February News: ⚽🎓 The Paul “Lefty” Wennik Outstanding Character Scholarship Continues to Have an Impact – Beyond Soccer Lawrence

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280 Merrimack Street
Suite 311
Lawrence, MA 01843
Tel: 978-681-5050
Johnny@beyondsoccerlawrence.org

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A sports-based youth development organization that uses soccer to engage young people, build confidence, and expose them to new experiences, on & off the field

Beyond Soccer @beyondsoccer ·

15 Jan

#TheHeartOfTheWorkThursday
PreK & K getting their first futsal run at the #YWCA-hands in, learning through play & loving every minute together.
Also 📸’d: Arabella, once a player in this same circle, now giving back as a paid coach mentor. Full circle moments never get old 🧡💙⚽️

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Thank you to lead partner,

Thank you to lead partner,

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beyondsoccerlawrence

Succeeding on and off the fields and courts through the sport of soccer ⚽️🧡💙 #sportsbasedyouthdevelopment
@beyondsoccerlawrence #beyondsoccer #SBYD

#TeamBondingThursday - After their Essex County le

#TeamBondingThursday - After their Essex County league game last Sunday, our high school girls' travel team (the Panthers) kept the momentum going off the field with time together at a local restaurant.

It feels so good to create spaces for players to connect beyond the game, build relationships, and just enjoy being a team.

And honestly, it’s a win-win-win. Our players won their game, strengthened their bonds, and we supported a local business that’s also all-in for youth sports! @teos.tacos 🌮

#GirlsInSports #OffTheField #TeamBonding BeyondSoccer ⚽🧡💙

#TakeoffTuesday And they’re off… Spring is here,

#TakeoffTuesday

And they’re off… Spring is here, and now everybody’s playing. ⚽️

Our in-city recreational league officially kicked off yesterday for 1st–4th graders, and we’ll be rolling all week @riverwalkpavilion and the Greater Lawrence Technical School fields, with 5th grade and up starting today. Pre-K and Kindergarten get going on Saturday (always a favorite).

The energy is already high, and again, this is just the start.

One of our jr coaches captured these moments… and we’ll take sun peeking through the clouds and soccer any day of the week. 🌤 Grateful for everyone who makes this possible. This is what access to play looks like.

#SpringSoccer #AccessToPlay #Community #YouthDevelopment BeyondSoccer ⚽🧡💙

A #SpringSoccerSundayShare ⚽️ And just like that,

A #SpringSoccerSundayShare ⚽️

And just like that, the fields are full again with Essex County Youth Soccer travel games.

One moment that stood out this week was a young player stepping up in front of his team, the opposing team, and all the families on the sidelines to read a statement about respect in the game. Respect for players, coaches, referees, and the game itself.

He needed a little help from the referee, but he did it, and while some teammates were still finding their focus 🙂 that is part of it. This is a young group, and this is what learning and leadership look like.

We are proud of him and just getting started. A few other photos are sprinkled in as well. #AccessToPlay #SBYD #YouthDevelopment #Community ⚽🧡💙

#TBT to a special night @gillettestadium ✨ Soccer

#TBT to a special night @gillettestadium ✨

Soccer Director Chris and Uyen representing Beyond Soccer at the @mildredsdreamfoundation event...an evening full of connection, inspiration, and community.

From reconnecting with familiar faces to meeting new ones, the energy in the room was real. Powerful stories from speakers across different walks of life reminded us just how many people are out there doing incredible things to uplift others.

Great food, music, and dancing helped, too!

We’re incredibly grateful to #MDF for their support. Their commitment to funding organizations that provide programming, advocacy, and community impact has helped fuel our sports-based youth development work.

#BeyondSoccer #Community #Gratitude ⚽🧡💙

#TrackTheProgressTuesday - And we’re off! The seas

#TrackTheProgressTuesday - And we’re off! The season is underway, and yes… that means it’s time for PACER testing again 💪

Why do we do it? Because over the course of our 12-week season, we get to track real growth...not just in skill, but in fitness, endurance, and confidence.

