Puerto Vallarta March 2021 (Part 1)
I arrived in Puerto Vallarta at my usual apartment and Victor picked me up. On the journey, we began talking shop… our programs and foundations, etc. He told me about the exciting plans he had for the future: a community center with a turf field where kids can learn on and off of the pitch. It was immediately clear to me that he cared deeply about his community. As we drove down familiar streets towards the practice field, he greeted everyone on the side of the street and they would greet him with the same enthusiasm.
“I told them, this week we’re having a surprise guest, a professional trainer, an expert…they were so excited for practice,” Victor said with his car window down.
He created the league so the kids could play on the weekends, featuring Coach Memo’s team we had worked with a month prior. I was telling him about our training session in February, recalling the two tattered soccer balls he had – two for an entire team of 30+.
“We knew that some of the kids were struggling in class and in life. We wanted to teach them values like respect, punctuality, etc.. We thought how can we reach them? What platform do we have?” Victor added.
We began speaking about Coach Memo’s team, which was co-ed. He spoke more about the machismo culture and how important it was to integrate and encourage co-ed participation at a young age.
“For so long, it was just the boys playing. The girls were supposed to just watch, but they wanted to play too,” he continued.
We have community leaders who are champions of equality and accessibility, female coaches and female referees.
“So much of who we become and who we want to become is from who and what we see. If a young girl sees a female coaching or a female refereeing one of our matches, she thinks to herself, ‘I can do that too’,” he added.
One player called Victor on the way, saying he couldn’t come to practice because his cleats were torn.
“Just wear any tennis shoes you have,” said Victor.
“I can’t, Coach, all I have are my dress shoes for school and my mom won’t let me wear or dirty those at practice,” the player continued. Immediately, I knew Victor and I needed to collaborate again because we have a stockpile of cleats and gear back home.
We got to the field around 4:20 and there were already 25-30 kids kicking around. “Practice starts at 4:30, but I told them to get here at 4:15,” Victor said. Punctuality. He wasn’t kidding, and the kids, they took it seriously because they wanted an opportunity to play
“If you’re early, you’re on time… if you’re on time, you’re late amigo ya tú sabes,” I responded
“We have rules in place. If kids want to play in games they need to show up to practice. Attendance has improved greatly. Those rules apply off the field too, encouraging good behavior in the classroom, community, and more. “We wanted.. we needed a way to motivate these kids. Soccer became that way.” Victor said
During our 30 minute scrimmage some girls were sitting out. “Are they not playing?” I asked. “No, they missed practice earlier this week, so today they are substitutes,” Victor said. Rules are rules, and they’re taken very seriously here.
After a series of questions during the water break about what fun game we were going to play next, I decided it was time for a fan favorite. We played mano o cabeza with the kids laughing and smiling the whole time.
“Did your group enjoy that game?” I asked Victor. “They loved it man we had so much fun,” Victor replied.
He told me at school, the kids learn about responsibility, which includes having them clean the classrooms. “We can hire staff to do it, but this encourages accountability and community ownership with the kids,” Victor added.
As expected, this translated onto the field as well. As we were leaving practice, a group of kids were hanging back with a large garbage bag, filled with plastic bottles and other loose trash they had collected from the field, making sure to respect the field they shared with so many other teams. This is the power of soccer and team sports. Kids learn more than fancy tricks. They learn practical skills for life, which translate into the classroom and into the real-world.
After the games and drills, we distributed prizes, which included drawstring backpacks, bracelets, and of course soccer balls. I set a few aside because I saw a few kids watching our practice off to the side. As we distributed equipment to the players, Victor kept his eyes on those four kids, all watching intently.
He approached me, “We have some extra mini soccer balls. Is it okay if we give them to these guys? I know they were meant for our team, but I don’t mind if you don’t!”
“Of course amigo!” I said knowing he was all-in for his community. You could just tell he was someone who wanted to see others succeed.
We were driving home and he saw one of his players walking. He knew this boy’s house was quite far.
“Get in,” he said, with a smile on his face.
The boy smiled, almost as if in relief, and hopped into the back seat. Apparently the boy grew up playing with the team, but his family had since moved far from las colonias. The boy still wanted to play with his friends so he would make the long walk three times a week for practice and games.
Victor realized the power soccer had and from there it was full steam ahead, just like Around the Worlds.
“They’re great kids,” I told him.
“They really are”, he said softly, but proudly. “Obviously we have a couple jokers, they’re kids after all, but it’s all good fun. They treat each other really well. They’re well-behaved”.
