A Peace of NOGA History
The success of those staff who have been associated with NOGA is little short of amazing. Their spirit of adventure combined with outstanding talent and sparkling wit seems to be a very rare elixir that has taken so many to great heights.
There are so many NOGA staff legends who have honed their coaching and life skills at NOGA and then moved on to use their skills in the wider spectrum of the World’s Greatest game. One such NOGA alumnus is Gary Stidder who spent a dozen summers coaching and entertaining a whole generation of NOGA players in the mid 1980’s. Gary is well remembered by a large number of soccer moms and dads, who now in turn send their own off spring to NOGA each summer to work with the new generation of coaches.
After leaving NOGA, Gary took up a full time role as a senior lecturer at the University of Brighton. In 2001, Gary was instrumental in creating the ‘Football 4 Peace Project’ which provides an opportunity, through soccer for children from Arab and Jewish communities to meet and participate together in teams and groups. “Football 4 Peace” allows them to learn to play and work together so that distrust might be overcome and bridges built for understanding and appreciation of each other in peace.
The program has grown considerably over the past five years. Gary continues to play a vital leadership role in developing the project with the British Council and the English Football Association. The 2005 project involved 1000 children from 20 communities and 40 UK volunteer coaches and was subject of a documentary film called ‘Children of Jordan Valley’ which will be released just before the World Cup Finals in Germany this summer.
The program addresses issues such as conflict resolution, coexistence and peace through the medium of soccer. The intense six-day program consists of skills development and technique training, competitions, and small-sided conditioned games and culminates in an exciting tournament in which the children play in mixed teams and compete for medals and trophies provided by the project. The 2006 project begins in July and will involve more children than ever before.
Here is a clip of Children of the Jordan Valley that features NOGA’s own inimitable Gary Stidder.
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This is the time of the year when the vast majority of summer Community Camp dates are confirmed.
Have you every wondered what it would be like if one the world's greatest soccer players showed up at your indoor scrimmage and then decided that he would like to join in?
The Internet has opened up a whole new interactive world for helping young players to develop their soccer skills. At NOGA, one of our coaches favorite devices is the virtual replay system used by both the BBC and the English Premier League.