People that make the world go 'round

Los entrenadores (coaches) that I briefly mentioned in my last post need the spotlight for a hot second. They expend a lot of energy (for some, its after a long day of work at another job) in order to create a safe and super divertido (fun) space for the girls to be able to come play four times a week and allow them to forget about the long list of stressors that they face on a daily basis. Baseball is definitely more popular than soccer in Granada, and women's sports in general are essentially non-existent so this part-time coaching job for women's soccer is not exactly glamorous and our coaches pour their heart and soul into it every day. Here is an attempt at describing them, though its hard to do them justice:

•  Hassell is 20 years old but she turns 21 on August 25 so we're going to have a joint birthday party sometime that week. She is incredibly smart; she was the salutatorian in her graduating high school class, she speaks very good English, she beats us at Bananagrams like its her job, and she worked as a surgical assistant for a year, but she can't afford to go to college so right now she is just working for us. She started playing soccer for the first time only a couple years ago as a participant in our program, but then once she "aged out" she was quickly hired as a coach because she is such a great role model and the perfect example of what we want our girls to strive for. She has been the friendliest of all the coaches since day one, loves to hang out with us after activities and practices are over, and she has been incredibly patient with my still-not-perfect Español.
• Helen is also 20 years old, and also was a participant in the program that aged out and then was hired. She has been playing soccer for a lot longer, and is a very solid defender. More importantly than that, she has an unmatched magnetic pull with the girls in the program and for obvious reasons. She is always lending a listening ear, giving infinite hugs, starting group cheers, and devotes every ounce of energy to making sure the girls are happy and enjoying themselves. She is always walking to and from the field with a posse of 3 or 4 girls hanging on each arm, and the screams that fill Tres Pisos when teams learn that Helen will be their leader for that activity are earsplitting. 
• Veronica, more commonly known as Flaca, (which means skinny, which she is) is 24. She has a university degree, a very rare thing for a woman let alone anybody in Granada to have. She studied psychology and works as a psychiatrist for the Ministerio de Salud (Ministry of Health) in Granada. After her long days at work, she shows up to the office with arguably the most energy in the group. She is truly a Latina firecracker with a strong personality, a boisterous laugh, and always telling jokes with double meanings that go way over my head. Though she intimidated me at first, we have become buds. Larkin Mady and I had dinner at her house with her family last night. She is thoughtful, smart, and strong with an tinge of crazy and everybody loves her.
•  César is 25 and has been working for Fútbol Sin Fronteras since its very beginning in 2008. He essentially runs the entire show. He also has a university degree in accounting and speaks and understands English very well. His maturity combined with how much he cares for his Mariposas is a joy to watch. He has an innate ability to work with children, and a way of breaking down team building activities into concrete lessons that the girls understand and learn from. He never loses sight of the most important part, fun. Judging from the screaming laughter that comes from the second floor on activity nights, the Mariposas always have a blast with Cés.
• Techo is the youngest of them all, 18 years old. Like Cés, he has been involved with the organization since the beginning (since he was 14!) as a volunteer coach. Eventually he became the head coach of the Estrellas and hasn't looked back. He loves to joke around, but when it comes down to it he cares deeply and passionately about his work with Fútbol Sin Fronteras. I could describe him in many different ways to get my point across but I think this story does it best: Last season he ran a coaching clinic as part of his work with Fútbol Sin Fronteras and because of that used to be paid a little bit more. There was a slight discrepancy at the beginning of this season with his pay, but it was quickly smoothed out because he said "I will sign my contract regardless of what we decide should be my weekly salary because it's not about the money it's about the girls." He has an incredibly big heart, and sees the bigger picture which is something extremely uncommon in most Nicas who understandably struggle to broaden their views since many are solely concerned with how to put food on the table and pay rent each week. 

From Left: Helen, me, Flaca, Hassell, Mady. Above: César and Techo.

Dream Team!

I feel profoundly lucky to be able to work alongside these people for the next year. I know I will learn so much (I already have) and I feel like we have such a solid group going forward and will achieve some really great things. 

Today the Estrellas have their first game of the season against a boys team from a gym around the corner. Wish us luck!

Amor, paz, y fútbol

KPope