Alive and Kicking Article Review

Alive and Kicking
Sporting Heritage
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1140917/1/index.htm
3/17/11

Alive and Kicking is the story of the Fugees, a soccer team of war refugees. The Fugees are a team out of the state of Georgia. The players are from 24 different war torn countries throughout the world. Each single player has his own story about his family was torn apart because of the war and things that he had witnessed growing up. Even the coach, Luma Mufleh, has her own story about growing up in a rich family but becoming a refugee and her journey to America.
Luma found herself in an apartment complex in Clarkston, Georgia, after taking a wrong turn on her way home from work. She witnessed a handful of kids playing soccer in a parking lot. They were all of foreign nationality and were playing barefoot on the asphalt. This reminded her of where she came from. All of the kids were war refugees that had never been taught anything about soccer, just picked it up while playing. She approached the kids about becoming a team and she would be their coach. She wanted to start an under-10 team and an under-12 team. They gladly accepted her and they began practicing.
The rest of the story is about the challenges Luma and her team had to overcome, including a fight in which African-American boys jumped one of her players. Luma has to overcome her own fears and help the kids in their challenges on and outside of the soccer field, including school. Alive and Kicking is very interesting, informative, and inspirational article.


Estarr10