Author: Brittany

Last year, Coastal Outreach Soccer launched the Opportunity Cup—a first-of-its-kind event in Brunswick that blended soccer, education, and mentorship to empower Black and Brown student-athletes from low-to-moderate income families. The inaugural Cup drew students, families, coaches, and community partners together for futsal games, tailgates, a 3v3 tournament, and an HBCU recruitment clinic.

One unforgettable moment came when the new outdoor lighting at the COS fields was switched on for the very first time. For our players, it meant more than just evening soccer—it symbolized possibility, progress, and a brighter future for the entire community.

This December, we’re back—and bigger. The 2nd Annual Opportunity Cup builds on that success with more teams, more community involvement, and even greater reach. The vision remains the same: to use soccer as a vehicle for opportunity, community-building, and personal growth.

Highlights of the 2025 Opportunity Cup will include:

• Parent Engagement Nights featuring student presentations on engineering and design projects.
• An Alumni vs. COS Showcase Game connecting past and present players.
• A Community Futsal Fest with youth games, vendors, contests, prizes, and family fun.
• The 3v3 Tournament returning for high-energy competition.
• HBCU Recruitment Clinics & Career Panels, giving student-athletes exposure to college coaches and conversations about opportunities beyond the field.
• A brand-new College Fair—stay tuned to find out which of our university and HBCU partners will be attending.

The Opportunity Cup is more than a tournament—it’s a celebration of resilience, creativity, and community. From the kickoff to the closing ceremony, the Cup creates space for student-athletes to shine both as players and as future leaders.

As COS founder and director Shawn Williams reminds us: “This event proves that soccer can open doors. It’s about giving our kids the skills, the confidence, and the network to succeed in every part of life.”

Join us in December for the 2nd Annual Opportunity Cup. Whether you’re a player, parent, partner, or fan, there’s a place for you on this journey.

How to Get Involved: Register your team, volunteer, sponsor, or donate today to help us make opportunity possible for every child in our community.

By LAUREN MCDONALD lmcdonald@thebrunswicknews.com

Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation plans to award a record-setting total of grants this year to local organizations that work directly with the area’s most vulnerable population.

Twenty-four organizations in Camden, McIntosh and Glynn counties will receive a total of $170,988 from the foundation’s Community Impact Grant initiative.

The initiative focuses on organizations that provide a variety of critical, innovative and effective services to at-risk youth and the adults who care for them.

This $170,988 amount represents the largest number and highest total of grants in the foundation’s history for the annual competitive grant program. The foundation budgeted $75,000 for 2022, and fundholders and friends contributed the remaining $95,988.

“Our comprehensive internal review process indicated that there were more qualified organizations providing critical services to this vulnerable population than we had budgeted for,” said Paul White, president and CEO of the foundation. “Many of our fundholders rely on us to help them maximize the impact of their philanthropy. When we reached out to our fundholders apprising them of this opportunity, they responded and the gap was covered in less than 48 hours.”

In addition to donor-advised and field of interest grant-making throughout the year, CCGF annually conducts a competitive grant cycle that targets specific areas of need and opportunity across the three-county region.

Strengthening the services and partnerships of local, not-for-profit service organizations is part of the foundation’s mission.

First-time awardees this year are Forward Brunswick in Glynn County, which plans to establish a Brunswick MathTalk Trail; the football academic program at Glynn Academy; the Ravens of Elijah Food Ministries in Camden County, which hosts a weekly drive-thru giveaway; the social services program offered by the Salvation Army in Glynn and McIntosh counties; and Seaside Summer Enrichment Programs in Glynn County.

Other awardees include the Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Georgia, which plans to fund a literacy academy in McIntosh County; Camden House for a teen skills building program; and the Camden Community Family Center for a nurturing parenting program.

Awards will also go to Children In Action (CIA) Sports Club for a mobile outreach program and Barnabas Club, Coastal Outreach Soccer for an academy program, Communities in Schools for a workforce readiness program and floating site coordinator and CASA for training, security and virtual program software.

The Golden Isles Youth Orchestra plans to fund its e-music program. Hope 1312 Collective will put the grant toward its Chosen in Home Caregiver Coaching and Replanted Conference. Morningstar Children & Family Services will use grant funds for its supportive employment program.

