During the month of March, Rush is highlighting the Core Value of Empathy. The highlight series includes how this core value has shaped the character of players at North Denver Rush Soccer Club.
Rush Soccer reached out to Alfonso Romero, the Technical Director at North Denver Rush, about how he believes Empathy is lived out at the club, from recreational levels to the highest competitive levels on and off the field.
This was Alfonso’s response:
“At North Denver Rush we are constantly trying to find ways to live by the Core Values. One of the first things we wanted to do was give the weekends back to families and not have to be in many different locations on the weekend. We decided to change our developmental games to Friday nights. The Friday night atmosphere has helped create a wonderful culture for our developmental games. We understood that parents are constantly busy with work, practice, games and life that we wanted to help give back to them. Freeing up the weekend allows families to understand that we are empathetic to the importance of spending more time together and not being pulled apart.
We try to cheer on our players as much as can at developmental, rec and competitive games. We try to share in the emotions, both good and bad. One of the most recent examples was cheering on our teams down in Arizona at the Max Shacknai tournament. There were many players present, arms interlocked and cheering as loud as they could! We wanted our players to know their fight is our fight. There were cheers and chats during the game coming from our players in the corner; when our teams scored they were infectious. The excited feeling from both on and off the field was very evident. We win together and lose together and we are all empathetic to each other in the emotions that come with playing this beautiful game.
We have also started a partnership with the Thornton Community Food Bank. We know it is important for our players to live and learn through more than just a game of soccer. In the past year we have had eight events where our players set up a donation booth in front of a local grocery store. They are pushed out of their comfort zones as they ask customers if they would be willing to donate food for the local food bank. We have recently taken it a step further by having the players deliver the donated food in person to the food bank. Having our players see where the food goes, understanding the process and learning who it feeds has made a huge impact on their lives. Our players are becoming empathetic of our community’s needs in challenging themselves to step out of their normal environment.”
Rush is proud to see clubs like North Denver Rush go outside of the sport to support, volunteer and give back to the community. Life is bigger than the sport of soccer and there are many ways to empathize with those around you. Stay tuned to see other highlighted stories of how members within the Rush embody the Core Value of Empathy.