About two weeks passed since our last programming run, and it was time to get back out there. I hadn’t been to Mexico City (CDMX) in a while, so I decided to schedule a couple sessions there – hoping to bring my mother along. It would be her first time visiting this city, which has become like a second home for Around the Worlds. Throughout the pandemic, CDMX was one of the few places internationally that we could run programs, so I was excited to check-in with our past participants and allow my mom to be there on that journey.

I linked up with our familiar and very trusty community partners, Proyecto Cantera, and everything fell right into place. My main contact, Paula, laid out Proyecto’s schedule for the tail end of the week and the beginning of the next, simply telling me to advise her which ones looked good and we would go from there. The list included a few familiar groups, but I also saw a few I hadn’t had the chance to bring our curriculum to. I quickly settled on two new beneficiaries: Ednica Morelos and Afeeci.

I always talk about building upon past relationships and revisiting old beneficiaries, so I promise we did have one of those lined up for the end of this run of sessions, but things would be kicking off with some brand new faces, which I was certainly stoked about. With 50 Around the Worlds branded bags and nearly 50 shiny, brand new Puma soccer balls in tow – I began the journey to Mexico’s Distrito Federal.

Take your pick from the above items, I was sure to run into problems at customs, so Paula had been kind enough to write a personal note on behalf of Proyecto detailing our collaboration and what materials I would be bringing with me. Customs had apparently read the script ahead of time, because when I picked my bags up off the carousel, they were already tagged with slips saying “Secondary Inspection Required”. Not to worry, I put the bags on the agent’s table, opened them up, and passed over my signed document from Paula and the Proyecto Cantera team.

Reading it somewhere between thoroughly and not thoroughly at all, the agent gave me a nod and told me to zip my bags back up – I was free to go. I continued on my way, calling an Uber, an XL this time, because of the sheer amount of gear we had, to my apartment in a new-to-me part of the city, Tacubaya. I usually stay in La Condesa or Roma Norte when in Mexico City, but this place made the most sense economically, plus I’m always trying to explore different parts of the area. The neighborhood ended up being calm and tranquil, which is an often hard to come by feeling in a city as big and bustling as CDMX.

Paula passed along some pre-program details, inviting me to accept a Google event invitation, and asking me to sign some paperwork just to make sure we were aligned on their mission and vision statements. We’d worked together several times in the past, dating all the way back to September of 2020, but it’s always good to get a refresh and to make sure everything is done by the book.

Finally, Monday rolled around and we were ready to begin. I was told to prepare for 37 participants in this Monday group that would be spread across two classes. With 47 scheduled for Wednesday and another 25 or so on Thursday, you can imagine I was sweating at the thought of that many kids. It was all exciting stuff, the more the merrier as per usual. Luckily, the numbers were a bit more tame – our first session of the day would have around 12 and the second rounded out at just five, since kids were busy with school, events, and other scheduling conflicts.

Proyecto Cantera was holding their sessions in public spaces, just to add another layer of protection as COVID was still prevalent in Mexico City. As a result, we would be holding the two classes at a public park, under a beautiful tent providing plenty of shade. The first class began at 4 p.m., with the second one jumping off right after at 5 p.m. I pinned the park’s direction and we were on our way. During our near-45 minute drive, I chatted with our driver about soccer. He was a Cruz Azul fan, so we spent a good chunk of the trip talking about the league, Mexico’s World Cup aspirations, and more.

We were scheduled to arrive a bit early, but Mexico City’s traffic had other plans – this will unfortunately be a recurring theme throughout this entire week. I ended up arriving about five past the hour, which never makes me feel good. On top of that, I had no way of contacting any of Proyecto’s coaches and could not see any playing spaces or kids in sight. Turns out, they were stuck in traffic too! My stress was all for nothing! Eventually, they arrived at 4:15 and we got right into it with the first group. These participants were very young, just 4-8 years old if I had to guess, but they were a fun little bunch that’s for sure.

As per all our collaborations with Proyecto Cantera in the past, we would be bouncing drills off each other with the organization and I running a variety of activities. This was a way of taking the workload off of one another, while giving ourselves time to set up the next drill in the meantime. Having worked with Proyecto’s Coach Roberto and Coach Erik in the past, I was pleasantly surprised and excited to be working with two different coaches – Coach Liliana and Coach Abi. Coach Liliana led the ninos through a warm-up as I set up cones for our listening exercise.

We ran both variations of it, with the kids loving the activity more and more after each passing round. Once that had wrapped up, we broke into a throw-in and passing drill led by Coach Liliana. Coach Abi and I looked on as the kids were guided through proper technique for restarts of play and push-passes. With our late start, there wasn’t a whole lot of time left, so I quickly hit a round of mano o cabeza and since Proyecto is adamant on ending every practice with a cascarita or a scrimmage, we wrapped things up with a 6v6 reta. Once all was said and done and 5 o’clock drew near, we circled back in for a charla. Every kid got their pick of a new Puma soccer ball, which they carried with pride and glee. Coach Abi revealed a stack of green cards from her pocket, a staple in Proyecto’s programming. Basically, during a post-session talk, participants have an opportunity to award a tarjeta verde to one of their teammates or anyone else involved in the session. They can award them to someone for displaying good leadership qualities, sportsmanship, high-level skills and performance, or anything they find fitting.

I’ve always appreciated this, as it gives the kids an opportunity to lift each other up. After all, it costs us nothing and takes very little effort to tell someone they’re doing a good job or to express pride in an action more than deserving of the spotlight. As the kids had their names written on their new balls, they quickly filed out to enjoy the rest of the park as our next group entered the fray. A carbon copy of the previous session, Coach Liliana opened things up with a warm-up as I prepared our listening drill yet again.

Just like the first group, our second set, though much smaller, enjoyed the exercise greatly – with five straight minutes of shouting and giggling. From there, Coach Liliana took over with a ball control drill, having participants practice headers, volleys, push-passes and more. Not fighting against the clock nearly as much as the first session of the day, we ran that drill through its entirety before I broke the kids into some relay races. We hit every single one: stepovers, lateral jumps, zig-zags, dribbling, rollovers, and more. Then, we broke into mano o cabeza before a final 15 minute long scrimmage.

Once that was done, every kid received a new soccer ball as I circled them up to put their new resources into use.

“Alright guys, I have one last trick to teach you, watch me closely,” I said, throwing the ball high up into the air and catching it on the back of my neck. Using the back of my head, I flicked the ball back high into the air and let it come back down to earth, resting yet again on my neck. Then, with the ball still nestled there, I put my hands on the ground, doing three push-ups before standing back up, flicking the ball into the air one last time, and catching it in my hands.

“Wow!” yelled the kids, followed by a thunderous round of applause.

“Your turn now,” I said to them, “No way Profe!” they answered.

I reassured them to just follow my lead and we would do it together. They all followed me through each step, as Coach Liliana and Coach Abi helped gently place soccer balls on each child’s neck. One participant, the eldest boy in the session, even managed to do two push-ups before the ball toppled off onto the ground – still not bad though! What a great foundation to build from.

“Thank you for traveling desde lejos to teach us today,” said that same older boy from just before, the one who had managed to replicate my neck stall trick to near-perfection.

What a special start to a marathon-week of programming, and a promising sign of what’s to come for the remainder of our sessions here. 

“Proyecto Cantera – training for the future” was the message on each tarjeta verde and on every piece of apparel worn by their coaches, and a message they don’t take lightly, as seen today through these exemplary young athletes and their behavior both on and off the field.