Thread: Decatur AL: Hispanics find 'home' in local soccer leagues

http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdail ... ccer.shtml

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2006


Daily photo by Michael Wetzel
The Juan family from left, Andres, 4, Maria, 5, Miguel, 35, Rosenda, 2, and Margarita, 3, spend time together at the Point Mallard soccer fields after a game.

Decatur's Hispanic Influx: Fusion Cultural

Hispanics find 'home' in local soccer leagues

Editor's note: This is the fourth of a seven-part series on Decatur's Hispanic influx

By Michael Wetzel
mwetzel@decaturdaily.com · 340-2462

Sunday is Miguel Juan's day, and he doesn't spend it alone.

The 35-year-old laces his cleats, loads his wife and their five children, ages 6 and younger, into the family van and drives to his team's soccer game. Juan plays defense and sometimes goalie for the Eagles.

Hot Chilies player Victor Rivera keeps Huracan player Carlos Tamanes from kicking the ball out of his possession during a soccer game at a Point Mallard field.


Daily photo by Emily Saunders
Hot Chilies player Victor Rivera keeps Huracan player Carlos Tamanes from kicking the ball out of his possession during a soccer game at a Point Mallard field.

Juan said soccer Sundays are like visiting his hometown in Central Guatemala. Some of his fellow soccer buddies call the Sunday fields "little Mexico," "little Guatemala" or simply "home."

"It's always nice to see my friends here," Juan said in Spanish, occasionally tossing in an English word. "I love soccer, and I love having my family come and enjoy everything out here."

Juan's passion for "fútbol" isn't an aberration. It's in his blood.

Sunday soccer at Point Mallard, Wilson Morgan Park and Wolverine fields offers him the opportunity to take time out from his struggles with English and his responsibilities as a poultry worker.

He said soccer on Sundays, and sometimes Saturday nights, gives him quality time with his niños (Spanish for children).

"They are all here with me," he said. "It is something we do as a family."

On a recent Sunday, more than 200 spectators and nearly 80 vehicles lined up at the Wolverine field. You could be at a game in Mexico or Central or South America. Spectators shouted encouragement in Spanish. Fans cheered relatives, friends and boyfriends.

A few fans used lawn chairs for bleachers and escaped the midday sun under umbrellas. Others relaxed on the bed of the family pickup with a boom box or the vehicle's radio blaring Spanish music. People walked about socializing amid blaring horns and noise-making matracas, the local equivalent of a cheering section at a Southeastern Conference game. Some women distributed home-cooked Mexican food to friends. Children played yards from the main field. They tried kicking maneuvers they saw minutes earlier between the white lines.

Watch and learn

"We come, watch and learn some moves and spend time together as a family," said Allysa Martinez, an eighth-grader at Brookhaven Middle School. She is the daughter of San Jose midfielder Luis Martinez. "It's fun watching and exciting to see Dad play."

Allysa says she plays midfielder and defender for her school and a team in the Decatur Youth Soccer Association.

Anna Sanchez, 16, is a regular at the soccer fields with her dad Anselmo Sanchez, coach of the Atletico Juniors.

"I watch and learn," Anna said. "Also, there are some cute guys who play, but I won't let them know I think they're cute."

Nineteen-year-old construction worker Ricardo Lagunas said soccer is as important to his teammates and friends as Auburn and Alabama are to football fans in the state. Where there are Hispanics, there is soccer, he said.

'Can't imagine life without' it

"I can't imagine life without soccer. Everyone out here speaks Spanish. Actually you can say it is Mexico, only the fields in Mexico are not this good," said Lagunas, a talented defender for the Atletico Juniors in the Liga Revelacion in Decatur.

Raul Espinoza, president of the Liga Revelacion, estimated more than 500 Hispanics participate in soccer leagues in Decatur. Espinoza's two-tiered league features 24 teams with about 18 players per team. Team names on the sponsored-dotted jerseys read Scorpions, La Máquina (the Machine) and Vampiros (Vampires).

"There are some great players here in Decatur," said Espinoza, who works full-time as an electrician. "Our Division 1 teams can beat the Division 2 teams easily. But we're all out there for fun and pride. We all have jobs. We can't practice as much as we want. And there are some players from Mexico and Guatemala who aren't on a team. They just come out, find a field and play."

Espinoza, 40, said 18 is the minimum age to play, and he knows of some players as old as 45 in his league. Espinoza said teams pay about $200 each for the fields, referees and awards. Certified referee Jorge Oceguera Garcia, 20, says he makes between $35 and $50 per game, which averages about two hours.

Decatur Parks officials say the Hispanic teams pay for the use of the fields, as do other organizations.

Support from city

"Sure, we have scheduled practices and league time for the fields so they aren't double-booked or overused," said Kelly Varnell, a recreation coordinator for Decatur. The fields must be aerated, fertilized, mowed and occasionally re-sodded in spots to stay in playing shape.

