Philadelphia ( CNN ) -- India Barnes charged a makeshift goal during Friday 's soccer practice . The 9-year-old 's blue and white uniform flapped at her back as she dodged past her teammates through a patch of dirt . She tried to score and was stopped short by a defender , before hustling downfield to try again . Following in the footsteps of her older brother , Barnes started playing soccer when she was 4 years old , for Coach Walter Stewart . `` I want to grow up and be a professional soccer player , '' Barnes gushed . Barnes and her teammates got together Sunday to watch the women 's World Cup finals with their coaches , who doled out pointers to their players over boxes of pizza . Gallery : Women 's World Cup final . Huddled on an oversized couch , the girls cheered on the U.S. team -- covering their faces during the infamous penalty kick phase . Stewart started coaching the all-girls team in 1998 with only eight players at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center in South Philadelphia . He began first as a volunteer boys ' baseball and soccer coach before launching the girls ' soccer club . Stewart oversees the urban program , whose players are mostly African-Americans competing against suburban teams and elite clubs . `` I do n't recruit and we 're not exclusive , '' Stewart said . `` It 's not like I went out and picked the girls . The program exists because the girls want to play and we happen to be in a predominately African-American neighborhood . '' The Anderson Monarchs are named after two very important role models : Marian Anderson , the great opera singer from Philadelphia , and Jackie Robinson 's 1945 Negro League team , the Kansas City Monarchs . Stewart walked away from partnership at a downtown Philadelphia law firm to become a fourth-grade teacher at a Catholic elementary school and to volunteer his out-of-school hours to introducing soccer to urban youth who otherwise might not have a chance to play . `` I just think everybody should have an opportunity to play . There are girls who want to play that may not get the opportunity in many parts of the country , and they can play , and they 're very good , '' he said . Although he has girls who want to play , the team plays with virtually no funding on a borrowed patch of field in urban Philadelphia that is overused , dotted with patches of dirt and at times littered with trash and even drug paraphernalia . `` There would be no team if it was n't for Coach Walt . It really is a labor of love . He does n't get paid and we can barely afford uniforms , '' said Jada Pennick , whose daughter , Cyndey , plays for the team . The players also face other obstacles . Many hail from neighborhoods that are rife with violence and drug use , that lack access to after-school activities . `` They deal with the challenges of inner-city living for black girls , and soccer is n't that popular socially , '' said Jafi Barnes , assistant coach . `` We deal with racism , social pressures , but it does teach them about life and brings them closer together . '' The Monarchs are n't just about soccer . Grades are just as important as picking up ball-handling skills -- or more so . `` The idea is to get to college . You ca n't play and you ca n't attend a Division I school without having the grades , '' Barnes said . `` This is about a lifestyle change . '' Barnes ' two stepdaughters , Marquise and Kiya , play for the Monarchs . His wife , Karea , said the program changed her daughters -- who never played soccer before -- for the better . `` They 're both straight-A students , they have perfect attendance , and soccer keeps them focused , '' she said . `` People should know about the hidden talent in cities across the country and reach people who have never played . '' The U.S. women 's soccer team may have lost to Japan , but it 's still inspiring this special team of inner-city girls who play soccer on a dusty field in urban Philly . `` They just want a chance to play , '' Stewart said . `` They 're no different than anybody else . ''
The Anderson Monarchs girls ' soccer team is part of an urban league in south Philadelphia . After leaving his legal practice , Walter Stewart started coaching the girls in 1998 . He has coached them for over 20 years and they are one of the most successful teams in the city with a record of 25 - 0. Despite its loss , the U.S. team has inspired the girls .