Soccer Diplomacy

     Army Private First Class Nick Maderas loved soccer. He also loved his country. When the 19-year-old was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, his father Bill Maderas remembered Nick's request to send soccer balls. The balls were a way for Iraqi children to view the Americans not as occupiers but as friends. Shortly afterward, the Kick for Nick Foundation was born.
     When local Legionnaire Ken Dartley learned of the request, a soccer ball collection net was placed on the lawn of Post 86 in Wilton, Conn in 2006. The post collects about 1,000 balls per year, which are shipped in care of the Kick for Nick Foundation to be used by the children of Iraq.
     "The troops will tell you how helpful it is to bond with the local population," Dartley said. "If you do something nice for my kid, you are my friend. Sometimes these kids will tell you where the bad guys and roadside bombs are."
     While Post 86 collects, stores and ships the balls donated at its home, donations to the Kick for Nick Foundation catapulted across the nation after ESPN televised a piece about it. Dartley encourages people to visit www.kickfornick.org to help expand support for children from Legion posts  everywhere.