Poland boys, girls soccer players face each other in Financial Soccer before regional games
Nov. 3, 2017
Members of the Poland Central School District Section III Class D championship boys and girls varsity soccer teams who are in business teacher Mark Kall’s career and financial management class faced each other in Financial Soccer, an online game sponsored by Visa, on Friday, Nov. 3, the day before their regional games on Saturday, Nov. 4. From left: 10th-grader Carliza Roark, 10th-grader Leah Basel, 11th grader Madison Hampston, 10th grader Victoria Rommel, 12th-grader Patrick “P.J.” Mahoney, 10th-grader Tanner Allen, 10th-grader Ethan Satterlee and 12th-grader John Zuchowski.
POLAND – The day before they play in the regionals on Saturday, Nov. 4, some Poland boys and girls varsity soccer players squared off with each other in a game of Financial Soccer in their career and financial management class.
Poland business teacher Mark Kall’s first period class on Friday, Nov. 3, served as the neutral site for this friendly competition. Members of the Section III Class D championship boys team and Section III Class D championship girls team stood in front of the classroom and used a SMART Board to answer questions in Financial Soccer, which is an online game sponsored by Visa.
“I just thought it was timely,” Kall said. “They’re both playing Saturday, and they both reached the pinnacle of our region by winning sectionals. And now they’re going their separate ways, but they support each other. They go to each other’s games and would be at each other’s games if they weren’t both playing at about the same time.”
The Poland girls varsity soccer team plays against Delhi at noon on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Oneonta Wright National Soccer Fields. The Poland boys varsity soccer team plays against South Kortright at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Herkimer College.
Kall occasionally uses Financial Soccer in his financial management classroom as a change of pace and fun way to deliver instruction and stimulate learning.
The girls soccer players in the class are 10th-grader Carliza Roark, 10th-grader Leah Basel, 11th grader Madison Hampston and 10th grader Victoria Rommel. The boys soccer players in the class are 12th-grader Patrick “P.J.” Mahoney, 10th-grader Tanner Allen, 10th-grader Ethan Satterlee and 12th-grader John Zuchowski.
Financial Soccer is played by answering multiple choice finance questions. Correct answers allow teams to dribble and pass down the field and shoot on goal, but an incorrect answer results in a steal or kick out of bounds. Penalty kicks are taken with true of false questions, and the opposing team has a chance to block the kick with a correct answer. The results are played out on a virtual soccer field on the screen.
The girls won the first Financial Soccer game via penalty kicks, and they won the second game by one goal in regulation. After class, boys team members began a good-natured debate about what would happen if the two teams played each other on the soccer field.
In May, Kall’s 15 career and financial management students will take the Working In Support of Education Financial Literacy Certification Test, a nationally certified financial literacy exam administered to high school students in 43 states. Last year, nearly 90 percent of Poland students taking the class also passed the certification exam.
Kall had current students take a pre-test, and the class about half of the answers correct, but that’s because they’re only on the second of six topics, so they’re on track, he said.
The questions in Financial Soccer are similar to those that will be on the exam, so the experience helps students learn the information, Kall said. There also is a practice website for the exam.
“By the time we’re done, almost all of them should pass,” Kall said.
Members of the Poland Central School District Section III Class D championship boys and girls varsity soccer teams go against each other in Financial Soccer on Friday, Nov. 3, in business teacher Mark Kall’s career and financial management class, the day before their regional games on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Poland Central School District boys varsity soccer players Tanner Allen (left) and Ethan Satterlee, both 10th-graders, participate in Financial Soccer on Friday, Nov. 3, in business teacher Mark Kall’s career and financial management class. Members of the Section III Class D championship boys and girls varsity soccer teams who are in the class faced each other in Financial Soccer, an online game sponsored by Visa, the day before their regional games on Saturday, Nov. 4.