Luckily for Heather Betancourt, sports speak a universal language.

In July, Betancourt, a seventh grader at St. Sylvester School in Brentwood, will travel to Holland as a People to People Sports Ambassador for the 2006 Youth Friendship Games.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded People to People 50 years ago to bring people of different cultures together to promote world peace. Eisenhower believed citizens of different nations, if able to communicate directly, would solve problems and find a way to live in peace. The Youth Friendship games are an extention of the program aimed at getting young people involved.

Heather, who's been playing soccer since age 4, won't meet her team made up of teens from all over the world until the first day of practice -- four days before the tournament starts.

"In a video we saw about it, it has an Olympic village feel to it. The U.S. team was sitting with the Brazilian team," Jennifer Pribanic, Heather's mother, says.

Despite not knowing any of her future teammates or their languages, the congenial 12-year-old isn't worried about meshing with the group.

"I think it will be fun," Heather, a goalkeeper, says. "I get to meet more people and I like to meet people."

Meeting new people is exactly what Eisenhower had in mind when he founded People to People. He believed if people could visit each others' homes, attend their schools, and see their places of worship, misunderstandings and misperceptionswould disappear. He stressed that while all people are different, their values, goals, and day-to-day issues are the same.

Knowing her daughter was selected to represent America in a program dedicated to bettering the world has given Pribanic great joy.

"I'm very proud she was nominated. It hasn't fully hit me," she says.

Weston Hawley, Heather's coach in the Beadling Soccer League, nominated her for the program after working with her over the past year. Hawley knew the young girl's drive and dedication to the sport would make her an ideal player.

"She was always interested in soccer. She's very competitive and she's doing really well," Pribanic says.

Heather's competitive drive started at a young age. During her early days of soccer playing, Heather wasn't feeling challenged enough by the local teams. When she outgrew the girls groups at age 9, Heather joined the Brentwood Bulldogs and started playing with the boys.

"I give big credit to the coaches of the Bulldogs," Pribanic says. "They allowed her to play and were always so supportive of her."

Competing against boys wasn't an issue for the adrenaline-loving girl. The main reason she stays in soccer is the thrill she gets from defending the goal.

"It's dangerous," she says smiling.

At St. Sylvester, the Parent Teacher Guild is working to raise money for Heather's trip with a sale of scented pencils made from recycled paper, which student council will sell around Earth Day in the student store, said principal Kathleen Fox.

The group hopes to raise $250.

"We're really grateful they're doing something to help her," Pribanic says.

While in Holland, Heather's free time will be spent exploring Amsterdam on a floating canal excursion, riding a bicycle through the ancient fishing village of Volendam and the quaint town of Edam, wandering through outdoor fish and flower markets, enjoying Haarlem's colorful shops, and slipping through the secret passageway that hid Anne Frank from the Nazis for three years during WWII.

Her main mission, however, is to return to American with a pair of authentic Dutch clogs.

Anyone who would like to contribute to Heather's trip can send a check to People to People Ambassador Program, Dwight D. Eisenhower Building, 110 S. Ferrall St., Spokane, WA 99202. In the memo line, indicate delegate #790252.