THABISO, Junior Flag Football Coach
Thabiso Vela has been involved with Free Play for Kids for the past five years, and she says it’s become even more people-focused since she first started reffing soccer games in grade seven.
“It’s becoming more than just a sports program. It's not just for young kids to play sports — it's engaging both junior high and high school students and people from other sports fields as well. So it’s been nice to see it grow and evolve in that way,” Vela says.
“It just keeps getting better and better every year.”
And that’s just made her want to continue contributing even more.
“I used to see it as a job,” she explains, and it was — reffing helped her offset soccer academy fees in junior high school which made it possible to participate in that program.
“But there's so much more to it,” she said. “Because of COVID we haven’t been working with the younger kids, but I still look forward to every Thursday, when I get to hang out with everyone I’ve met through the program and see our coaches.”
Vela is an accomplished athlete in several sports, but she decided to take on the challenge of learning how to play flag football for her most recent junior coaching endeavour.
“I really took it as a challenge as an athlete to learn another sport and see if I can excel in it the same way I have excelled in these other sports,” Vela says.
Vela is a strong believer that sports and physical activity should be accessible to everyone.
“Every single human being should be involved in some type of physical activity, because of the way that it is stress relieving and helps you learn about goals. Sports have always been something that has really deeply connected and defined who I am, it’s a major component of my identity and life,” she says.
Vela moved to Zimbabwe for two years in 2011, where her family is from, and it was there she got a better sense of what she was capable of athletically, and how playing sports could positively impact other parts of her life.
“Being able to meet people like me and then bond over a sport, it's really offered me this other connection with them,” she said. “There are just so many life lessons in sports that I'm very grateful I've been able to learn.”
Vela, who is in grade 11, has her sights set on running track at the varsity level in the U.S. She’s confident that even if that doesn’t pan out, she could work as a coach or referee.
“It would be a great way to stay into the sports community and be active if I don't end up making a career out of being an athlete,” she says.
“People always say get a job that you're passionate about, and Free Play is that perfect program where it supports something I'm passionate about. And then I can give that to other kids as well.”
Written by Emily Rendell-Watson
