July 16, 2024

Jake Pizzitola, an education resources coordinator at Mercy Home appreciates the many facilities available to those in our care. 

After school, our young people can do homework on computers in our learning center, play basketball or volleyball in our gym or on our outdoor courts, or simply hang out with peers in their living rooms. But it was the indoor soccer field on our campus in Chicago’s West Loop that gave Pizzitola an idea for a new program to encourage our young people to move their bodies and build relationships.

Pizzitola started a Tuesday soccer club in February, a regular one-hour game with staff and youth. It’s an opportunity for our young people to get their heart rates up and work out energy while having fun.

“We have a whole lot of kids at Mercy Home who love competition and love being active,” Pizzitola said. “I noticed there were opportunities in program where the kids would have a free hour before dinner and so it was ripe for us to throw in some soccer.”

The skill level of players varies drastically on the field. Some of the younger youth had never touched a soccer ball before they joined the club, while others show the potential to play at the Division I college level. But for Pizzitola, he just enjoys the incremental improvement he sees from week to week.

“I’m trying to focus on having a competitive game and I want everyone to improve their competence in soccer,” Pizzitola said. “All our boys are athletic and have knowledge of how to use their bodies to take up space or play defense.”

Every session begins with the same ground rules: no slide tackling, and no disrespecting other youth or coworkers. If someone slide tackles, they receive a yellow card. And if they’re disrespectful, they’re asked to leave and come back the following week.

So far, he’s had zero conflicts because participants have built a culture of playing to have fun while still being competitive.

“Soccer [for me] stopped being about having fun on the field and making beautiful passes with your friends,” Pizzitola said. “It became more about doing cardio, training, riding the bench for a long time and being yelled at when you didn’t make the optimal pass. Club soccer always seemed to inspire competition amongst teammates, which is fine. But that seemed to be a lot of pitting people against each other, which I didn’t really enjoy. Playing with your friends is truly what I think the purpose of the game is.”

Pizzitola stopped playing competitive soccer after eighth grade. He didn’t play much during college or the few years afterward, he said. It wasn’t until he moved to Chicago for work in 2021 that he dusted off his cleats and rekindled his love for the beautiful game.

“I’ve been playing in leagues and hosting pickup games,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of my friends through playing pickup soccer. There are pickup games that can be played at Mercy Home that I’ve played in so that’s a funny overlap. I’ve gotten so much back into soccer that I’m the one organizing my own team, collecting the dues. It came full circle.”

Since coming to Mercy Home last March, he’s helped kids find a balance between their academic and athletic lives. As an education resource coordinator, it’s his job to be an asset to the youth and help them thrive in their academic endeavors. That includes helping them find outlets that keep them motivated. He believes that if they are tuned into their academics and athletics, it’s going to make their lives more fulfilling.

“I want them to dig their teeth into their education and if they’re interested, get involved in athletics,” he said. “I never intend to prioritize athletics over academics because at the end of the day, the whole point of the sport is to educate. It’s about educating you about the hard rules of life. Sometimes you take one on the chin and have got to keep going. You have to learn how to work as a team and experience heartbreak and loss. And these are opportunities to learn how to not get completely defeated by one small loss. The power of sport and being on a team can teach you almost as much as a teacher in a classroom.”

Pizzitola would like to develop more opportunities for our young people to interact with one another in the future. But for now, he relishes the time he gets to play a sport he loves with the young people he’s come to know so well. 

“My favorite part is that we have the same players every week and I do get to see each guy improve,” Pizzitola said. “Some of the kids who had the most room for improvement… I’ve seen [them] increase their awareness of how soccer works and that’s really fun because I can see the pride in them in knowing that they played better than they did when it all started. I love getting to [cheer] them up for making such a great play. Being recognized for playing the right way is something that I sort of missed out on and it goes a long way.”

The Tuesday Soccer Club is just one more example of the ways our dedicated coworkers motivate and mentor our young people.