cow lips), the TRIAD group would split into their individual areas of expertise. In this case, Hesmer, along with MLS pool goalkeeper Andrew Kartunen, would be off to meet with local soccer organizations for coaching clinics and youth camps. The mornings were spent with the coaches and the afternoons were spent running drills with the kids.
"With the coaches, we would discuss things such as leadership qualities, how to organize an effective practice, positional qualities, formations and things like that," Hesmer explained. "These coaches love soccer and were so passionate during these discussions. Case in point, two coaches argued vigorously over whether a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1 was the best formation. It was a lot of fun being a part of a group of people that cared so much about the game."
As the tactical argument ran its course, Hesmer chimed in with a few thoughts of his own. "My point was that no matter what formation you feel is best, ultimately the players you have - and the strengths and weaknesses of those players - dictate the formation you should play."
The players themselves were as passionate as the coaches. The youngsters oozed raw talent that was in desperate need of further refinement. "The kids were very, very good players with the ball, but struggled with the tactical side," Hesmer said. "There was very little attempt to combine or defend as a team, and virtually everything was a 1-vs.-1 duel."
In Hesmer's mind, this is likely due to the lack of structure. "Organizationally, things are total chaos," he observed. "Kids have to walk over 15 kilometers to get to the fields, so basically the first two teams that are ready to play get to play. Teams usually only have one ball, and most of the kids play barefoot on a cow pasture covered in cow dung."
Cow dung. There are some things the mind's eye can't un-see.
"Every time a child would run barefoot through the cow dung with no concern or care, it was hard to watch," he said. "It was a constant reminder that no matter how much we may complain about the shape of some of our facilities, we've got it pretty darn good."
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In between the morning talks with the coaches and the afternoon activities with the children, a doctor from the TRIAD Trust group would then meet with the adults to discuss HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, including how HIV enters the body, how to prevent HIV, as well as debunking some of the myths that surround HIV. These are very important topics in South Africa. According to a July 2008 study by the World Health Organization, it is estimated that 5.7 million South Africans carry the HIV virus, and that the nation suffers 1,000 AIDS-related deaths each and every day.
"The shocking part for me was what many of these adults believed to be true about HIV," Hesmer said. "So it was very important that we gave them the right information, so they can apply these facts not only for themselves, but also pass them along to the youth that they impact every day as soccer coaches."
Hesmer learned that one of the biggest problems with trying to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Africa is that many people do not know their HIV status. "In the area we were at, it is estimated that roughly 40 percent of the people have HIV/AIDS, but it is impossible to get a true mark because most people refuse to be tested," he said.
To Americans, it must seem like madness that people do not get tested. After all, there are legally licensed drivers on our roads who weren't even born when Magic Johnson made his shocking 1992 announcement that he was HIV-positive. With treatment, there is life after HIV.
Nevertheless, knowledge remains a crucial barrier in South Africa. The most common reason Hesmer heard people give for refusing an HIV test is that they are not mentally prepared to hear that they are HIV-positive. "It is an understandable mindset," he said. "But it's one that we tried to comfort by letting them know that it is possible to live a long, healthy life with HIV as long as you make the appropriate lifestyle changes. This was something that most people had never heard to be possible.
"The lack of education was extremely surprising, considering HIV/AIDS kills so many of their loved ones each year. I think that it's something that people need to know exists because I, for sure, was unaware that the problem was as bad as it was. I think the more education and support we can bring them, the better their communities, villages and nation will become."
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While his trip with TRIAD Trust was a humanitarian mission, Hesmer was able to embark on two great adventures on his personal time. A Discovery Channel junkie who watches African wildlife documentaries "intently and in their entirety," he was not about to let the possibility of an African adventure or two slip through his hands once he was already on the continent.
"I have always dreamed of going on a safari," he revealed. "One day, we were able to head up to Kruger National Park. It's an area roughly the size of New Jersey, from what I was told, and it is filled with lions, leopards, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, elephants, buffalo, antelope, warthogs, baboons...all in the wild."
Hesmer couldn't believe his luck when, just as they pulled into the park, a leopard appeared in the brush, just five yards from their truck. "It was almost as if on cue," he said. "Mind you, leopards are very rare to see in the wild and, more importantly, this was an open truck with a canopy, so there was nothing but air separating you from a wild leopard that was staring directly at you. It was an incredible moment. We saw all of the big five - lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and cape buffalo - but that moment where the leopard was staring directly at us sticks out as the most exciting part of the day."
Staring down a leopard is one thing, but for a guy who calls Shark Week "by far the best week on television each year," a ferocious feline was nothing but a warm up for his dream face-to-face encounter with a great white shark.
"After the trip was over and our work with TRIAD was done, I traveled down to Cape Town because I heard it was a 'must visit' while in South Africa," he said. "But mostly I went to Cape Town because it is home to the greatest population of great white sharks on the planet: Dyer Island, the home of shark alley. Being the shark lover that I am, I decided that it would be a good idea to schedule a day of shark diving."
Some may suggest that Frankie Hejduk goes shark diving every time he paddles his surf board in the Pacific Ocean, but Hesmer's set-up was a little more involved. He and his fellow divers were loaded into a cage that was 8 feet tall, 10 feet long, and 3 feet wide. Basically, it's about what size the packaging would be if sharks could buy humans at the grocery store.
As the cage is lowered just below the water's surface, a rope-tied tuna head floats in the water in close proximity to the cage. Seemingly out of nowhere, a one-ton killing machine silently glides its 15-foot frame across the front of the cage, mere inches from the be-snorkeled onlookers. It's at that moment that people learn that the Discovery Channel can only do so much to convey the majesty of these jagged-jawed beasts.
"The lions and leopards were cool, but nothing compared to coming face to face with a Great White," Hesmer marveled. "It was by far the coolest thing I have ever done."
Hesmer's off-season has been anything but relaxing. The Crew's MLS Cup run took his season through the end of November, and he was called into U.S. National Team training camp at the beginning of January. Due to his humanitarian work with TRIAD Trust, his off-season down time was limited to just a couple of weeks at home for the holidays. Hesmer has no regrets.
"It was a quick turnaround after the championship," he said, "but it was totally worth it."
So forget the beach, the lounge chair and that bikini-clad waitress. With his HIV and soccer work, as well as his safari and shark-diving adventures, William Hesmer found both purpose and pleasure while in Africa.
[NOTE: For photos and some brief shark diving clips, please visit the Crew's official blog, The Black & Gold Standard. http://blackandgoldstandard.com/?p=917 ]
Steve Sirk is a contributor to TheCrew.com. He can be reached at sirk65@yahoo.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