And we continue to partner with Boston Children’s Hospital #fitkit team through @nbgivesback who work closely with us to support this tracking and testing and to help us better understand and elevate the health of our athletes.

Here are a few snapshots from the week 📸 We love when sport gets kids moving--a LOT. #AccessToPlay #YouthDevelopment #PlayMatters CommunityStrong ⚽🧡💙

A #FirstCohortFriday post, and it's a shoutout to

A #FirstCohortFriday post, and it's a shoutout to three of our junior coaches who truly went above and beyond in our inaugural offseason Junior Coach Mentor program.

These aren’t just participants, they’re trailblazers, setting the tone for what this program can become.

In true #BeyondSoccer fashion, we made sure these young leaders earned their first paycheck (stipend!) and, of course, a @NewBalance gift cert from our committed partner, before they get the chance to step into expanded summer roles (applications and interviews still a must). Again, leadership isn’t taught, it’s experienced.

We’ve also got a feeling this crew will be invovled, a lot, this spring, as many more players hit the field.

#BigSteps #YouthLeadership #Trailblazers ⚽🧡💙

And we’re off ⚽️ #TogetherTuesday! Lawrence Yout

And we’re off ⚽️ #TogetherTuesday!

Lawrence Youth Soccer’s spring season is officially underway, and we’re loving everything about it. The Ayer Mill Clock Tower in the background, the sunset overhead…it’s a reminder of how special these evenings are 🌆

It also reminds us just how important it is to have quality fields... and with lights, too (More to come, stay tuned on the field front!) Because when you can extend play, you extend opportunity. This particular group is out here getting training from 7:30–9:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays @riverwalkpavilion through June!

#SpringSeason #AccessToPlay #SoccerInTheCity #LawrenceMA Teamwork Community ⚽🧡💙

#SundayShare 💫 As you know, we’re all about ensur

#SundayShare 💫

As you know, we’re all about ensuring every kid has access to ⚽, plus opportunities beyond-the-field. One area we’re continuing to push: increasing the number of girls playing.

Huge shoutout to the collaborative #ChampionHerGame team in Lawrence for bringing in the Revolution Acadmey—an experience that inspired so many of our players @riverwalkpavilion 🧡💙

And yesterday, @thebostondream led a clinic for our girls, followed by a matchup vs. the SNHU Women’s Team that our players got to watch and learn from. It ended in a hard-fought tie, but brought connection, competition, and powerful girls-in-sports energy 💪

Grateful to everyone involved—check out a few moments from the week 📸

Let’s go, girls. Let’s keep playing—and playing hard!

#GirlsInSports #BostonDream #LawrenceMA ⚽
@lawrencesportsalliance @everyonesaplayer @mhtflawrence @lawrencerecreation

#ThrowbackThursday (with a different game day twis

#ThrowbackThursday (with a different game day twist) 🏒

Academic Overtime is back, and so is this incredible group through our partnership with @merrimackcollege

You might recognize them as members of the Warriors men’s ice hockey team… but what you might not know is they’re heading to the NCAA DI Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament after winning the Hockey East Championship 🏆

And tonight? It’s go time. The Warriors take on North Dakota in the Sioux Falls Regional. Puck drops, at 8:30 PM (ESPN2) 🏒

Yes… we’re officially giving them a pass for missing tutoring this week. Flying 1,500 miles for a tournament game feels like a pretty solid excuse ✈️

We’re so grateful for the leadership they bring off the ice to our players—and we’ll be cheering them on every step of the way. Let’s go, Warriors!!

#BeyondSoccer #YouthDevelopment #StudentAthletes #WeLoveAllSports ⚽🧡💙🏒 @merrimack_mih @mcstevenscenter

#StrongerTogetherTuesday! We’re back at Guilmette

#StrongerTogetherTuesday! We’re back at Guilmette School and doing what we love ... bringing soccer to kids right where they are. It’s been great to return, see familiar faces, and meet new students.

Soccer Director Chris led kickoff week before handing things off to Coach Mentor Issandel and we’re excited to keep building from there. Even better, students are already asking about opportunities to join our travel teams, outside of school.

