Since Demitrius White relaunched in 2013 the inner-city youth soccer club he grew up playing for, which had folded seven years earlier, he has recently developed an aspirational motto that matches the organization’s foundational mission.

"The City We Unite," is the Milwaukee Simba Soccer Club refrain. It’s a mantra White has integrated into the team’s reincorporated identity, as not only a hashtag but a mindset and an encapsulation of its admirably ambitious aim: to use soccer as a tool to divert underserved urban, minority and low-income youth into an organized activity that promotes family values, health and education, as well as the sport.

That unity theme is evident in the diverse racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds of the kids and coaches on Simba’s various squads, as well as among the parents and volunteers on the sidelines and at the different camps, clinics, games and leagues the club organizes around the city.

Simba SC strives to make Milwaukee a better place, to make a difference – and, full disclosure, I’ve seen it make a difference firsthand, as both a player on the team before it folded and later as a coach after White revived it. And on June 17 it’s going to help bring even more people from around the city together, and also will be the beneficiary of a unique and positive event, along with a similar local organization, with a major assist from a former UW-Milwaukee soccer player and youth coach who saw a golden opportunity.

The first annual coed MKE City Soccer 3V3 Tournament is being held on Saturday, June 17 at Engelmann Field, UWM’s home pitch, 2033 E. Hartford Ave. All of the proceeds are benefiting Milwaukee Simba SC and Operation DREAM, a local youth mentoring program, and, just like those organizations, the tournament welcomes all skill levels, encouraging everyone to come out, play soccer, do some good and have a lot of fun.

The MKE City Soccer Tournament was the brainchild of Kirk Thode, a financial advisor and DREAM Eagles coach who was inspired by another philanthropic soccer tourney he saw in Chicago, called Jack Kicks Cancer, which concluded its 10th and final year in 2016. Thode talked to White and organizers there and decided that he wanted the legacy to live on in Milwaukee, but for a different cause.

While coaching within the inner-city soccer community, Thode and White have seen how having structure and learning the game has helped disadvantaged youth in their programs become more focused and mature, staying safe and out of trouble, gaining access to new opportunities.

Thode and White, who played for the original Simba club and used it to rise through Milwaukee’s soccer ranks in the late 1990s and 2000s, eventually playing professionally and for the Puerto Rican national team, recognized how much they’ve gotten from soccer and wanted to give back using the game they love.

_{Demitrius White (back middle) with one of the Simba teams.}

"Everything I do is for my kids," White says. "Kirk came to me and said what do you think of us doing something like (Jack Kicks Cancer) in Milwaukee with Simbas and DREAM. I was like, man, that sounds like a great idea, let’s do it, and then we pretty much ran with it."

After playing at UWM, Thode still had many connections in the athletic department – he also set up a tutoring program for Operation DREAM kids at the school – and thought the MKE City Soccer Tournament was the perfect way to get a good soccer-related community effort going, especially since he’s finding himself less able to be as deeply involved with DREAM.

"My life is changing pretty rapidly," says Thode, who’s been volunteering with DREAM Eagles for five years. "Business has grown a lot and is taking me away more, so I can’t do as much coaching. This was something that made a lot of sense."

Recently, thanks to Thode and White, Simba SC and Operation DREAM began partnering – training their kids at the same times, participating in clinics and events together – and the tournament idea started to took shape.

"I’ve known (White) for a while and I was looking at Simbas – there are so many synergies, even beyond just soccer or sports," Thode says. "There’s been a very collaborative approach between the two organizations."

_{Kirk Thode with an Operation DREAM team (via Facebook).}

Registration for the tournament is $50 per person, and Thode says 100 percent of the money raised is going to Simba SC and DREAM. He hopes the funds can help pay for transportation for the kids, help pay for coaches – nearly all of whom are volunteers – help the two soccer programs support each other and help him stay involved.

White says the proceeds can help his club "touch a lot more kids," and allow him to buy uniforms, equipment, practice time – "whatever the kids need." But, he notes, the tournament also will spread awareness of soccer in the inner city and is an opportunity to promote some of the initiatives of the organizations, which plan to continue working closely.

Simba SC aligns well with Operation DREAM’s mission of providing a structured environment that supports academic achievement, work training, family and community and health and fitness for Milwaukee’s at-risk youth. One of White’s main focuses is on getting kids to be active, "just doing something," he says, but the head coach and president is also excited to see the parents of his players on the pitch.

"A couple of the big things we struggle with in our community are obesity and diabetes," says White. "Our goal with parents in the Simba program is to increase awareness of having a better lifestyle – for them and for the kids. Soccer is a sport that unites people and brings people together. What would be more fun than parents and kids getting out there and playing together?"

Check-in for the MKE City Soccer 3V3 Tournament starts at 9 a.m., followed by opening remarks at 10:30, and then games kick off at 11:15. The rules allow for rosters of up to five people; one team’s three players compete against another three-person squad, with at least one female on the field at all times.

The games are shorter – 10 or 12 minutes – and competition progresses from pool play to playoffs to championships. The winning team’s players will have their names engraved on a traveling cup. While the tournament is geared more toward adults, kids can play too, and select Nike shoes will be on site for trial purposes.

Afterward, there will be an event, where participants can gather and mingle (presumably to talk trash and relive old glory days), as well as enjoy food and drinks.

"This is the first one of many," Thode says. "I’m hoping we get great community support and participation. It’s going to be a fun event, like a big soccer community reunion."

Register for the tournament here.