Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
The training comes to an end. There is a 1-liter water bottle on the table,
and a plastic glass for everyone.
Exhausted from the training, these girls quench their thirst
by sharing that family-sized bottle of water.
Unlike other teams, they don't have any individual bottles for every player.
Because they are truly a team;
a team that sweats together chasing the same ball,
that shares the same bottle of water
and that holds the Turkish Championship title.
We are in Antalya, a touristic province in Southern Turkey.
Besides its beaches and attractions, Antalya also possesses
suburbs and shantytowns that are home to low income families.
Within these families, there are children whose fathers and mothers
work under very difficult conditions for a very low income.
The team we were just watching play is consisted exactly of these children.
Despite all difficulties they face, they have a coach
who makes a difference in their lives.
- Let's go girls, gather up!
In 2004, Seda Sevin was appointed to an elementary school
in the Kepez district of Antalya as a physical education teacher.
Instead of just teaching during class hours,
she decided to form and coach a handball team.
Having received support from the principal,
the next task she accomplished was selecting her players.
However, she soon realized that
the real obstacle was convincing their parents.
In order to convince unwilling families, she visited them one by one.
She befriended their mothers and persuaded their fathers.
- Our coach spoke with our parents.
They trusted her very much and thereby agreed to let us join the team.
- What does your family do for a living?
- My father is a puddler and my mother is a housewife.
- Do your parents come watch you play?
- They came only once when we were playing the provincial championship game.
- Why don't they come to your other games?
- They are not that involved, they do not care as much to come to our games.
I insisted once and that was when they came.
Even though the team was assembled, they had neither a facility
where they can practice nor the required equipment.
At first, they prepared for their games by practicing on bare soil
in the schoolyard.
Through such perseverance,
it did not take them long before becoming successful.
At first, Seda Sevin's handball team placed second
in the Antalya Provincial Championships.
And a year later, they became the champions in Antalya for their age group.
They did not have a training court, jerseys, or enough balls to play with it.
Yet, they kept playing and enjoying the game they love.
As the best team in Antalya, they went on to participate
in the national championships.
Thereby, Seda Sevin experienced her first away game
and the girls left their hometown for the first time.
Away from home and motivated by their dreams,
these young girls were trying to beat
not only their opponents but also their ill fates.
- We went to Mersin for a tournament.
We were facing severe finanicial difficulties.
I had a friend in Mersin whom I met when I was teaching there.
That exact same day was her father's anniversary of death.
She said that they were going to cook and feed people in his name.
Knowing the conditions we have been through
she invited us over.
We accepted their kind invitation and, 12 girls and I,
had lunch with her family every single day.
We did not even have jerseys at the beginning.
A benevolent from Antalya donated us our first jerseys.
Seda Sevin became a teacher, a coach and an older sister
for the players of a team facing such difficulties.
Realizing that the girls need to be better nourished,
she involved other teachers
in order to address this issue with a mother-like attitude.
- It was a month before our big tournament.
We bought raisins, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts,
some honey and boiled grape juice for the school.
Together with our vice principal,
we prepared small cones and filled them with these goods.
The kids would come and grab a cone everyday.
With the support of Seda Sevin
and other volunteers, the handball team was working hard
and being nourished properly.
Thereby, they climbed to the top in a vey short span of time.
6 young girls from the team were selected for
the national teams of their respective age groups.
A girl received a scholarship from a private school in Istanbul.
UnderSeda Sevin's leadership,
these young girls achieved success
not only as individuals, but also a team.
Within the span of 6 years, they placed third overall in Turkey
3 times and first overall twice.
- My goal is to play for the senior national team.
I have been selected twice for the youth national team and
hopefully will be selected for the third time. I know I will.
Because I have trust in myself. My friends also have trust in me.
I know that I am a good player.
We come practice at 9 o'clock in the morning
and leave the training at 11:30.
After the training, we are at school until 17:30.
Then, we go home and study.
We don't have much time to spend for ourselves
or to go out with our friends.
We only have Saturdays and Sundays to do that.
Instead of working solely as a physical education teacher,
Seda Sevin followed her dreams.
At a school to which she was appointed,
she formed a team from girls who never played any sports before.
On the path leading to the Turkish Championship,
she made a big difference in the lives of these young girls,
their friends and also their families.