That excitement brings opportunity, including the need to make sure transportation opens doors, not closes them. We’ve got some exciting news on that front… stay tuned!

Again, we’re grateful for school partnerships that help us stay connected and keep building. #BeyondSoccer #YouthDevelopmentThroughSports #LawrenceMA #SoccerForAll ⚽🧡💙

#SundaySharingIsCaring – This weekend, some of our

#SundaySharingIsCaring – This weekend, some of our MVP crew—including Coach Mentors Melissa and Issandel, plus a couple of current players—were at the @esperanzaacademy school fair, connecting with families and sharing out-of-school-time opportunities for the fast-approaching summer months.

Shoutout to Fifa, one of our most dedicated parent volunteers (and a big part of the Esperanza community!), whose two daughters (both Beyond Soccer players 📸) are right in the mix.

From the conversations to the energy (and yes… those summer decorations 🌈☀️), it was a great day all around. Always glad to be part of spaces that bring families together.

#SundaySharing #CommunityConnections #BeyondSoccer #YouthDevelopment ThroughSports LawrenceMA ⚽🧡💙

#SundaySpotlight ⚽✨ Full-circle moments like this

#SundaySpotlight ⚽✨ Full-circle moments like this are what it’s all about.

Coach-Mentor Osvin, now a @cchsraider senior, once walked the halls of @bellesiniacademy as a student. Today, he’s back as a leader, guiding 5th-8th graders in futsal alongside fellow CC senior Arabella highlighted earlier.

For Osvin, this is bigger than soccer. It’s a chance to return to a place that helped shape him, reconnect with former teachers, and help inspire the next generation of students who love the game.

#LeadershipThroughSports #SportsBasedYouthDevelopment #MentorshipMatters #LawrenceMA ⚽🧡💙

#ThankfulThursday ⚽🙏 From a 4-year-old player to

#ThankfulThursday ⚽🙏

From a 4-year-old player to a year-round Coach Mentor.

Arabella first joined us when she was just 4 years old!! Today she’s a senior at Central Catholic and has stepped into multiple leadership roles as one of our youngest Coach Mentors — and she earned it.

You’ve probably seen her in 📸's from our camps, travel teams, and indoor futsal leagues. Most recently, she’s been helping bring soccer and team-building directly to students during their school day — including at Bellesini Academy and, more recently, Guilmette Middle School.

Watching players grow into mentors is one of the most rewarding parts of this work. And during National Women’s History Month, it feels especially meaningful to celebrate young women like Arabella who are helping lead the way.

#leadershipthroughsports #sportsbasedyouthdevelopment #AllIn #LawrenceMA ⚽🧡💙

#MondayMemory ⚽💭 As we reflect on #InternationalW

#MondayMemory ⚽💭

As we reflect on #InternationalWomensDay and celebrate women all month long, we’re thinking back to the early days of the Beyond Soccer journey — when a mom and daughter were helping open doors for girls to play.

A Boston Globe article from 2010 captured one of those moments:

“Ellen McArdle is lugging a twine sack filled with green and white soccer balls across the Iron Rail fields in Wenham when her cell phone chirps. ‘It’s my daughter,’ she said, laughing. ‘They’re trying to find this place.’ Fifteen minutes later… Stephanie McArdle and a dozen under-12 girls soccer players in their light blue Lawrence jerseys pile out of a passenger van… ‘It’s an adventure some days.’”

At the time, there was no girls’ soccer program at the high school and no Lawrence youth soccer league. So Ellen and Stephanie helped create the opportunities.

Today, thousands of young people have had the chance to play, lead, and belong because of that early vision.

Every time a girl steps onto the field, she’s part of that story.

And the adventures continue. #WomensHistoryMonth #GirlsInSports #PlayLeadBelong ⚽🧡💙 @ellenworrallmcardle @wolverinesteph24

It’s a #TeamworkTuesday share as we wrap up our wi

It’s a #TeamworkTuesday share as we wrap up our winter futsal season ⚽

These photos bring ALL the smiles, and remind us why we play.

