Inspiring Inner City Youth Through The Game Of Soccer
In the inner cities of the U.S., 3 out of 10 people live in poverty and 40% of them are youth. Juggle The World is making a change to keep youth safer, away from gangs, and in school, by inspiring inner city youth through the game of soccer.
The game of soccer can be the teacher of all of the life’s lessons such as: discipline, respect, constant improvement, and self-evaluation. Leon Abravanel, the CEO & Founder of Juggle the World had his life transformed by soccer.
At the age of thirteen, growing up in South Lake Tahoe, Abravanel tried out for the CalNorth Olympic Development Soccer Program. After the shock of making the team, Abravanel was faced with one small challenge: in order to be apart of the team, he had to drive four/eight hours each weekend to train with the team. Abravanel and his family decided to go for it.
As a result of the demanding travel schedule, Abravanel had to drop all other sports to focus solely on soccer and in order to compete at the state team level, had to train on a competitive traveling club team in Sacramento (2.5 hours away) where he trained three days a week with games on the weekends.
Abravanel and his family did this for all four years of his high school career.
However, the long drives and commitment paid off. Abravanel received a full ride scholarship to the University of Denver (Division I) where he earned a BA in Business Administration and graduated with honors. After college he played professional/semi professional soccer around the world for four years, including Seattle, Salt Lake City, Maryland, Germany, and Bolivia. Abravanel finished his playing career in L.A. where he retired and began coaching full time while earning his MBA.
Abravanel now mentors over one hundred children through the game of soccer. “I use the beautiful game to mold youth into responsible citizens and believe is a great vehicle to improve our world,” said Abravanel. “We believe that soccer has the power to change lives; domestically and abroad. Soccer is the vehicle in which I used to learn about life and now it is my turn to give youth the same opportunity. Compton, one of the most dangerous, crime infested areas in the country and is where we are starting our impact and eventually are going to grow in every major inner city in the country.”
Juggle The World is a combination of my life’s passions: soccer, business, and changing the world for the better.
Juggle the World is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that creates, structures and fully funds competitive soccer clubs in U.S. inner cities. Their mission is to give opportunities to disadvantaged youth in these inner cities to help them create an avenue for success through the game of soccer.
Afterall, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Pelé, grew up in poverty and used soccer as a way out. Pele has traveled the world as the global ambassador for soccer, promoting the positive influences soccer can have to transform young men and women, struggling communities, even entire nations. By offering soccer clubs to disadvantaged youth living in poverty, Juggle The World could find the next Pelé.
Juggle the World also has a specific high school program: players must have a minimum GPA of 2.3 and are required to complete 100 community service hours per year. High school aged players are also connected to college soccer programs, and can also complete the ‘Young Coaches’ program where they receive their coaching education license and become assistant coaches for younger teams.
How can you contribute? For every soccer ball purchased online, Juggle the World will give another ball to a youth in an inner city. These balls will give youth in inner cities the equipment necessary to play the beautiful game of soccer and inspire them to find an avenue for success.
Juggle the World is also hosting a JTW Footgolf Fundraising Tournament on Sunday, August 16th from 2pm to 5pm at River Ridge Golf Course in Oxnard, CA. Price is $100 per player and includes lunch. Organize a team of 4 and register online to participate.
For more information on Juggle the World: Visit their YouTube, Instagram and Facebook pages.
