When his playing career ended, Amir Lowery began coaching youth soccer in the city and quickly recognized a problem.
“D.C. wasn’t truly represented,” he recalled this week.
The players were mostly from private schools and higher socioeconomic circles in upper Northwest, a makeup that left potentially many talented kids behind.
“I had a sense,” Lowery said, “I could find some kids from the inner-city who maybe needed a look and could hack it with our team and grow into the system.”
From that experience three years ago, a nonprofit was born: Open Goal Project.