"We've always had good support from the city," Espinoza said. "We play so much and so long. We don't want to ruin the fields. The city has been good about moving us to other fields so we don't damage fields, especially those at Wilson Morgan and some at Point Mallard."

The seemingly overnight boom of Hispanic soccer leagues is not limited to Decatur.

Leagues across nation

Amateur Hispanic leagues are forming across the nation. U.S. Soccer Federation official George Chazaro told The Associated Press, "There are huge leagues in North Carolina. I would never imagine there would be a Hispanic league in Rhode Island, but there are 80 teams there."

The game is so popular that Decatur hosted a match between the women's national team of Mexico and Duke University's women's team in the summer.

Espinoza and city officials said the popularity of soccer is a supply-and-demand issue, and the Hispanic population is the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population.

Mario Figeroa of Guatemala has lived in Decatur for 10 years. His 18th birthday was a milestone he remembers. At last he could play soccer with "the big guys."

"My cousins and friends all told me about the soccer games when I was young," said the 23-year-old construction worker. "I remember seeing them play here. Now I play about every Sunday from May or June through October. I come here to be with my friends and show them my stuff on the field."

A member of the Vampiros, Rogelio Silva has called North Alabama home for four years. "I like playing soccer, mainly defense, especially when the games are clean," said the 36-year-old from Mexico City, who works as a machinist. He said he started playing soccer in Mexico when he was 11.

"It feels like I am back home when I am playing soccer here," Silva said. "It reminds me of playing in Mexico. I miss Mexico."

Professional players

A Decatur resident since 1992, Francisco Vazquez smiles when asked about the level of competition.

"There's probably 10 players in Decatur who used to play professionally in Mexico," said the 34-year-old machinist. "Of course, they are still very good players. And the competition is stronger here now than it was 10 years ago or so when the leagues were being formed. And the fields are much nicer now. They were nice back then, but the grass at Point Mallard is perfect."

With the tougher competition comes the win-at-all-costs attitude for some, Vazquez said, who also coaches the all-Hispanic Barcelona team in a U-16 youth league.

"We all play for the exercise and enjoyment and try to stay fit, but yes, there are some players in the league who must win. Sometimes fights break out and it gives us all a bad reputation, but only two or three players in the whole league are looking to start fights."

Liga Revelacion

In the Liga Revelacion, a nine-game regular season rolls into playoffs to determine the champions.

Teams are awarded trophies, medals and "new uniforms showing they are the best," Vazquez said.

Silva's teammate, 34-year-old Gerardo Soto, said the gathering of family and friends at the soccer fields is special. "I've played here three years," the painter said. "Every weekend, Saturday and Sunday, we come and play. Just like home."

Fifty-two-year-old Fernando Castaneda, a construction worker, laughed when asked if he participates in the soccer leagues.

"I come to watch. I know a lot of the players, their wives and kids," he said, while handing out chicharones (Mexican chips) and chocolates to youngsters lined at the back of his step van. "Many players in the leagues are really good. They could have been good players, maybe even on the national team, if they could practice. But we all have to work."

When the soccer games break up early in the afternoon on Sundays, people say there's time for church activities, shopping, playing cards and watching television.

"Of course, it will be cold soon," said 27-year-old Guatemalan Jose Velaquez, who works as a machine operator. "That's when we will go with the women. They like shopping."

Hispanic players

More than 500 Hispanics participate in soccer leagues in Decatur. Liga Revelacion is a two-tiered league of 24 teams with 18 players per team. Eighteen is the minimum age to play. Teams pay about $200 each for the fields, referees and awards.

FIVE little anchor babies all lined up.......
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Decatur's Hispanic population grew by 705 percent in the 1990s compared to 58 percent Hispanic growth in the U.S. for the same period.

Source: Decatur
Board of Education

When do they have time to play soccer

Originally Posted by had_enuf

Decatur's Hispanic population grew by 705 percent in the 1990s compared to 58 percent Hispanic growth in the U.S. for the same period.

Source: Decatur
Board of Education

When do they have time to play soccer

I think that they do that when most of us are getting our insurance renewed or paying our taxes...

I know first hand how biased the Birmingham news is when it comes to the issues of illegal immigration! I have had posts deleted, I have had posts deleted. I called and was told the forum had no affiliation with the Birmingham News and they had no control over the forums! What a CROCK! Was told it was because I posted the same thing on several forums! Let me tell you the Birmingham news is as biased as they come! I hope that people on ths forum calls and gives them a piece of their mind. I did, however, it was an outside survey group. I still told him what I thought!

The Birmingham News and their affiliates are NO friend to the citizens of Alabama!

ttt

Five times they said "it's like home/mexico/etc".

Does this mean if we build a soccer field in Mexico they'll leave? All they talk about is the crappy country they left - if it's so great go back already!

See this post on the draw for Decatur AL.
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=46851