The soccer players at the School for International Studies in Brooklyn are a multi-ethnic bunch, but there's one group that dominates. Most players, at least on a recent morning, hail from Yemen, led by the talented brothers Hamoud and Osama Al Mathil.
Sixteen year-old Osama said he’s actually toned down his game since moving to Brooklyn three years ago, learning to pass to his teammates more. But that's not all he's learned. He and the school's principal, Jillian Juman, said the two-year-old club has eased his transition to New York, and to school.
“I see the boys, they give each other high-fives, they have conversations as they’re going down the hallways,” she said.
The cross-cultural exchanges have gone both ways. A sixth-grade boy named Aidan Evans plays goalie in the club. He relies on an English-Arabic dictionary and an app to speak Arabic with his teammates.
For Aidan, it's a practical matter: “the goalie is supposed to tell other people what to do."
Besides, one of Aidan’s best friends at school is Omar Jahamee, another sixth-grader and fellow goalie. They’re die hard soccer fans, though Aidan roots for Munich while Barcelona is Omar’s team.
Assistant principal Renato da Silva said soccer is a natural bridge for immigrant students to connect with American-born kids because it’s such an international sport. And whether they know it or not, the little interactions add up in school.
“I think it helps with social skills, and social skills eventually develop people’s vocabulary, people’s art of thinking and bottom line is it helps you academically,” he said. “It makes you more comfortable, you’re able to speak up and participate in classroom discussions.”
Osama said the soccer club helped him with his new language skills. “If I want to speak with someone I have to have English, to talk," he said. "Even if I make a mistake.”
At the School for International Studies, there are lots of immigrants, including many Latino students. But kids and teachers say the Arabic speakers used to be more isolated than other groups. Eleventh graders Jade Hill and Elizabeth Saavedra said that’s changed though they couldn't say exactly why.
“They’re cool,” said Jade, who added she knew of the boys' soccer skills. “They’re just very friendly. Like, they can joke around.”
The soccer club is technically co-ed but very few girls attend, and some are prohibited from playing with boys for religious reasons. The assistant principal said they plan to start a girls' club next year so that newly arrived immigrant girls from Yemen — and other soccer-loving countries — have the same opportunity.
This story is part of a collaboration with PRI’s Global Nation, where we hear stories of a changing America and its people.