Two weeks ago I was in Guadalajara and I was itching to get back with los niños. Honestly, I wanted to go back as soon as I got home. I reached out to my contact at Ministerios de Amor, who had been absolutely instrumental in coordinating all the previous collaborations between our two organizations.

Following a program with MDA in CDMX earlier this year, we discussed a few homes they had in Cuernavaca, a city in Morelos, a nearby Mexican state.  This was always going to be a challenge without a car or reliable means of transportation, but I was definitely determined to make it happen whenever the stars would align. 

With shared excitement on both ends, I quickly placed an order for about 80 new soccer balls to replenish our depleted stockpile, and began to finalize a few other details. When I arrived in CDMX, it was more of the same as our last run of programming there. I had to stop at customs to check my large bag of soccer balls, which was a common occurrence by now. Once I was through, I hopped into an Uber and began to chat with the driver about soccer. It was midday on Sunday and the Mexican National Team and the U.S. Men’s National Team were set to face-off later that night in the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League Championship. My driver was excited, as was I, though our allegiance laid on either side of la frontera.

The following day, I visited my local barber, Manuel, and all we talked about was Mexico vs. U.S.  It was a thrilling game, so of course there was a ton to dissect. Later that night, I hit a taco spot where… yep you guessed it… I talked more about the CONCACAF game. As I began to put salsa on my stack of tacos, my new friend joked – sometimes they say if the salsa verde is hot it’s because the chef was angry that day… so naturally today it is very hot because Mexico lost to USA yesterday!

Finally, Tuesday arrived and it was time to head to Cuernavaca. Fortunately, a local contact and a good friend from a program last fall at el Pobrecillo y Hogares Providencia had offered to help bring this collab to life. Her family had an apartment in Cuernavaca and she was already planning to head that way to visit friends anyway! ¡Que suerte!

After settling into yet another new city, I met with MDA’s Cuernavaca based director – Hugo. I told him about all our recent programs with MDA in Iztapalapa, Monterrey, and Guadalajara. I was welcomed through the front door by a friendly boy, who immediately helped us open the larger gate door to pull the car in. He immediately asked if I needed any help, to which I just asked him if he could tell one of the tíos that “Estéban, el maestro está aquí”.

He returned swiftly and offered his help yet again, to which I told him if they had a pump we still needed to inflate about 45 soccer balls. He ran straight back into the house and emerged with a white bicycle pump. As he eagerly prepared materials, I asked him if he was going to play soccer with us and he said no. He couldn’t play because of a medical condition preventing him from exercising and engaging in contact sports. Despite this, his spirits were incredibly high and his servant heart beat loudly and contagiously.

At one point, before starting a variation, I perched the ball up on my foot and transferred it in the air onto my neck for a stall. “Wow!” one of the boys said. “¡Otra vez!” beckoned another. We then broke into two circles with one older teenager helping for mano o cabeza, which the boys quickly caught on to. They were fast learners and the competition was fierce!

As the program began to wind down, one of the boys approached me and caught me a bit off guard. He was practicing his English and proudly wanted to exchange words with me. After we chopped it up about soccer for a little, both in Mexico and abroad, he told me his dream was to play in the English Premier League for Manchester United.

We all gathered for a rest as the kids stacked soccer balls up for distribution. As we all caught our breaths I asked the boys what they learned.

“Stepovers!”

“Volleys and other ball control techniques” added another.

One of the coolest moments was yet to come. After about half of the soccer balls were distributed, I told the kids to give each other some space and began teaching them the neck stall that had interrupted the program earlier on. “Your arms should go up to the sky like a chicken,” I said. Followed by a chorus of chicken noises— bok bok bokok!

They rested the ball on their necks with a newfound sense of pride and accomplishment, while some decided to take things to another level and attempt to do push-ups with the ball there as I had done myself. After, a select few gathered around me to learn the basics of an around the world. “Just keep the ball spinning, that rotation will make it easier, I promise you,” I said.

Next up was the younger group of boys along with a set of about 10 girls. Much like the first, we had a little over 25 participants for this session. We grouped up in pairs for drill number one. 

Finally, our pairs were sorted and I was ready to start our active listening drills. Lots of the kids had been waiting patiently on the sidelines during our first session, so I decided to test their attention.

“Did any of you guys understand the first game we played with the other group?” I asked.

“Yes!” said one of the boys, confidently.

“Okay, please can you explain the rules to everyone before we start?” I asked. Hoping to plant that small seed and love for coaching that had been cultivated long ago by my old coaches and teachers.

“Attention everyone! Please listen to him,” I exclaimed.

“Okay,” he started. All the attention was on him but I think he loved it to be honest. “So… first when I say mano you’re going to use your cabeza….”

“Wait a minute, stop right there” I said with a laugh.

“That’s a different game!” We shared a deep belly laugh as he palmed his own face before retreating back to his partner.

“Okay, let’s try this again” I said, before explaining it all for a second time.

The kids enjoyed the game, especially when instructed to touch their “pompis” or bum as we say in English! At one point, I yelled out “estomago” and paused to scan the group. One of the smallest kids in the group was right in front of me laughing and clutching his stomach. I paused again and asked him “¿Qué pasa amigo? ¿Tienes hambre?” to which we all immediately bursted out with laughter.

We then broke into our relay race drills, starting with stepovers, I said. Then moving to some zig-zags without the ball, then with the ball, as well as a few other variations.

At one point, the smallest boy from earlier had already completed his turn and was looking at me eagerly. “Do you want to go again?” I said. “¡Sí!” he said with a big smile. “Go ahead,” I responded, mirroring his smile on my own face.

We broke into mano o cabeza to pick about 10 winners. We had ribbons with the Around The Worlds logo on them and custom Mexico/ATW colored bracelets as premios. The ribbons were new, but had been designed to really signify that this was a prize.

I asked the group yet again, “Did anyone listen to the rules for this next game – mano o cabeza?” The same boy from the active listening drill stepped forward yet again, confidently nodding his head.

“Alright young man, let’s try this again,” I said, clearing everyone’s attention for him.

“So… the game is called mano o cabeza…” he said.

Good start, I thought to myself.

“Cuando yo digo mano, necesitas usar su cabeza…” he continued.

Still good, I thought.

“Y cuando yo digo cabeza, necesitas usar su pecho!” he said with a laugh.

“Bro come on” I laughed. We were close, definitely closer this time, but the effort is what matters most!

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We went around a few rounds after properly explaining the rules. At one point, my “coaching assistant” from earlier snuck up behind me as I was yelling out commands. “Dice ‘pecho’” he said with a smirk and a chuckle, returned by one of my own.

Finally, our winners list was populated. We gathered together and applauded the mano o cabeza winners as they were each called out. We then distributed soccer balls, drawstring bags, and t-shirts to the entire group.

In the midst of it all, the smallest kid from earlier tapped me on the shoulder and asked me softly, “I really wanted a ribbon… Do you have any left?”

My heart sank. I told him I had run out. Just then, another boy approached me with a ribbon, albeit one less a bracelet, and passed it to me. “I saw this on the ground, but it’s not mine, so here it is back,” he said with honesty.

I called over the small boy and he sprinted over to me and grabbed the ribbon with the same excitement and enthusiasm from earlier, grinning from ear to ear. A moment like this is hard to forget and is indescribable. I wish I could bring you all with me to experience the emotions I feel in moments like this. Learning to be world citizens through sport is what our program is all about.