Each year, members of both the men’s and women’s teams participate in the program. Both Johnson and Urke were recruited to join Coaches Across Continents by senior teammate Alicia Johnson, who had travelled to Africa the previous summer with the program. Alicia Johnson, in turn, had been intrigued by the program after hearing the experiences of former teammate Sophie Legros, who had travelled with the program two summers before and was among its first volunteers. Legros and Gates spoke to team members about the organization and encouraged the Crimson to participate in the venture.

“What I really took away was how much they embraced us being there,” Alicia Johnson said.  “Despite the diversity, they were so welcoming and we felt like we really made an impact in the community. They really accepted us but also our message and our mission.”

The senior was so moved by her work with the program that she now remains very involved in the company, promoting Coaches Across Continents and garnering financial and personnel support for its ventures. Last year, Alicia Johnson helped organize an athlete formal and ran a silent auction at a home game, with all proceeds from both events going towards the organization.

Each year, Coaches Across Continents looks for more participants to travel on future ventures, and not necessarily varsity athletes. Even volunteers with little competitive soccer experience have travelled with the program and made an impact. The organization also holds fundraisers to raise money for its programs and supplies. When Urke and Johnson travelled this past summer, they brought soccer balls to give to the locals at the completion of the program.

Despite their compact schedule, Urke and Peyton Johnson were able to get a lot of instruction in in the two short weeks that they were there. After learning new drills in the morning, the coaches would run more and more of the sessions each day by themselves, gradually implementing what the Crimson players were able to teach them. By the last day, the Ugandan coaches were running entire practices by themselves.

“I think that our impact was most visibly felt on the last day of the program,” Peyton Johnson said. “The coaches gave us some small form of gratitude from their family farm; avocados were a popular gift. They made us bracelets or soccer balls out of twine.”

The two players were also immensely grateful of the lessons that they in turn were able to learn from the African community.

“I think one thing I left with was a greater appreciation for the sport that I play and love,” Peyton Johnson reflected. “It’s obvious that soccer crosses cultures…but I don’t think I really appreciated until I went over there how soccer can do more than just entertain and foster a competitive message. It’s also a really great means for grabbing people’s attention and spreading messages to people that might otherwise turn a deaf ear.”