoy the sport.  For most of my sessions, I spent time coaching the girls, and was able to teach them about a sport that I have played for over five years.  As I said in my last visit, it was difficult to get all of the kids involved, and hard to take control of them.  But as I continued to go, I found that the kids were gradually becoming easier to work with, and having a greater desire to play.  Before, the girls would usually huddle in the corner talking, but after a couple of sessions, they began to stop talking once our drills started, and also volunteered to participate in any game or activity.  It was really great seeing the girls become more involved in the session because it made it a lot more fun to be with them and coach as well.  Despite the group only being there for practice, it was fun seeing the kids get a chance to run around and play a sport.  As I visited Garfield, I realized that these kids don't have an opportunity to participate in sports without the BGCP's help.  This struck me because as a kid I was always playing outside, or participating in sports, and being able to allow these kids to have the chance to play a sport was something that was very important to me.  I think working with this group for my PACT was very rewarding since I saw tremedous improvement in the kids participation and spirit throughout the course of my numerous visits. Seeing the kids grow to love sports was very compelling for me, since I have always loved sports.