Tuesday May 6, 2024
By BEN JONES
Harun Abdi is stopped by players following the middle school game at the Faribault United Youth League Winter League finals. (Ben Jones - Faribault.com)
Harun Abdi walked the length of a long chain link fence next to a soccer field as three young children ran up behind him, stopping Abdi in his tracks.
They wanted to talk.
What they talked about is unknown, but there are smiles and the excited uncontrolled leaps that come with being a kid. Abdi laughed as they ran off in a different direction and he continued his walk toward the far corner of the field.
In many respects, it’s small moments like these that are the dream Abdi has been fighting for.
Technically everyone has gathered for two soccer games in the finale of the Faribault United Youth League — a soccer league organized by leaders in Faribault’s Somali community. It’s largely made up of Somali participants, but all youth are welcome, and other demographics took part Saturday.
The day isn’t really about soccer. It’s about community.
“Community means bringing people together,” Abdi said from his office at the Somali Community Resettlement Services.
“It’s a place where youth can come together and leave all their other issues behind and just be part of a group. Sports are a thing where they feel happy, where they feel heard, where things are done for them that they enjoy, and a place where they feel comfortable and they’re able to express themselves.”
The league, nearly five years old, a byproduct of a local grant focused broadly on youth health as safety by way of the the Prevention Partnerships for Healthy Youth Coalition, has grown at a rapid rate under Abdi’s watch. Socially referred to as Harun League — although that does generate a small eye roll from Harun himself — the league includes middle school and high school athletes.
Abdi is hopeful to continue growing the league both as a community and a legitimate developmental program. Faribault boys soccer practices at the start of this past season included a sea of young Somali boys hoping to make the cut like many who have come before them.
Two teammates celebrate following a goal during the middle school game. (Ben Jones — Faribault.com)
But in many respects, it’s still not really about the soccer. Between the middle school and high school games Saturday, there is roughly an hour of controlled chaos.
A few dozen boys playing a loosely organized game of soccer that was very much not on the schedule. Family members are laughing on the sidelines, some making their way out onto the field to join the fray. In the far corner, a small group of people quietly taking part in a late afternoon prayer known as Asr. Everything happening within the fenced area of the Faribault soccer complex, a physical representation of the safe space found within.
There’s no real concern that the high school game is starting late, because truth be told, the game is only part of what is really going on.
“I want to inspire those young guys, to lead kids younger kids, their younger siblings and other kids from the community,” Abdi said of the high school players.
Two players prepare to take each other on. (Ben Jones - Faribault.com)
There are other unspoken challenges here as well.
With a hardline stance on immigration from the current president and his administration, coupled with consistent rhetoric that has broadly painted an entire community in a negative light, there is no time like the present to build a group centered around confidence.
Because no matter the complexities of immigration, middle and high school boys hearing that they are unwanted and that their entire community is considered undesirable by some, is a challenging dynamic to unpack.
The goalkeeper is lifted into the air following his final save in the middle school game’s penalty kicks. (Ben Jones — Faribault.com)
“As you know, everything that’s going on has been really challenging for a lot of the youth,” Abdi said. “I think the way that we can overcome that challenge, I’ve been bringing kids from [different racial communities], and bringing all those kids together.”
“It has been really challenging, because I am someone who wants to advocate for youth, young people, no matter where they come from or what background they have. Faribault is a very broad community, and has a lot of people with different opinions. But apart from that, there’s also a lot of great people that inspired kids and built communities stronger and built good relationships with people ... I just try to show them a better way of things. And teach them that they’re not any different from anybody else.”
“I want kids in our community to feel like no matter where they’re at, whatever group of people they’re around, for them to feel like they belong,” Abdi said.
Enter Owen Voit.
Omar Ali prepares to save a free kick. (Ben Jones — Faribault.com)
Voit is hard to miss for a variety of reasons. He is sturdier than all of his teammates, a combination of genetics and being a multi-sport athlete. Voit is also noticeably white, a rarity in this particular crowd.
But his presence is felt. Kids far his junior know who he is, calling out just for a wave and a smile. It’s not a mistake that Voit was named Homecoming King this year; he’s a popular young man.
Intentional or not, he is something of a bridge between two worlds. The Faribault school district boasts a diverse student-athlete population, so for Voit, who has been doing athletics for as long as he can remember, he has never known life any different than this.
“When I started out, it was pretty evenly split,” Voit said of the diversity he saw locally early in his athletic career. “It was great, because everyone knew everyone, so I wasn’t out of my comfort zone. Maybe you get thrown in the deep end a little bit if that’s what you want to call it, but it’s the only way it works. It was a great way to get into stuff like this.”
But even Voit in his final months of high school and not far from the real world, knows that he has some social advantages. And while it might be easy to wag a finger at those who engage in bigotry, it becomes all the more personal when things are said about your friends and your community.
“I get kind of upset,” Voit said. “I just have such a deeper understanding and a more, like, personal connection to so many of these kids.”
Luqman Madey poses for a photo after scoring a goal. (Ben Jones — Faribault.com)
Back on the field, the middle school game ended in penalty kicks, a surprisingly entertaining proceeding. Now it’s time for high school players. Unsurprisingly the soccer is higher quality, the passes crisper, the shots clinical, the presence of Faribault varsity keeper Omar Ali a nice balance to all the offense.
And not far away, those same kids who chased down Abdi have made their way back to the sideline, glued to the high schoolers racing up and down the pitch.
“That’s my role model,” one of them says.
More than just soccer, indeed.