Ferst Readers will use grant funds for childhood literacy programming. The Gathering Place will fund its college tour program. Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association plans to use the money for its Penguin Project program.

Other grant recipients are Safe Harbor Children’s Center, Social Opportunities and Active Recreation (SOAR) St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, St. Mary’s Little Theatre, STAR Foundation and YMCA of Coastal Georgia.

By LAUREN MCDONALD lmcdonald@thebrunswicknews.com

One of Coastal Outreach Soccer’s first participants recently crossed the graduation stage and returned home with a college degree and a plan to continue supporting the program that’s lifted him up.

Jaelin Williams graduated in May from Fisk University with a degree in business management. While at Fisk, he played for the school’s collegiate soccer team.

He’s working now with Coastal Outreach Soccer as the program’s STEM director while looking forward to future opportunities to play soccer.

Williams is one of several COS alumni who’ve attended Fisk University, and he’s the second among the original group of COS players to graduate from college.

While injuries and COVID-19 created some interruptions in play opportunities at Fisk, Williams has also had the chance in recent years to play for the Bahamas men’s national team.

Reflecting on the past several years, Williams said he’s grown as both a player and leader. He’s excited to continue serving as a mentor for COS players.

“I know that it’s not just for me, but it’s basically paving the way for the younger COS players, showing them that we all grew up here, we all came up through this program and now this is one of the final results,” he said. “This is something that you can accomplish and achieve.”

As STEM director, Williams helps build some of COS’s academic programming, which is paired with soccer to create a holistic enrichment program for students.

COS was founded in 2004 with the goal of helping students graduate from high school and be prepared for future success. The program has grown and expanded over the years through community partnerships and donors but has maintained its core mission of serving students through athletics and academics.

Williams encouraged the community to continue supporting the program.

“It works,” he said.

His father, Shawn Williams, founder of COS and executive director for the program, said his son’s recent accomplishment is the kind of success that’s been envisioned for COS participants since the beginning.

“When we started this program in 2004, we were looking ahead to see how our interaction and development, giving young men a good support system, how that would impact their lives,” he said. “We had the goal of having them graduate from high school while giving them an opportunity to play collegiate soccer and then also ultimately attain their degree and reduce the cost of that education experience through academic and athletic scholarships.”

This is further evidence that the approach COS takes will lead to success for participants, he said.

“This is a moment for our program that we are very proud of,” Shawn Williams said. “The goals and missions are being fulfilled by these student athletes.”

No sport has exploded in popularity in the last 30 years in America like soccer. What was once a sport squarely on the fringe of the mainstream has become on par with such staples as basketball and baseball. It hasn’t reached the levels of football — the American kind — in the United States, but its popularity continues to trend upwards.

The Golden Isles is among the places where the sport thrives. At the high school level, Glynn Academy and Frederica Academy’s boys and girls squads are routinely among the best in their classification, and Brunswick High is starting to develop the players needed to compete.

Then, of course, is Morgan Brian Gautrat. The Frederica alum dominated with the Knights, was a star at Virginia and a member of two U.S. World Cup champion teams. She’s currently a midfielder for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League.

Even with a World Cup champion hailing from the Isles, it is possible that the biggest impact soccer has made on our community is in a nonprofit organization looking to help kids in need. That is what Coastal Outreach Soccer has done since it was started as an after-school program nearly 17 years ago. The organization has grown immensely, leading to moments like Thursday when it held a grand opening for a new futsal court in Perry Park. Futsal is a form of indoor soccer played between two teams of five.

Funding for the project came from a matching one-for-one grant through the Atlanta United Foundation’s Georgia 100 project. Atlanta United is among the most popular teams in Major League Soccer.

COS had to match the funds raised, collecting $100,000 for the project to go with $67,500 from the United. Raising that amount of money shows how much the community is behind the work COS is doing. Former Brunswick High football star and NFL defensive back Darius Slay is among the program’s biggest believers as he often donates his time and money to the cause.

Coastal Outreach Soccer isn’t just about soccer. The program also helps the athletes with their academic goals. The program’s athletes have a 100 percent graduation rate since 2014, with many receiving academic and athletic scholarships for college.

We are grateful for the work that COS founder and executive director Shawn Williams and all of the program’s volunteers have done to make this organization so successful. It has benefited the Isles in ways that are both visible, like the new court, and invisible, like making sure kids who might have slipped through the cracks graduate on time. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for the organization and the soccer players it produces.

