Alex Daley saw the impact that soccer had on other countries as he visited places like Bangladesh and Nepal and various spots in Europe. All it took was a soccer ball, and communities in impoverished areas were able to come together and find a common bond.
Daley was drawn by his experiences abroad and wanted to translate that to his home state of Minnesota. The Eagan native was also a college soccer player at St. Thomas University, so using soccer to make a change in the world seemed like a natural fit.
Daley's idea? Dribble a soccer ball across America.
That plan is still in the works as Daley and two friends have instead started their goal on a smaller scale. Beginning last Sunday, Daley has dribbled a soccer ball from International Falls near the Canadian border and worked his way south throughout the state. He's joined by two friends, Matt Scott and Tommy Hanlon, who serve as the photographer/videographer and the navigator, respectively.
Daley has made his trek through Minnesota at a 20-mile-a-day pace. On Friday, he took time for a phone interview before dribbling his way toward Grand Rapids. The goal of the journey is to raise money and awareness for his non-profit organization, Dribble Daily (dribbledaily.org), which aims to "transform urban decay into recreational green space in inner-city communities across the United States, specifically right now Minneapolis," Daley said.
Mile by mile, with a soccer ball at his feet, Daley is working his way toward that goal.
Dribbling a soccer ball the length of an entire state doesn't come without its challenges. In just five days, Daley, Scott and Hanlon have encountered their share of wild animals. There were bear tracks outside their tent one night, and the north woods of Minnesota are home to plenty of snakes and insects.
They're always on the lookout for oncoming traffic, too, which is tricky on narrow country roads. Then there are the roads that were originally part of the route but proved to be impassable due to weather or other conditions. Rain has also been a big part of the trip so far.
The 20 miles a day, Daley said, took about seven hours the first few days but he finished Thursday's leg of the trip in under five hours. For the first four nights the group stayed in tents but finally had their first host family on Thursday night in tiny Marcell, Minn. To keep costs down, they'll continue to either camp out or stay with host families. As they near the Twin Cities, Daley expects it to be easier to find places to stay.
But it will also present some logistical challenges when he's dribbling through bigger cities. The dirt roads of northern Minnesota are one thing, but it'll be a whole different situation as he gets farther south.
"I think we're realizing, even being up here, how dangerous it is being out on the road, especially with the ball. … We definitely have to probably take some back roads to get to the cities. It'll be a navigation challenge for Tommy."
While Daley is doing all the dribbling, Scott and Hanlon are often ahead on the route at gas stations or rest stops, planning their next day's trip. Earlier this week they tweeted a picture (@DribbleDaily) of one pit stop that involved charging a laptop in a gas station bathroom.
Whatever works.
"You've got to take about any opportunity you can to use electricity and those type of things to charge cell phones and laptops," Daley said. "Tommy and Matt spend a lot of time in gas stations and bathrooms and DNR places trying to get power and directions."
Daley said the support vehicle carries things like all the camping gear, clothes, extra water, protein bars and 10 additional soccer balls. He plans to use each ball until it's full worn out. The first ball has already reached that point in just five days.
With Scott and Hanlon usually ahead of him, things can get pretty monotonous for Daley while he's dribbling the soccer ball alone.
"I listen to music and try and keep my mind busy and not think about what your body's doing," he said. "It definitely is an internal mental battle."
There's no set goal for how much money the group hopes to raise with this trip, which should wrap up some time in mid-June at the Minnesota-Iowa border. The important thing, though, is to make a difference in their community, one mile at a time.
"We obviously want to raise as much money as we can," Daley said. "On a bigger scale, we look at this as a way to raise awareness for what we're trying to do with the mission of our non-profit, which is, in a nutshell, to make soccer more accessible to youth in inner-city communities like Minneapolis and St. Paul. …
"With the changing demographic, people in the United States and how diverse our country is, we believe that soccer can be that something to help unite communities."
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