Why the US lost to Ghana in the World Cup Last Summer

First of all, I was not able to get to a computer during my stay in Cape Coast. I have corrected it now, but I made a mistake on my last blog when I named the the castle in Elmina. For some reason I called it El Camina. The name is Elmina.

We have arrived back in Accra at the Erata Hotel and I am very tired. I am going to write a somewhat light blog at this moment and try to write a more serious blog about the slave castles in the morning.

As we traveled around almost the entire nation of Ghana it has occurred to me a good that there is at least one really good reason why the US soccer team lost to Ghana in the World Cup last summer. In just about every "nook and cranny" of this nation wherever there is the space or there is the time, kids and young adults gather to play football (soccer). I have seen goals made of bamboo; goals made of two sticks in the ground (like when we played at the beach); I have seen people playing in tight little spaces between two housing complexes. I have seen goals with ropes as crossbars. Hardly any of the balls I have seen being used are very nice. I have seen kids playing with tennis balls (old ones not shiny yellow ones), and one of our group members gave some little boys an empty water bottle and they struck up a game with it. What I am saying here is no mystery to anyone who follows soccer in the international world. There are many cultures in many nations in which children and adults play football with a little extra time and a little extra space. My concern for the children of the United States is that it seems the youth do not participate in many activities in a spontaneous way. I am concerned by this because when I see the children and the young adults play here I see them play with an enormous amount of passion. I wonder to what degree are we limiting the passion of children in the United States by our scheduled days that last from sun-up to sundown. I do not know what the solution is, but I believe there must be a way to foster that type of passion in the activities in which our children participate. I went for a stroll in Bolgatanga ( a city in Northern Ghana) a few weeks ago and passed by a school with a football pitch on it. A scrimmage game was in process with about 100 or so people watching. The field was in terrible condition and was mostly covered with a bright orange clay. There was only grass on the north end of the field and in the nw corner the grass was too high to run in. The players ran through the tall grass to desperately get a cross off. The folks watching on the side laughed as the young man stumbled through the weeds. In the twenty minutes I watched I saw the players perform with very good skill and a tactical knowledge of what to do with and without the ball. It was very entertaining football to watch. The players were not bothered by any of the distractions that came there way. This remained true as a pig and a motorcycle (at separate times) crossed the south end of the field. I kept watching until it was too dark for the players to see. It was a very unique and rewarding experience. My challenge to anyone reading this is to try to facilitate (if you can) passion as part of the activities with which children in your life are involved. By doing so, we may find that our children may work a little harder than they do now and they may enjoy what they do even more. I'll try to write again in the morning. Thanks for reading.