Kick, Lead and Dream, a soccer camp founded by Mountain View High School students, wrapped up its record-breaking 2012 summer program June 29.
This year’s camp registered nearly 400 campers, coached by 100 volunteers. Campers pay a participation fee of $5.
Six years ago Mountain View High soccer teammates Akash Nigam and Robby Gamble led 25 campers onto the fields of Bubb Elementary School in Mountain View. In 2009 the camp moved to Cherry Chase Elementary School in Sunnyvale and began recruiting Sunnyvale campers.
The camp allows volunteer teens to offer an enriching, fun experience for children who could not afford it, many of them at-risk youth identified by intervention counselors.
The Mountain View Police Activities League and the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety helped the camp expand its public outreach efforts. In recent years, teachers in local elementary and middle schools have helped recruit campers.
The summer program is a dream come true, said Pavan Nigam, Akash’s father.
“Akash was looking for a community service project where he could do what he loves – playing soccer with kids,” Pavan said.
While his son was primarily interested in a service project, Pavan hoped for more.
“My wife, Ruma, and I had a vision of bringing the communities together,” he said. “When do our children, who take AP classes and attend expensive sports camps at Stanford, interact with other demographic groups?”
After their older brothers graduated and left for college, Sonia Nigam and Allie Gamble (also soccer teammates at Mountain View High) assumed responsibility for directing Kick, Lead and Dream. They oversaw the camp, designing T-shirts, recruiting coaches, fundraising and visiting schools to recruit campers.
Some of the original campers have returned to serve as volunteer coaches. This year 12 of the coaches were introduced to Kick, Lead and Dream as campers.
Since Sonia and Allie became camp directors and made presentations at target schools to spread the word, the number of female coaches and campers steadily has increased.
“This year we cracked the code,” Pavan said. “The number of girls and boys among the coaches is now 50/50 and one-third of campers are girls. Girls feel inspired when they witness the camp leaders’ enthusiasm for soccer.”
Every year Kick, Lead and Dream invites motivational speakers to share their stories. This year’s speakers included Brandi Chastain, Olympian and U.S. World Cup Soccer champion; Dennis Brown, 49ers defensive end in the 1995 Super Bowl win; Kevin Woodhouse, former Stanford NCAA Soccer player; and players from the San Jose Earthquakes.
“Kick, Lead and Dream is a wholesome experience – you are doing something for the community and for yourself,” said Mountain View High School senior Nick van Osdol, volunteer coach throughout his high school career.
Allie and Sonia are graduating, so this is the final year the Nigams and Gambles will organize the camp. But Pavan said the baton would be passed to good friends. The founders expect the camp will become self-sustaining.
For more information, visit kldsoccer.com.
