| Youth Futbol Soccer School Invades Playa del Carmen |
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| Saturday, 01 May 2004 | |
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Los Chicos, the 3rd youth Futbol Soccer training school, has opened it’s doors in Playa del Carmen and is fast becoming a force in the Riviera Maya youth sports circuit. Run by Fernando Chico, Los Chicos operates a youth training school for kids from 4-14 years of age. They also field one club team that plays other clubs and in a league with local school teams. Taking advantage of the facilities of CREA, the sports facility on 30th and 8th, the schools main focus is dedicated to raising the level of the player’s abilities. They start with kids from 4 years old and up. Los Chicos is an independent school. All expenses are paid by the participating players and their parents. Each player pays a Monthly Fee of 250.00 pesos (about $ 22 usd) and a Sign-Up Fee of 250.00 pesos ( about $22 usd). Equipment and uniform are paid by the players. “We have some players that don’t have the financial resources to pay and so they are sponsored by the rest of the participating players, covering all their expenses to be able to play the sport. It works well. Teamwork!” says Chico. “You know I have a 9 year old son and his desire led me to put this school together, to help him and all players participate in a well organized sport. My son’s goal is to play professional soccer and I am doing my best to give him the basics so that if and when he chooses, he can take it to the next level” Chico proudly says. “As a trainer, I personally enjoy every moment of my time with the children. They are all candles waiting to be lit”.
Right now, in Playa, we have the Pony Division ages 6–8, Infantile Minor Division ages 9-11, and the Infantile Major Division with ages 12-14. Most local schools field their own teams within these divisions and compete against one another in league play. "Futbol Soccer has been embraced by Playa del Carmen. The diversity of nationalities from all over the globe makes this city very special. With such diversity, it makes the locals teams strong. I mean, we have players, from Argentina, Italy, USA, Canada and many other countries and they each bring something different to the table. This bodes well for our area and we will be a competitive force in this sport very quickly” said an enthusiastic Chico.
Los Chicos just returned from tournaments in Tulum, Cozumel, and the Premier Hilton in Cancun. “We tied Cancun’s Cruz Azul and lost to the Mexico City Pumas by one goal. We actually beat Mexico City’s America 2–1. All these teams are very strong teams so we were so excited that our kids stood toe to toe with them. Our work is paying off and our kids are responding” a happy Chicos says “Right now, our team is doing well in league play. We have rotated between 3rd and 1st place. We are on our way up. We now have new players with great abilities joining and making our team even better. I feel that we are advancing towards our goal” express Chico.
“With confidence, we played last Saturday against Escuela Niños Heroes and dominated the game. We had a great victory without a lot of effort wining 4 – 0 on goals scored by Lorenzo Vargas – El Tortuga and Marcos Gonzales. To me, this means that the players are applying the training techniques we practice during the week and that is good” Chico tells. Chico adds “Playa del Carmen is a blessed paradise and any one who lives here can only prosper. We have a great future with fantastic opportunities. Our young people will be the beneficiaries of whatever we leave them and so we must continue to work smart and hard to continue to make this place a paradise for them as well. That would be our legacy” Chico says.
The CREA facility is situated on 8th street on the corner of 30th ave. Practice starts at 4:30pm to 6pm for players 4-8 years old and 5:00pm to 7:00pm for ages 9-14 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with games usually on Saturdays. To Sign Up, bring your child to the field on 30th and 8th streets during practice hours and meet the players and coaches.
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Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved. |
By Betty Ontiveros
Trainers begin by teaching students the basics. They with start ball handling, passing, and shooting and when, ready then play organized practice games. As soon as they develop the basics, we place them on a beginning team for league play.
This season will last approximately 4 months. Teams continue play and then elimination rounds for playoffs until the final two are left standing.
“Next we plan to travel to Chetumal, the capital of our state and will continue working with Cancun. They are very well organized and with a lots of support. Thus, they offer high levels of competition for us. Our goal is to get to their level. We have had good showings when we played them and this inspires us to continue forward” Chico explains.
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