“I was like, ‘wow, this is the president,” Deontrel said.Deontrel and five other students from America SCORES St. Louis were invited to Washington D.C. as part of the Los Angeles Galaxy’s invitation to recognize their Major League Soccer championship. The SCORES kids were part of a group of 50 students from around the country invited to the ceremony.
Serena Muhammad said the students gave Obama a rousing applause when he entered the room.
“It was kind of funny,” Muhammad said. “The press and adults who have been doing this all the time didn’t expect the kids to start cheering Obama when he came in. It definitely changed the atmosphere in the room.”
Meeting Obama was one of many highlights from a whirlwind one-day trip to D.C. The America SCORES St. Louis contingent, all 11-year-olds, spent time with Michelle Obama in the State Room, got to ask Galaxy players questions and took a tour of the White House.
Deontrel said Michelle Obama was nice.
“She said she was happy to see us,” Deontrel said. “She knew we were from all around the country and that the State Room was where they had their special guests and that we were their special guests.”
Michelle Obama talked to the students about her Let’s Move initiative, which is design to combat childhood obesity. Let’s Move and America SCORES compliment each other. America SCORES St. Louis participants get ten times more exercise than the national average, and seven out of 10 students who start out overweight achieve a normal weight within one year. America SCORES uses soccer as a tool to encourage fitness, sportsmanship and leadership and inspires a life-long appreciation of sports and healthy-living behaviors.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/club-sports/soccer/america-scores-members-meet-the-president-first-lady-and-david/article_38c3ce14-a3bd-11e1-b92a-0019bb30f31a.html#ixzz1wNHi84tb
Posts
