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Behind the Stripes

Justice Smith

By Atlanta United FC

February 28^th, 2018

The moment you walk into the East Dekalb Boys and Girls Club, you’ll notice Justice Smith. He’s the one dancing and jumping up and down the halls. His mom, Linda, can’t help but smile.

“I’m so proud of him,” she says in her thick Jamaican accent, in between ever-present laughs. “He’s had to overcome so much.”

Justice is a kid that seemingly always has a smile on his face, but things haven’t always been this easy for him. Due to an accident in his early childhood, Justice lives with disabilities that leave him partially blind. Linda Smith adopted him from the foster care system and gave him a loving home, but he still struggled with confidence and self-esteem. But his life changed when he joined the Boys And Girls Club and discovered soccer.

“When he started I was thinking, ‘Goodness, how is he going to see the ball?’,” Smith says. “But he figured it out, and he got to liking it."

"Now whenever anyone comes to our house, he has to play soccer with them.”

Back in 2015, a grant from the Arthur M. Blank Foundation –– now under the umbrella of the Atlanta United Foundation –– brought a program called Soccer for Success into East Atlanta, a program that brings soccer programs to kids at least three times per week.

“I like coming to the Boys and Girls Club more now that we play soccer,” Justice says. “It made me fit and strong, and it’s fun too. I love dribbling the ball. I’ve played since I was 8 or 9 and now I’m 11.. I just love scoring goals.”

But Soccer for Success isn’t just about soccer, it’s just the hook to get kids engaged to be successful in life. Volunteers intersperse soccer drills with lessons about nutrition, mentorship and life to help build people, not only soccer players.

“An individual like Justice, it brings a lot of self-esteem to a lot of kids,” says East Dekalb Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Brandon Riley.

“He’s one of the leaders in our club. Because of sports like soccer, he’s always making sure he helps with the equipment, keeping kids in line. He’s always ready to come play when he gets off the bus. The kids respect Justice, they don’t pick on him or anything. He just loves playing.”

These days, Justice doesn’t lack self-esteem. When Atlanta United’s Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu visited the club, Justice setup a homemade goal in the field behind the building right away.

“I kicked the ball over Andrew’s head,” Justice says through a sly grin. “I loved showing him how to kick, I taught him a few things. He’s my favorite Atlanta United player.”

And more than anything, he lives to play soccer. During classes and on the weekends, he’s just waiting to get out on the pitch.

“He’s always asking if soccer is today, if it’s raining he’s ready to do it in the gym,” Riley says.

“When you have a kid like this who comes in and doesn’t worry about the world, he just loves being here, it makes our day easier because it means were making him happy.”

Justice is just another example of how the Five Stripes family extends well past the pitch, outside the stadium and beyond. The beautiful game is shaping the city, and changing lives one person at a time.