Part 2 of my interview with Boyzzz Khumalo (part 1 is here) opens with a description of the harrowing injury that prematurely ended his Major League Soccer career.
Boyzzz reflects on the inherent fragility of professional sports, the importance of higher education for life after soccer, and his extensive youth coaching experiences in both Soweto and in Michigan.
Boyzzz’s deeply personal commitment to community upliftment comes through in a detailed discussion of the challenges and hopes for the Umhlaba Vision Foundation. Anyone interested in getting involved or learning more about Umhlaba can send email to boyzzzkhumalo80 AT gmail.
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2 replies on “Boyzzz Khumalo: From Soweto to Michigan, part 2”
Great interview Peter and Boyzzz – it’s so true that the massification of soccer just hasn’t happened in the US. It’d be fascinating to see the end of “pay for play.” Good work, thanks for sharing!
The second half of the interview touches on very important issues about city/suburbs, free play vs coached play, race and class, and the big business of youth soccer. There are also physical and social consequences to this professionalized youth sports system.
Dr. Ron. J. Turker’s New York Times op-ed (July 28, 2014), a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and soccer dad, explains how American kids are “All Played Out”:
http://nyti.ms/1nNzwOF
He writes:
“The landscape of youth sports [in U.S.] has changed markedly in the last 20 years. Free play, where children gather after school, pick a game and play until called in for dinner, is almost extinct. Highly organized and stratified sports have become the norm. Time, place and rules are now dictated to our kids rather than organized by the kids.”
Check it out.