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August 27, 2009

A world away

Andover's Rousmaniere teaches soccer in Africa

By David Willis

For Andover's Adam Rousmaniere, life simply has a different meaning now.

"When I got home, everything seemed different," he said. "It was difficult to readapt. You look at things here and you think, how can you get upset over that? How does that bother you? Readapting to life in the United States was quite an experience."

No one should blame the Harvard senior for feeling changed.

This summer, Rousmaniere spent 10 weeks in the African country of Malawi, teaching soccer as a volunteer for Coaches across Continents.

"It was so much different than anything I had ever experienced," said the former Brooks star. "Growing up in Andover and Brooks, I had grown up in a bubble. I had not seen any of the real, deep poverty that exists in the world."

Last spring, Coaches across Continents founder and Harvard alum Nick Gates spoke to the Crimson soccer team about his program. While initially intrigued, Rousmaniere was not immediately sold.

"I thought about it for a while and did a lot of research," he said. "The more I thought about it, the more I said, 'This is something I think I could contribute to.' I have been playing soccer my whole life, and I love to teach."

So Rousmaniere, along with Harvard women's standout Sophie Legros, signed on. But he admits it was very emotional when he arrived in Malawi, a country where an estimated 40 percent of its more than 13,900,000 population live under the poverty line.

"What is most shocking is the suffocating poverty that you see everywhere," he said. "Every day, everywhere you go, people that do not have homes sitting on the side of the streets. It was tough to deal with."

While his Crimson teammates were training in comfortable gyms, Rousmaniere began every day at 6 a.m. with his conditioning on the dusty fields of Malawi to prepare for soccer season. By 7:30 a.m., he was taking local transportation then walking 45 minutes to a field where he helped teach a three-hour session for local soccer coaches.

After lunch, it was back on public transportation, and more walking, to meet up with 1,000 or more children for a three-hour soccer clinic. While it was grueling, Rousmaniere said it was worth it.

"The kids were amazing," he said. "A little more than half of them were orphans, living on the streets. Most of them get one meal a day — maybe. But 1,500 kids would show up, laughing, smiling and jumping around. They just wanted to play soccer. That was really hard on me the first few days.

"Every time we showed up, they were so excited. Our nickname was 'Mzungu' which means white person. They were so passionate about learning soccer, despite their disadvantages."

Rousmaniere and the rest of the Coaches across Continents volunteers found few luxuries in Malawi.

"We stayed wherever we could," he said. "I probably slept in 40 different beds. We stayed with host families, in hostels, inns and lodges. That was draining.

"I didn't mess with the food too much. Kids would walk around with sticks and impale mice on them, and they would roast them. I tried a small piece of one mouse, but it was disgusting. And all bone. I had to come back and play Division 1 soccer, so if I got sick and lost 30 pounds, it would have been really bad."

Now back in the US, Rousmaniere is set to begin his fourth season, and second as a starter, as a member of the Harvard soccer team.

"Last year I broke the starting lineup full-time (two goals, two assists)," said the third-generation Harvard student. "I am a center-mid, so I am a connector between the strikers and the back line and I am a playmaker. I think I am ready for a successful season."

And, despite the challenges of his time in Africa, Rousmaniere is thankful for the experience.

"It was fantastic," said the economics major. "So many of the kids were orphans. But all they wanted to do was play soccer. It was tough to deal with, but it was incredible to me. It was very moving."

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A world away
by By David Willis , , Thu Aug 27, 2009, 04:57 AM EDT
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