Partner Update: Seattle: The Sacredness of Play

In 2002 we were asked to do a “backyard soccer camp” for a little girl’s birthday party. She was turning 7 and wanted to play soccer with her friends for her birthday.

I was 24, my fiancé Erin was 23. We didn’t really have a lot of experience coaching, but we knew wanted to make soccer fun for this little girl and her 5 friends while teaching them some skills. After the “camp” we realized it was easier said than done!

If you’ve ever tried running a soccer practice for your child’s team or coached kids at all, you know how much work it takes to get them to play “real soccer.”

Sometimes it can feel more like babysitting than coaching! Kids are amazing at creating their own agenda and it doesn’t always align with ours. If they weren’t so adorable it would be impossible!

As we grew Redwine Soccer from that small backyard camp, we also grew a lot as coaches. We earned our USSF licenses, coached at the biggest premier soccer clubs in Seattle, and Erin was the head coach of the Northwest University women’s soccer team for 7 years. Yes, we were coaching, “real soccer” players now that could play “real soccer.”

During those years it was hard for me to see what I understand now.

Play is sacred.

At the end of the day soccer is play…it is why say we are “playing soccer” and describe it as “the beautiful game.” It is a game to be played, not a measuring stick to determine the value of a human being.

What makes something sacred though? Or better yet, who makes something sacred? We do. We decide what is sacred and what isn’t. It is the beauty of our free will in action to define and hold up something as sacred. It is a response to something deep within us.

As a coach, I’m committed to the sacredness of play. When we as coaches hold play as sacred there are things that happen in the heart, mind, soul, and body of a child that can only be described as sacred.

It is why we are so honored to support the Ball Project – they understands the sacredness of play better than anyone I know and I’m thankful for their influence in my life and Ball Project’s work around the world.

These photos might just look like kids having fun at a soccer camp, but what we’re really doing when we create these moments is saying to the heart of a child, “you’re safe, you’re valued, you’re loved” and in those moments the sacred dances.

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Dan and Erin Redwine founded Redwine Soccer in 2002. They focus on creating sacred moments through soccer for children ages 3 to 11 years old in the Seattle area. They have four daughters and a dog named Charlie.