Søren, volunteer in GAME: I wish I had someone like me in my life when I was a child
Since February 2018, 28-year-old Søren Thomsen has been a volunteer in GAME. He gives children with psychosocial challenges positive experiences with sports and community through weekly parkour trainings. Today, he wishes he had had someone like himself in his life when he was a child.
Most Danish children do sports, but for children with psychosocial challenges, participating in sports can be difficult. Søren Thomsen is one of the volunteers at GAME who helps lower the barrier for participation.
Every Monday and Wednesday, Søren puts on his GAME clothes and heads off to GAME House Esbjerg, to do parkour with children with psychosocial challenges, their teachers, two instructors and other volunteers like himself.
“When I think back on my own childhood and my experiences with sports, it was not the kind of sports we played that mattered the most, but the sense of community that surrounds it. I still greet former teammates from various sports if I come across them. This makes me feel like I was- and still am a part of a community,” says Søren.
This is exactly the kind of community that Søren wants for the children. A community where everyone is welcome, regardless of age, skill level, gender and background. A healthy community with focus on parkour, exercise and togetherness.
Much more than just doing parkour
Through programs such as ‘The Friendships on Asphalt’, GAME wants to lower the threshold for participation for children with psychosocial challenges by tailoring courses in parkour. Parkour works really well as a method to get everyone included and to give everyone a positive experience with sports, as there is no competition surrounding it. Parkour strengthens the children’s relations to each other, as you can do many of the exercises with a partner.
Throughout his youth, Søren himself has struggled with personal challenges. Challenges that resulted in Søren sitting at home in front of his computer all day, and not seeking out social interactions. Despite this, Søren would go to a net-café once a week, where he eventually was introduced to ‘The Friendships on Asphalt’.
Something about the project and the target group caught his attention, and he decided to give it a go – even though it seemed unmanageable. He wanted to make a difference, especially for kids with social challenges.
“It makes sense for me to participate in the project, because I wish I had someone like me in my life when I was a child,” says Søren
Unfortunately, there are a lot of children who lack communities outside of school.
Søren gives the kids confidence and positive experiences
Søren himself has several positive experiences with sports that he can look back on. Especially the community has meant a lot to him.
The children do not only participate to learn parkour, but also to have positive experiences with likeminded people. Søren’s role is not to criticize the kids or to give them a lot of technical skills, but to boost their confidence with positive experiences.
“I think the coolest thing about parkour is that there is no competition surrounding it. The kids set their own goals, and we help them achieve it.” Says Søren
The role as a volunteer at GAME has made a big impact on Søren. According to himself, he makes the difference for other kids, that he himself wishes he had had somebody to do for him. He also points out, that he has developed as a person.
“It has meant a lot to me. GAME has been a big part of me developing as a person, and dealing with some personal issues of mine,” says Søren.
Read more about GAMES work with psychosocial kids and children here.
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