By Atlanta United Communications

BRUNSWICK, GA. —The Atlanta United Foundation opened the first mini-pitch of the GA 100 campaign in Brunswick, Georgia, on Thursday, which was granted to Coastal Outreach Soccer (COS), a nonprofit organization that provides academic and athletic programming to underserved youth in Brunswick and Glynn County in southeast Georgia. The mini-futsal court is set in Brunswick’s Perry Park and will benefit more than 300 students within COS’s program and the community at large.

GA 100 is a state-wide campaign, created by the Atlanta United Foundation and in partnership with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), with the goal of constructing up to 100 mini-pitches in underserved communities across Georgia leading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“This is an exciting moment for the GA 100 campaign, Coastal Outreach Soccer and underserved youth across the state of Georgia,” said Atlanta United President Darren Eales. “Opening the first mini-pitch in Brunswick embodies GA 100’s mission of improving access to the sport for underprivileged children, while also demonstrating the club’s commitment to reach out to all corners of the state. The Atlanta United Foundation and LISC continue working together to identify areas throughout Georgia in need of safe and reliable pitches, and we plan to open many more in 2022 and the years leading into the World Cup.”

Atlanta United players Brad Guzan, Thiago Almada, George Campbell and Machop Chol attended the grand opening, along with Brunswick city officials and NFL cornerback Darius Slay, a Brunswick-native and COS supporter. Atlanta United’s camps and clinics staff was on-site to facilitate drills and experience the new playing surface with students. The club’s street team also brought a matchday atmosphere to Brunswick with games and prizes for the students and members of the community in attendance. Each player received a soccer ball, futsal shoes and headphones donated by JLab Audio.

“We’ve already seen the positive effects of building this futsal court in the Brunswick community and Perry Park specifically,” said Shawn Williams, executive director of Coastal Outreach Soccer. “GA 100 has allowed children who live in this area the opportunity to develop their soccer, academic and leadership skills. This mini-pitch has also helped encourage the city government to renew its commitment to the community by dedicating resources to improve the appearance of the park. Within two weeks of starting activities on the futsal court, we’ve increased the number of young girls participating from one to 22.”

The futsal hardcourt is situated in Brunswick’s Perry Park and was constructed on a vacant tennis court. The pitch was built in the heart of a neighborhood that includes subsidized apartment complexes, public housing units and an elementary school with 96% of its student population receiving free or reduced lunch. The central location of the GA 100 pitch is within walking distance for many students, and it will benefit more than 300 kids from Brunswick and Glynn County that COS serves through its year-round after school programming in the areas of soccer, academics and leadership.

Since the start of construction on the GA 100 pitch, the city of Brunswick has commenced several more improvement projects in Perry Park. Parents and students from COS also helped volunteer during the construction of the new pitch.

Coastal Outreach Soccer was founded in 2004 and began as an in-house recreational level soccer program with 15 first generation soccer players and coaches. Today, COS serves hundreds of students, and its teams play at a competitive level against clubs with more resources and larger player pools. However, the program has achieved success on the field, winning the Georgia Recreation and Parks District titles in 2011 and 2012. Off the field, educational mentoring is the core of the program that helps players stay academically on-track and enables players to earn athletic scholarships after graduation.

The Atlanta United Foundation awarded $1.5 million to LISC to lead installation of the first 20 mini-pitches across the state. With this funding, LISC – the nation’s leading community development support organization – identified local, nonprofit and community-based agencies wishing to build or refurbish mini-pitch fields at schools, neighborhood parks and other recreation spaces in underserved Georgia neighborhoods. The local organizations receive financing and technical assistance to improve the quality and safety of mini-pitch fields in their communities. The organizations then oversee the construction, maintenance and programming of the fields.

The campaign, which kicked off in 2020, has made grants to 14 neighborhood organizations and has 16 mini-pitches now in development or completed.

The Atlanta United Foundation and LISC recently announced the newest recipients of grants for the GA 100 campaign and plans to announce the next round of grants this summer. Nonprofit organizations, along with schools and parks, can apply for a grant beginning April 1 by clicking here. To learn more about GA 100, visit atlutd.com/ga100.