Sports
MPI Nicaragua organizes and coaches youths in soccer and baseball programs. Through the sports teams, Program Directors have the opportunity to establish mentoring relationships that positively impact players and also help develop our presence in the community. Providing youths with this structured outlet fosters self-esteem and teamwork within the community. Players also reap the physical benefits of an active lifestyle. Participation in sports programs ideally decreases the tendency towards teenage pregnancy in girls and the tendency towards gang related violence in boys. In addition, through the competitive games, MPI works with partner organizations to connect the communities in the area surrounding Chiquilistagua and in La Chureca.
Girls' Soccer Team
PDs currently coach a girls’ soccer team with almost twenty girls from ages ten to eighteen. The team practices every Friday for an hour and a half at EL Salero which is the nearby community center and belongs to one of our partner organizations, Alongside Ministries. MPI also organizes friendly matches with teams in the surrounding area, including the girls' soccer team in La Chureca, sponsored by another partner organization, Juntos Contigo.
Boys' Soccer Team
The boys' soccer team practices twice a week and periodically enters leagues in both indoor and outdoor soccer. The friendly yet competitive environment draws many young men from the community and has helped MPI build relationships with a population that can be difficult to reach with other programs. The outdoor team has fifteen players between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two and plays in a league run by the Nicaraguan Christian Academy. The indoor team plays in relampago (lightning) tournaments at El Salero and Monte Hermon. The teams practice Tuesdays and Thursdays for two hours.
Baseball
Every Friday after the Library program, PDs play baseball with boys from ages five to fifteen from Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua at El Salero. The popular practices provide an opportunity for the young boys to spend their Friday afternoons in a positive environment and has helped connect the children of the neighboring communities. Although there is no league for the children to compete in, it’s a fun way to get them active and involved.
