This marked our third straight summer of doing programs in the Philippines and it started off strong working with a familiar friend: Coach EJ Soriano. I worked with him last summer and he was again ready to round up his troops for a post-school session.

We weren’t able to use the grass field at Lingayen’s Capitol Grounds, which is where we’ve held programs before. We traded grass for cement and headed east towards Binmaley for an afternoon futsal practice with some of the town’s finest young footballers. Before we reached the covered court though, we first made a stop at Binmaley School of Fisheries, where Coach EJ was waiting for us.

“What’s up, Coach!” he called out, already donning his own football uniform and standing beside his scooter. “Is it okay if you guys bring one of my players to the court? He doesn’t have a helmet, and it wouldn’t be safe for him to ride with me,” he asked, to which we gladly obliged.

Transferring my six soccer balls from the right seat to the left, the boy hopped in the back and off we went, with Coach EJ running point as our lead pace car.

“Anong pangalan mo, kuya? (What’s your name, bro?)” I asked our passenger in the backseat.

“Gabriel, po,” he said.

“What grade are you?” I asked.

“Ninth grade po,” he responded.

“Present ka sa last training ko dito, Gab? Sa Capitol Grounds?” I questioned.

“Opo! (Yes)” he answered, with excitement in his voice.

There were about 35 kids present at that session last summer, featuring a mix of Binmaley and Lingayen players. I was excited to hear that today’s training wouldn’t be the first of its kind for him.

“Do you still have your football, Kuya, from that session? The yellow one?” I asked.

“Yes po, it’s at my house,” he answered. My day was already made, and programming hadn’t even started yet.

Coach EJ pulled into the venue with us close behind and I was met with an overwhelming amount of young ballers. We planned for about 15 participants, but there were definitely more than 20 present. Coach EJ recently enrolled a handful of 7th graders into his lessons and although raw, they were super eager to learn and play. I wanted to meet them at their level of excitement and happily rewarded them with brand new Challenger tees to use during training.

“These can be our new training tops, Coach!” exclaimed one of the youngins excitedly to Coach EJ, which made me smile ear to ear.

From there, Coach EJ circled the kids up for a quick pre-training chat. Our coaching styles were different, but isn’t that the beauty of collaboration? The kids can experience different philosophies, but still receive holistic development in their own, unique footballing journeys. Coach EJ likes to practice in-game, practical situations, where sometimes I opt for technical, cone-based work.

In this case, he was working on 1v1 duels, on-the-ball pressure, and first touches. Luckily, we met halfway and ran a mix of drills for the kids before breaking into some long-awaited small-sided scrimmages. First on the agenda, passing grids with four players at each station. Two touches with the dominant foot, two with the weaker one, followed by the same pattern – except this time, one-touch passing. The older kids nailed it, while those raw 7th graders needed a little bit longer of an adjustment period, understandably so.

From there, we broke into one of Coach EJ’s dynamic drills with some plyometrics before 1v1 duels at goal. Then, we opened it up into 2v2, as Coach EJ and I manned groups on separate halves. With plenty of duels won and goals scored, I wanted to break into a fun little game before scrimmages.

“Coach EJ? Magaling sila sa headers bro? (Are they good at headers?)” I asked.

“Yes, Coach, more or less,” he said.

“Perfect!” I responded.

With my group on one goal and his on the other, I set up a line and deployed one goalkeeper into the net. I threw balls up at the oncoming players to head towards the net. Then, after they had attempted to score with their head, they would need to run to goal and try to save the next player’s effort. It was high-paced and fun. Plus, it exposed some of the younger 7th graders to a position they were perhaps less-comfortable playing in. Plenty of goals later, we grouped up at center court for a quick team photo before hitting our scrimmages.

“Coach… gusto ko maglaro! (Coach, I want to play!)” I yelled out, hoping to trade my coaching legs for some playing ones, even if just for a bit.

“Sure, sige! (Yes, okay!)” he responded, knowing the kids would be just as excited for a coach’s participation as the coach himself.

The seventh graders populated the court, with a couple older boys mixed in alongside me. I wasn’t looking to score, just hoping to get the little guys involved. I didn’t plan to play longer than ten minutes, since I was gearing up to head home and honestly, was already a bit winded from the Filipino heat. However, Coach EJ and the boys had other plans.

“Coach Steve? Is it okay if you play one more round with the older boys? They want to play with (and against) you,” he said.

“Sure!” I responded. There’s no way I was going to deny them the opportunity to face off against a Coach.

The competition was significantly higher, but still, it was an enjoyable kickabout with the boys. I smiled watching them go at it with grit and tenacity, only inserting myself into the game ever so slightly when needed for a 1-2 or a defensive block.

“Done na, Coach, di ko kaya! (I can’t anymore!)” I yelled out, after an additional ten minutes had passed. I was completely gassed!

It was a fantastic session and with the World Cup in full swing, it was ever-so-clear that the kids felt the footballing passion in the air.

“Would you like to share any words for the boys?” asked Coach EJ, as we sat them all down in front of the both of us.

“Sure, bro!” I said.

“Okay guys, pasensya (sorry), English nalang (English only) kase pagod na pagod nako (because I’m so tired),” I said.

“I want to thank you guys for showing up today, and for giving me all of your effort and concentration.”

“Yes, Coach!” they answered, affirmatively.

“Please, give yourselves a round of applause,” I called out, as they responded with thunderous clapping. “Next, let’s give it up for Coach EJ!” I said. Another thunderous round.

I packed up my cones and left Coach EJ with a few extra tees for the 7th graders who couldn’t make it to the day’s training session.

“Thank you, Coach EJ, for having me today,” I said. “Wait, Coach Steve, there’s a parent who wanted to meet you, is that okay?” he asked.

“Of course!” I responded.

We made our way to the bleachers, where a woman was sitting, happily watching training.

“Hi ma’am,” I said. “My name is Stephen.”

“Sinong anak mo dito? (Which one is your son?)” I asked.

“Siya (him),” she said, pointing at one of our goalkeepers, donning a red tee.

“Ah, mabait sya! (He’s very well behaved!)” I said.

“Totoo? (Really?)” she asked.

“At magaling! (Talented, too!)” I added.

A big smile painted its way across her face. It was a perfect first program and I was leaving Binmaley with an equally big smile on my face.

“Thank you for your time today, Coach! The kids enjoyed it so much,” said Coach EJ, as we parted ways for the day.

I couldn’t help but smile. Me too, guys, me too. If only you knew just how much.