La Naranja Mecánica
Un espacio para el deporte y recreación
La Naranja Mecánica
The soccer project, La Naranja Mecánica, is named after the nickname that was given to the Dutch national soccer team by the people of Latin America. Since the early 1970s Dutch football has had a good reputation for its attractive offensive style of play.
This attractive way of playing came about, among other things, because this small country developed for years a good structure and adequate training to play soccer at the highest level. Our La Naranja Mecánica soccer project works according to this structure and this training, adapted to the Colombian culture and the local population.
This project runs at several homes located in the city center and we operate independently in the Carambolas and Bello Oriente neighborhoods (comuna 3). In total, around 250 children participate in the activities of the soccer project, boys and girls between 6 and 18 years old.
Program
Children train two or three times a week and games are played every weekend. The program is divided into three stages. The child begins with training and participation in the internal tournament, and can become a player of one of the teams in an official competition.
Stage 1
The child who wants to join the foundation is welcome to train. After three months, he or she will participate in an internal soccer tournament in the different places where the Fundación Caminos has a presence.
Stage 2
After six months, the child can join a local soccer tournament with a team from the neighborhood or children's homes.
Stage 3
After one year, the child can participate in a regional soccer tournament; This is the Fundación Caminos Selection. The tournament is played all year round and children are selected based on their behavior.
Reward positive behavior
In addition, the foundation wants to reward the positive behavior of the child with materials that serve as a player in the La Naranja Mecánica project.
Children start with nothing, but they can earn a lot. For them this works as a motivational factor to strive and improve. Players will be rewarded as follows:
3 to 6 months Training uniform (socks, shorts and shirt)
6 to 12 months Pair of soccer shoes
12 months Football bag
Fundación Caminos knows where these children come from, so we know that it should not adopt a very strict method. It is important that the child shows their will to comply with these rules and that their improvement is visible.
Promote independence
Children who received the soccer shoes will receive a shoe brush and shoe polish. Soccer shoes are expected to be cleaned for each game.
When children are older they are encouraged to go to the competition on their own. As a result, they learn to travel independently with the subway or the bus and how to organize this.
Promote leadership
Tools to promote leadership are also used in the soccer project. For example, children lead the warming up, are named captains where they have to set a good example, and help clean up materials. It is very important that children are encouraged to think of solutions and give their opinion during group discussions.
Activities
Training
The trainings are carried out in different homes in the city center and in the Carambolas and Bello Oriente neighborhoods. The different groups train two or three times a week from Monday to Friday.
Matches
During the weekend the teams participate in the different tournaments in the city. The foundation organizes its own internal tournament, there are tournaments in the neighborhood and there are tournaments that take place everywhere in the city.
The foundation works with the following categories; sub 6, sub 8, sub 10, sub 12, sub 13, sub 14, sub 16, sub 18 and girls soccer sub 12, sub 15 and 17.
