FC Tampa Bay and some of its players took part in the 2010 Great American Teach In on Thursday, November 18, at four schools around the Bay area. Jeremy Christie, Julian Valentin, Pascal Millien and Chad Burt were among thousands on Thursday who visited schools in Hillsborough County.
The Great American Teach In invites people from all different career backgrounds to the schools to talk with the students on the different careers available to them in the future.
The FC Tampa Bay players spoke with students ranging from 1st grade to 5th grade about what it took to get to the level they have reached and how important dedication and exercise was to that process.
 Jeremy Christie spoke at Westshore Elementary School with many groups, which included 1st, 4th and 5th graders who asked question after question about soccer and playing the sport.
“What did you have to do to be a soccer player,” asked a 1st grader, who had many questions written down in her notebook, to Christie. “A lot of hard work and practice on the field. It’s not something that happens overnight – I’ve been working on this since I was 14 years old. That’s more than 12 years of practice,” Christie replied to an in awe student who watched as he juggled a soccer ball while answering her.
Julian Valentin, who visited Westchase Elementary School, and Chad Burt, who visited Alafia Elementary, talked about the motivation and dedication it takes to become any kind of professional athlete and how important school plays into accomplishing your dreams.
“I really enjoyed the Great American Teach In. It’s great to interact with the kids and spend time playing a little soccer with them. I tried to impart to them how to achieve a life of balance, the importance of hard work and good grades, and why I have the best job in the world,” said Valentin.
The students at Deer Park Elementary were visited by Pascal Millien, who shared his story about Haiti and the obstacles he has overcome to be where he is today.
 “It was a pleasure to visit with the students. I feel blessed to have talked to the kids and had so much fun doing it,” said Millien. “I was impressed that most of the kids knew about the struggle of Haiti. That’s when I realized those kids are special and they know about the world around them. They just need our help to make it far in their future.”
FC Tampa Bay would like to thank the students and teachers at Westshore Elementary, Westchase Elementary, Deer Park Elementary and Alafia Elementary for letting FC Tampa Bay and the players speak with them and wish them luck in the rest of the school year.
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