Ricardo Janela | FÉRIAS NA DESPORTIVA Volunteer

Before starting the testimony itself, I would like to thank the Cascais City Council and its staff, the Cascais Jovem staff and the Sassoeiros Football Club staff for the opportunity not only to participate in the program and its project, for allowing me to make a written testimony of my experience.

I begin by saying that it was a rewarding experience, amusing and, like everything else in life, challenging. But if what I will keep in memory will be the moments of good will and happiness, it is the easiest moments that will allow me to explain how good it was last July. And I say this because, in my opinion, all adversities are overcome if we are surrounded by people who are always ready to help, well disposed and who create a good environment, making difficult moments at less good times, which was precisely this case of the project where I participated. That little initial fear I had on the first day of work, not by doubting myself, but because I still did not know the people I was going to work with, being inexperienced and not having work routines quickly disappeared, because I was very well received by the employees of the Sassoeiros Football Club, who have always been helpful and always showed affection and attention to me and to my colleagues, making our work easier and making all working hours pass unnoticed because, as Usually, the good moments happen "to run".

During this month of July, I lived with children from five to fourteen and it was one of the best experiences I have ever had. The constant happiness and the constant laughter and smiles of the children brought not only a contagious good disposition and a willingness to participate in the activities and to interact with them, as a small nostalgia for the times when I was that age, where life was simple and there were no worries. Of course the "little devils" caused some problems and were not always the most compliant, they demanded some attention and care, and sometimes they even bothered those around us, but they were small things that did not matter, since all these attitudes are due (and should) to the innocence and genuineness proper to these ages. Some of them more closed and timid, and others more confident and fearless; some more well behaved and others more rebellious; some younger and some older, but all of them with one very visible purpose: to enjoy everything well
time and have fun.

During the five days of work, the second, fourth and fifth were the days of staying in the Sassoeiros Football Club building, with occasional exits to the park, while the Tuesday and Friday were dedicated to the farthest exits, where we passed the majority of the day (approximately 8/9 hours). In the days gone by "at home" the children alternated between: being at the gym playing on the phone, playing table football, playing cards and taking morning and afternoon snacks; and to carry out the most diverse activities, now with more space, in the Club pavilion, where they could practice various sports (futsal, handball, volleyball, athletics, etc ...) and other common games like "kills", playing with bows, jumping rope, among others. The exits were the days where, in addition to both volunteers and the monitors we had to redouble our attention and care because of exposure to various hazards, children had more freedom and space to have fun and learn to do other things, such as to dive from the plank of Monsanto's pool, or even to overcome some fears, like entering the cold water of the river beach of Olhos d'Água in Alcanena.

I also had the privilege of working and living with two children with special needs, Tomás and Gaspar. Both demanded more patience and almost constant attention on my part, but what is fact is that those differences that outwardly and a priori could have in relation to the other children did not occur, and the many moments that I spent with the two were moments of joy and also of learning, because they showed me that there is much beyond what you see.

If I could, by way of conclusion, take stock of all that I learned and that today I am different from what it was on July 2, 2018 I would say that: I learned what it is to have a work routine; I improved something that I think I already had, the spirit of group work; although I have always enjoyed children, I have learned how to guide them and I have come up with the best approaches to dealing with their problems and helping them with their needs; I have acquired the ability to be always alert and to keep this attention for several hours. I realized that together I am able to go further both at work and on other occasions, so that my colleagues and the monitors of the Sassoeiros Football Club have been so important and it is they that lead me to the great difference that I can take from this last month, that goes beyond the job itself: I have created bonds and related to fantastic people, which I will be happy to meet again, whether in professional or day to day situations.

In conclusion, I only have positive things to take away from my experience in the Sports Holidays program, and I think I speak for all my colleagues when I say that I did not change this month for something else. And I say this because just look at the training session that ran before all of this, and then look at the timing of the assessment, where the differences are more than visible. At first, although both I and my colleagues were extroverts, there was still a lack of "at ease" and a certain shyness, something that was not seen in the last session of all, where everyone interacted, smiled and showed all the good disposition within him. I can say then, and without any doubt, that we are all different people (for the better) after having worked on the Vacations in Sports program, each one in its respective project, because this work taught us new things, improved aspects already we were good, and added a valuable experience to the future of the people who here had the privilege of working.