More than 16 hours of futsal programming have been happening every weekend at the YWCA. That’s a lot of touches on the ball… and a whole lot of high fives (front and center 🙌).

Over 300 kids of all ages benefited this season... building skills, confidence, and friendships along the way.

And if you look closely, you might even spy our Impact Coordinator, Declan, on the field 👀 The youth love seeing him out there. It matters when young people have role models they can learn from on the court, not just off it.

#BeyondSoccer #PlayLeadBelong #SBYD #YouthDevelopment ThroughSports LawrenceMA ⚽🧡💙

#SundaySmiles! Okay okay… It’s a late Sunday share

#SundaySmiles! Okay okay… It’s a late Sunday share, but some photos are just too good to wait.

Yesterday, the girls were running the futsal court @ywcanema. Today, the boys were up, and don’t worry, we’ll highlight them later⚽

Fast feet. Lots ot energy...and even bigger smiles. That’s what it’s all about. #BeyondSoccer #PlayLeadBelong #SBYD #SportsBased YouthDevelopment Futsal LawrenceMA ⚽🧡💙

#ThrowbackThursday ⚽✨ Another shoutout to Coach M

#ThrowbackThursday ⚽✨

Another shoutout to Coach Mentor (and super mom!) Ana for going the extra mile. After the fall season ended, a few Wolves players couldn’t make their end-of-season outing, but Ana didn’t forget. She made sure they received their awards last week during break.

While we officially recognize players with our Get R.E.A.L. awards (Respect, Effort, Attendance, and Leadership) after the spring season, it’s coaches like Ana who remind us that recognition isn’t about a ceremony -- it’s about making every player feel valued.

And these girls? They’re definitely feeling it. Just look at those smiles. #BeyondSoccer #PlayLeadBelong #SBYD YouthDevelopment #GirlsInSports LawrenceMA ⚽🧡💙

#TogetherTuesday ❄️ Snow days have us reflecting o

#TogetherTuesday ❄️ Snow days have us reflecting on last week.

On the final day of Beyond Winter Break, our 3rd and 4th graders turned the BeyondFit space into their own World Cup. They chose their own teams -- mostly co-ed -- and created their own names: Green Beans, Royal Warriors, Black Beans, Sky Blue Attackers, and the eventual champs, the Beyond Soccer Reds (inspired by their red pinnies 🙂).

But it wasn’t about the final score. It was about organizing themselves, including one another, competing hard, and celebrating together.

#BeyondSoccer #PlayLeadBelong #SBYD #AllIn TogetherIsBetter LawrenceMA ⚽🧡💙

If this isn’t a #FeelGoodFriday… we don’t know wha

If this isn’t a #FeelGoodFriday… we don’t know what is.

After 10 weeks of learning and leading, our Jr Coaches wrapped up our first off-season Leadership-through-Sports program with a powerful final project: creating their own bios — designed, written, printed, and laminated completely on their own.

They shared what motivates them, favorite quotes (yes, “talent without working hard is nothing!”), and even that Club América ⚽ is everything to Justin.

With Declan leading the way, they’re heading into spring and summer ready for the next level — and in many cases, their first job. 👏 The future is in good hands.

#BeyondSoccer #PlayLeadBelong #SBYD #YouthLeadership LawrenceMA ⚽🧡💙

#WhatAWeekWednesday! ⚽ School vacation week hit d

#WhatAWeekWednesday! ⚽

School vacation week hit different! In addition to our evening programs, our Soccer Director launched a 5-hour-per-day enrichment program just for our 4th graders… and they showed UP. 💪

⚽ Ball skills
🗣 Communication
🤝 Teamwork
🍽 Shared meals
🎥 Learning together

Huge love to our Jr. Coaches, Coach Mentors, and especially #CoachMentor & mom Ana for the homemade meals. That’s community.

#BeyondSoccer #PlayLeadBelong #SBYD LawrenceMA TogetherIsBetter ⚽🧡💙

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