In September of 2014 I heard about a unique soccer team in the area of Dallas known as Vickery Meadows. Being relatively new to the DFW metroplex, I knew nothing about Vickery. So I followed one contact to the next until I met Danny Domingo, a community leader in Vickery and one of the coaches of the Vickery United Football Club. During the time I spent photographing this team of refugee kids, I witnessed a strong comradery among the players, a fierce desire to win, and a few dedicated individuals who helped make it happen.
The Vickery Meadows Football Club is made up about fifteen high school boys, many of whom came with their families to the United States in search of sanctuary. From Danny I learned that all of the players lived in Vickery Meadows at one point, but some had moved away due to the unstable nature of the 5-points area. The players’ countries of origin range from Burma to Tanzania and one player, Emmanuel, is from Liberia and still has a sister who lives there.
Vickery United grew out of Danny’s prayerful desire to see teenager’s lives improve. While walking the neighborhood, Danny happened upon a group of boys playing soccer. Though he heard multiple languages exclaimed from the players, the communication was crystal clear. Thus began the Vickery United Football Club. Shortly after that, professional soccer player Zach Lloyd and his wife Casey offered to coach the team with Danny.
Over the course of the semester I hung out and documented the team through numerous games, practices, and an outing to see their beloved coach, Zach, play at the Toyota Stadium in Frisco. I watched as they won with excitement and took their losses in stride. Even after a terrible defeat, playing without a full roster and no subs, a player named Biak never stopped cracking jokes and just trying to make the others smile.
Another player, Emmanuel, told me about his sister who still lives in Liberia and works at a liquor factory. He told me that (at the time) she had not gone to work or left her house in three months due to the Ebola outbreak. He showed concern for her financial situation and said his mom, who lives in Ghana, was worried about her too.
The season ended with a thanksgiving dinner at Zach and Casey's house. As I talked to Happy and Fasha, they told me they don't really celebrate thanksgiving, so this dinner was a treat. After the feasting was over, everyone went back to playing FIFA in various rooms and Danny and the adults sat down and began hashing out the details for next season.
I started the photo essay project without a lot of expectations, going after this story in the hopes that I would not hamper it from developing. Yet I feel like I have developed not merely the story. Even though I was just hanging out and taking pictures of the guys, they included me and never stopped asking to see themselves. The boys of Vickery United may not have been born in the US but they have learned to fit right in.
