Boys’ soccer opens doors for Hispanic community

Si se puede.

I didn’t think I would write that sentence when I took on this job three years ago but sure enough, there it is in print. Si se puede, meaning (roughly) “yes we can” or more closely translated, “yes it’s possible.”

Down 1-0 to Boerne during the regional quarterfinals, the big Apache following that traveled to Schertz to cheer on the boys’ soccer team chanted “¡Si se puede!” and sure enough, the Apaches did it and scored two goals to advance to the regional tournament in McAllen with their 2-1 victory.

Though the season ended shortly after as the Apaches were taken down in the regional semifinals against a juggernaut Progreso team (who as of press time are in the state finals with a 21-5-2 record), this 2016 season proved just how important a high school soccer team can be to a previously voiceless community.

Before the 2015 inaugural season, there were a group of athletes just waiting for a chance to be a part of something. An entire demographic that just wasn’t represented as well as it should have been.

For a community that boasts a good percentage of Hispanic citizens, there were just not many athletes in Gonzales ISD that frankly looked anything like me or the rest of the Hispanic community.

The addition of soccer changed that as now the Apaches’ sports program includes these kind of kids.

“I think our administration, high school administration, central office administration, our school board and our community as a whole saw that we had a demographic that we could touch athletically that we weren’t touching,” Gonzales ISD athletic director Kodi Crane said. “So we did go forward with [starting a soccer program]. We have a lot of those kids that are in our athletic program now that if we didn’t have soccer they wouldn’t be there.”

The importance of this move cannot be understated. This is a group of boys that before soccer, just went to school and perhaps didn’t have very much pride in being an “Apache” since all that involves is turning in homework on time and hopefully get a diploma after the four-year stint.

Now that they get to wear a jersey that has the words Gonzales Apaches on it, these athletes don’t have to fake school spirit. It’s there.

That pride in Gonzales isn’t the only positive coming out of the addition of boys’ soccer. Athletic Director Crane and boys’ soccer head coach Greg Ramirez have them in the Apache program, meaning other doors of opportunity have opened for these kids who previously may not have even considered other sports let alone college careers.

“It’s opened up some doors, colleges [are] looking at some of the soccer guys in this program,” Ramirez said, “and from now on it’s going to be known that those colleges can focus on Gonzales as a soccer town.”

“It’s [also] opened up some doors for other sports for some of them as far like cross-country and track, maybe some football,” he continued. “Something that they wouldn’t even have thought of before getting into the soccer program. Luckily we have this soccer program for the Hispanics because it helps, it helps them achieve goals that they want to strive for. I believe strongly without soccer some of these guys will just not be in athletics so it has opened doors for other sports.”

I was lucky enough where my parents, one who had some college experience before enlisting in the Army and another who has a four-year degree, instilled the important of a college education in me. I knew going into high school that everything I did was to be used towards eventually getting into college and earning a degree.

But what if I didn’t have that kind of support?

To be clear, I am in no way making any accusations about the education system here in Texas, more specifically in Gonzales. But I imagine now that these group of kids that are in soccer have a better shot at getting into college because of their inclusion in the athletic program.

If there’s no hope of achieving a certain goal, why would somebody waste their time working towards it? I wouldn’t push forward and do things to do something that’s unattainable. Same thing for college. Because I knew I had a shot at getting into a university, I worked at it a bit harder than I would have if I didn’t think there was any chance. Sometimes all you need is a goal.

But before even thinking about college, the kids in the boys’ soccer team have something that they didn’t have in years past. These athletes who have only attend Gonzales High so they are automatically deemed Apaches don’t really have a sense of belonging. Now? They are a part of something, a part of this community. And that, to Ramirez and Crane, is simply invaluable.

“Sometimes it doesn’t dawn on them but this is a really big deal,” Ramirez said. “It’s good for the community. For them to be representing Gonzales, now it’s so exciting for them. They feel part of something now, not just going to school and that’s it. Now they’re part of something historic. They know wearing that jersey, that Gonzales jersey, it makes them feel invincible. Even though we’ll have bad games or good games, it doesn’t matter. When they put that jersey on it makes them feel that they’re a part of, not just a small group but they are a part of the community. It makes them feel good.”

That’s what sports is all about. Bringing together a set of people that may not normally group together in different settings but they do in this instance because of just one, simple, common goal. Win. And the Apaches did just that. Not only were they able to feel like they were a part of the community, the Apaches boys’ soccer team brought in fans that may not normally come to Apache Field to support Gonzales athletics.

The Apaches held a home playoff game against Bandera on April 1, the first of its kind in the history of Gonzales athletics.

“It was a unique, great opportunity, probably the neatest soccer atmosphere that our kids got to play in all year,” Crane said. “At home, in front of a packed house, with fans going crazy, with young kids going crazy just looking down there and seeing what they’re doing and hoping for the day that they get down there and do that.”

“I hope every game is like that next season,” Ramirez said. “There’s a lot of people that hadn’t gone that that was the first time they’d gone to a soccer game and I got a lot of people telling me ‘I never knew it was like this. I never knew this sport was physical and so exciting until tonight.’ And sure enough I told them ‘it’s been like this all season’, ‘well it’s too bad we didn’t get a chance to come and see during the season but we will from now on.’ We gained a lot of fans having this playoff game which made a big difference in the guys’ eyes for sure and ours and for the community too.”

If you noticed, Crane said something interesting about the experience. “Young kids…hoping for the day that they get down there.” The boys’ soccer team is not only a beacon of hope for the current players on the team, but they are a group that kids can look up to, maybe even to kids who didn’t have a hero to mirror, a goal to attain.

As much as I don’t like using the word “hero” in sports, if even just one child saw these games and thought “maybe I can be just like them” and that leads to success, then I’m all for it.

Again, this is a demographic that before didn’t have much representation in Gonzales athletics. It’s easier to look up at somebody who looks like you.

It’s amazing that second-year program has been able to make such an impact on so many people. But that’s what happens when we give opportunities to people who normally aren’t given them.

Will this lead to maybe one kid being able to achieve a dream of becoming a professional athlete? Or maybe someone else’s dream of just getting into college? Time will tell. But because the soccer teams exist, the doors are now opened. Opportunity is knocking. Now that these kids have a chance at something great, all that remains is some dedication from everybody involved. But I have faith the Apaches can do it. Si se puede, indeed.