Sarasota · Bradenton · Lakewood Ranch
Help children learn to think for themselves, find their confidence and feel they belong. Soccer is our outdoor classroom.
“Playing outside should be a subject at school.”
Johan Cruyff
Cruyff Foundation · Schoolyard14 ↗
Research that gives us purpose
Movement, thinking and thoughtful teaching belong together. Research helps explain why our outdoor classroom matters.
SOCCER + COGNITION · RANDOMIZED SCHOOL STUDY
“Participation in ‘FIFA 11 for Health’ for Europe improved performance in tests of attention, working memory and psychomotor function.”
Children in a program combining soccer and health education improved their test speed more than children doing usual school activities.
Lind and colleagues · European Journal of Sport Science, 2018 ↗FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY · CHILD DEVELOPMENT
In a FIU pilot, 21 adolescent soccer players received two weeks of psychological-skills training. They reported greater confidence in their decision-making afterward.
The study measured confidence, not cognitive-test performance. It offers a useful direction for teaching mental skills through sport.
Gomez Souffront, Everett & Kostrna · AASP, 2023, p. 9 ↗Thinking while moving
Before a pass comes a decision. Children read the space, remember a plan and respond when the game changes. Thoughtful coaching turns those moments into practice for a growing mind.
Find a teammate. Notice the pressure. Pay attention to what matters while the world keeps moving.
Weigh the options, choose a pass and explain why. A question from a coach invites a child to reason.
Pause after a mistake. Manage frustration. Change the plan. The next moment offers another chance to learn.
From research to the field
An FIU trial with 45 preschoolers with behavioral difficulties found greater gains in executive functioning when an intensive summer program included explicit emotional-learning and self-regulation activities.
Paulo Graziano and Katie Hart’s work gives us a practical lesson: make learning intentional, and help children practice it.
Graziano & Hart · Journal of School Psychology, 2016 ↗These findings come from other programs and guide our approach; they are not measurements of LWR FC participants. Read the study details ↓
“The social nurtures the brain. The joy nurtures the brain. The physical activity nurtures the brain.”
Our purpose
Every child deserves a place to belong, people to count on and opportunities to grow.
Lakewood Ranch Foundation for Children grew from our soccer club’s commitment to education and opportunity. Lakewood Ranch Futbol Club remains our flagship project.
We bring children together across backgrounds and work to remove barriers to participation. With caring coaches, the field becomes a place to ask questions, take responsibility and discover what is possible.
Confidence and character
Being known by a coach and welcomed by teammates matters. Soccer gives children shared challenges, friendships and opportunities to practice respect.
We want young people to leave the field with confidence to try, responsibility for their choices and care for the people around them.
9 years
1000+ kids helped
By 2019, just our second year as a nonprofit, we had already helped 27 children with over $39,000 in scholarships.
Imagine what we can do with your help.
Our 2019 scholarship milestone ↗Your part in the story
Your gift helps fund education, coaching, fields and gyms, equipment, and of course scholarships: the people, places, and means that make this outdoor classroom possible.
Help more children have a place to play, learn and belong.
GIVE NOW Give your time or become a partnerWe use research to inform our educational direction. The studies below concern other programs and populations; they do not establish outcomes for LWR FC or imply an endorsement by their authors.
The 2026 FCC International Forum at FIU brought together researchers and practitioners around play, relationships and youth wellbeing.
