Evan & Noah have been playing soccer for a couple of years now and we are so proud of their progress. They are on the Manchester United soccer team which has a home soccer field located just between Progreso and Chixculub. We have seen an incredible improvement from both of them from this sport. Of course, they were quite far behind other children their ages because our soccer season in Canada was typically from late April to June and most practices were canceled due to weather— mainly SNOW!
They practice two times per week for one and a half hours and typically have anywhere from one to four games on the weekends. Some of the league games are quite competitive and we really enjoy watching them. Quite often on the weekend their games are played in Merida and we get to see some really nice schools and soccer fields. One great field to play on for them is at Tamanche, where the Yucatan state team practices and plays. This field is great for the kids but not so great for the parents! You should remember to bring a chair if you ever have to watch your children play at these fields as there is no seating except the grass and the fields are surrounded by fences that you cannot go past.
The team is always looking for donations and I know we have brought several suitcases full of soccer cleats, socks, shirts, shorts, pads, goalie gloves. It is really amazing to see how great Lacho and his wife Nancy are with the children. Their entire family helps out with the coaching of the children for all ages and they have really devoted their time to helping the community. Many of the families can barely afford the 50 pesos a month per child for fees, so when they receive donations of soccer equipment it goes a long way. We have seen children arrive with holes in their shoes, and Nancy will run home and bring them a donated pair to use. When the children outgrow their shoes, they are replaced with larger ones and the smaller ones may be used again by another child.
The monthly fees for this team are 50 pesos per month and there are tournament fees which must be paid several times per year as well. For example, to play in the Merida tournament, which is like a season of games, we might have to pay an additional 300 pesos. For some of the smaller Progreso tournaments, we may have to pay less but every game you have to pay the ref 10 pesos per child as the referee fees are not covered by the tournament fee. Team uniforms for the shirt, shorts, and socks range from about 300 pesos per child as well. We always buy extra socks and practice jerseys as I am not fond of doing laundry after every game!
Here are some highlights from recent games. Evan has become a goalie for the middle aged group of children as Jorge is now too old to play on that team. Noah is a little superstar and is quite often chosen as captain of his team.
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