As Gilberto Briseño lay in his recovery bed willing his body to fight the gangrene that had infected the multiple fractures in his right leg, the question of whether he’d ever play soccer again was on his mind. Gilberto was 33 years old, a house painter and general contractor, a center forward-turned-coach, and a life-long resident of Jacarandas street in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Today, nearly six years later, Gilberto is the proud coach for Team Real Jacarandas, three teams made up of 60 kids from the Jacarandas area, who on this, their first season playing together, advanced all the way to the quarter finals in the Torneo Municipal, the city-wide finals. “We lost 7-1 vs Chivas Las Palmas and 6-0 vs Atlas,” Gilberto says, adding, “I would just like to mention that both of these teams are the current champions.”
Gilberto started playing soccer at 8 years old, though there wasn’t much support for the game back then. When he got older, he served as forward for team Jacarandas in the Veteranos city league, and started coaching kids from his neighborhood. A play gone wrong resulted in a badly broken and infected leg, and took Gilberto out of the sport for several years.
But the accident didn’t take the sport out of Gilberto. “I decided to try [coaching] again because I saw how the kids that I used to coach in our neighborhood have become involved in drugs and violence… [I wanted to] offer the kids an alternative and focus them on a sport.”
Team Real Jacarandas is coached by Gilberto and three assistant coaches who meet with the players several times per week for practices and games. “I must say the kids are very dedicated to the team,” Gilberto notes, “but they must also be dedicated to their education and do well in school or they cannot participate with the club.”
When Gilberto started the soccer club last year, he approached local donors for funds to buy uniforms and equipment. Now, as the season winds down, the club needs help again. “We need new cones for practice, Gatorade mix for game days, and especially balls,” Gilberto says. “We have a special price of purchasing balls at 100 pesos each with our club logo or we can also accept donations of balls.”
The new equipment will go to outfitting the teams in the coming season, and to helping them practice for their debut at the 7th Annual Copa Zorros Internacional tournament in Guadalajara at the end of July.
“My most urgent concern is to raise enough money to take all 60 kids to Guadalajara,” Gilberto says, adding that the teams have organized a raffle to fund raise for the club’s registration, transportation, hotel and meals for 5 days. The total amount needed is approximately $150,000 pesos, or $2,500 pesos per player.
“These types of tournaments help us to improve on so many levels,” Gilberto explains. “It’s a real eye-opener for our kids who have never been outside of Puerto Vallarta to play against teams from other places in Mexico, as well as the U.S.”
“Every time I ask the kids what their goals are they always reply [that they want to] win the championship and to one day be a professional player,” Gilberto laughs. “But even if they do not go further with soccer careers, I believe they are learning discipline and sportsmanship, conduct that will help them in school and work.”
Help Team Real Jacarandas Get to Guadalajara
Donations of balls or equipment are welcomed, as are PayPal donations. People interested in making donations should contact Pilar Perez at r.pilar.perez@gmail.com.
Friend Team Real Jacarandas on Facebook.
