Volunteers – The Next Generation

At just 17 years old, Abdu’s on the edge of something brand new.

With dreams of going to med school in Ireland and becoming a doctor, the future is looking bright and challenging, with new people, a new school and maybe even a new country.

Lucky for him, he’s been preparing himself for this with his volunteer work.

“I think it's really important that people go out of their comfort zone, right? So they meet new people and they challenge themselves in different ways,” Abdu said. “ Doing that, you gain skills, you gain lots of skills that you would not gain without the experience. And that’s what volunteering was for me.”

Currently an assistant coach, Abdu’s willingness to face hurdles didn’t come overnight. It started on the rink when he was five.

Finding peace in sports

At first glance, competition seems to lie at the heart of sports. It’s the rush of the goal, carving an extra second off your time, or getting the edge over your opponent as the crowd roars.

But for Abdu, his time skating wasn’t about the rush of competition, or winning. Instead, he fell in love with the way he lost himself when in motion.

“Sports really gave me the space to clear my mind,” Abdu said. “So whenever I was kind of stressed out or didn't know what to do, I would find peace in sports.”

“Whether that was in skating, swimming, or soccer, that would be a space where I could just rest my mind and focus on playing.”

Soon after starting his journey with skating, Abdu changed to soccer and fell in love. Every week he looked forward to the hours when he could find rest in running. On the pitch, his world would contract until it was just him, the ball and the goal. And in that simple world, he found peace and joy.

As he pursued this piece of peace, he built his skills in the game along with a community that extended beyond his school.

“Meeting new people and meeting new friends was really big for me,” Abdu said. “The friends that I've met through all my sports teams, I'm still friends with them now. ”

For 11 years, Abdu treasured his time on the pitch, but as he started to look forward, his focus shifted from playing the game to sharing it.

“I looked at the coaches and thought ‘If they're willing to volunteer their time to make sure that I'm here having a good time then why can't I do the same in the future?” Abdu said. “I wanted to ensure that every kid is able to enjoy the same thing that I was able to enjoy and just experience the sports that I had the experience of playing,”

Taking the lead

At 16 Abdu wanted to pass on everything he had learned on the pitch, but, while his soccer skills and enthusiasm were there, he had no experience teaching or leading.

“I knew that I couldn't just start from point zero. I couldn't just go in there and have the skills that I needed to coach,” Abdu said. “I knew that I had to take steps in order to eventually reach my goal. And I thought one of those steps was being engaged and volunteering for sports.”

So, he did what any young person does when wondering what next steps were available to him – he Googled it. Luckily, Lethbridge Sport Council popped up early, with an opportunity to volunteer at a summer sports camp at Nicholas Sheran Leisure Centre.

He followed up with an email and the next thing he knew, he was there in front of the kids.

“It was really good,” he said. “I had to learn quickly how to adapt to the kids’ different situations and how to adapt to their needs.”

For two months, he organized games, led groups and got to play with kids from across the city. And in return, he got to experience their joy as they found the freedom to just be themselves.

Well, that and the skills he needed to pursue the next step along his journey.

“Being able to lead the kids, to organize, manage, and run the games really enhanced my leadership skills and that's something I’ll always be grateful for,” he said

Unfortunately, summer travel plans meant Abdu had to cut his time short. But, as soon as he was back, he emailed Lethbridge Sport Council to see if there was an opening for him to help coach soccer.

Getting his dream volunteer role

Will Sharpe, Community Coordinator for Lethbridge Sport Council passed him on to Lethbridge Soccer Association where Kristy Lauzon, Program Coordinator found him a U10 team that needed an assistant coach.

“From there, I just started coaching, helping them out.,” Abdu said.

While his role is still new, Abdu’s already been promoted – for one practice at least.

One evening, when the head coach was unable to make a practice, he turned to Abdu for help, asking if he felt comfortable running the practice himself.

Abdu jumped at the chance.

“That practice really was a highlight for me,” Abdu said. “Going into it, I was a little bit nervous, but it went really smooth. I was able to effectively run the drills, all the kids were happy so that really made me happy as well, and it helped grow my confidence.”

A lifelong volunteer

It’s hard to overstate the value Abdu says volunteering has brought to his life.

It’s built up his confidence, given him skills, pushed him to sharpen those same skills, and it’s opened new possibilities.

“Medical schools are really competitive programs,” he said “It's one thing to have only good grades but one thing that they look at a lot is like your experience.”

And now, he’s got plenty of that.