AIA SHARES INAUGURAL FRIENDSHIP CUP IN PARAGUAY

Women’s Soccer
Monday, June 9, 2008
Friendship Cup

AIA SHARES INAUGURAL FRIENDSHIP CUP IN PARAGUAY

LANGLEY, British Columbia - It seems fitting that the Athletes In Action’s women’s soccer team would receive the very first Friendship Cup between AIA Canada and the Paraguay Women’s Football Federation. The team’s two week tour of the South American country, which has been led by Trinity Western University women’s head soccer coach Graham Roxburgh, has been a great opportunity to meet new friends, and share the love of Christ through soccer clinics, camps, and other missions work.

Roxburgh has been joined on the trip by six of his current and former Spartan players, as well as TWU women’s volleyball assistant coach Ryan Adams, on a team comprised of women’s soccer players from universities across Canada and the United States.

The team received the Friendship Cup Friday after a big rematch with the Paraguay National U 17 team, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Kayleen Davison (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and Kayla Dilling (Winnipeg), both Spartan defenders, had a fantastic game. The local press were on hand to cover the event, which included a special reception for the players from the teams they had played and gotten to know during their past week of ministry. Heather Stevenson (Newport, Calif.), another Spartan, shared openly about her relationship with Christ and the difference He makes in her total life.

Earlier in the day Coach Roxburgh and Coach Adams spoke at the Sport Seminar for coaches, which was put on in partnership between the Ministry of Sport for Paraguay and AIA Paraguay, with 120 coaches and university students in attendance. Graham spoke on leadership and team-building development as a major role of a coach, while Ryan spoke on the foundations of coaching technical skill development. They then spoke about being a Total Athlete and emphasized the spiritual development as a key focus for developing athletes.
 
Saturday morning the players hosted clinics for over 250 kids from a couple of communities, giving sports equipment and clothing away to the churches that sponsored the clinics.

Earlier in the week AIA tied Cerro Porteno (a top women´s club in Paraguay, with many national team players) 0-0, although Spartan Rebecca Ferguson (Calgary) had a goal that was disallowed. Thursday, playing their seventh game in seven days, the team went deep into their bench and lost to Universidad Autónoma de Asunción 4-0.

Yesterday the team enjoyed an off day, seeing the sites and doing what Graham calls “tourist things.” Before the final match of the tour tonight one more game, there was a seminar conducted by AIA and the Paraguayan Football Association to promote women´s football.

-TW- 

Last Updated: 2009-09-03
Author: Scott Stewart
Email: ssstew@twu.ca