Millennials

Name: Alexis Bartolo
Current Age: 20
First Played: Age 6
Years Playing: 14

“I have some knowledge about soccer, so I might as well spread it out.”

Alexis started playing because his brothers started playing. As he put it, his parents said, “might as well” have all sibling play in the same space at the same time. The group of kids he started playing with moved with him from the local recreational center to Millenium Kids. These became the people he played with through high school.

Alexis has been more interested in smaller informal and – paradoxically – long standing pickup games across Austin. he finds pick up games on turf at UT Austin, and games in other places. He learns of these games through his network. As it turns out, Alexis “knows something of soccer.”

Locations Played:

• Dove Springs Rec Center | Austin, Texas
• Millennium Entertainment Center | Austin, Texas
• Caven Lacrosse and Sports Center | Austin, Texas
• Jester Dorm Fields | Austin, Texas
• Zilker Park | Austin, Texas
• Rosewood Neighborhood Park | Austin, Texas

Additional Information

• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Alexis Bartolo, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Alexis Bartolo, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)

Name: Jonathan Check
Current Age: 20
First Played: Age 8
Years Playing: 12

“For the first time in my life, I was watching live soccer consistently, not from in front of a TV and a camera angle situated perfectly, but from stands and at a flatter angle. After a couple years though, I grew weary of the narrow angle and began to get tickets farther up in the stands, giving me a better view. I feel vindicated when I hear other fans, broadcasters, reporters, etc say they prefer that omniscient vantage point as well.”

Like most other kids in San Antonio, Jonathan Check grew up with soccer. Observing, however, is what has given Jonathan the most joy and another entry into the worlds of soccer. The broad strategy, the negative space, the inter-personal drama, the scale, the canvas provided to players by the pitch: all this has become fodder for a journalist in the making.

Jonathan Check’s career in soccer journalism speaks to the ways futbol soccer is becoming embedded in institutions across Texas. His devotion and his observation skills have a place in newsrooms, and through newspapers, households across central Texas.

Locations Played:

• Toyota Field | San Antonio, Texas
• STAR Soccer Complex| San Antonio, Texas
• Texas State University | San Marcos, Texas

Additional Information

• Jonathan Check, “A Birds-Eye View,” Center for the Study of the Southwest, Texas State University (pdf file)

Name: Samira Cordero
Current Age: 20
First Played: Age 8
Years Playing: 12

“My dad and my sister and my brother. Yeah. My family loves soccer.”

Samira Cordero took to soccer, once she had the opportunity to play. She started playing at school in her middle school’s team, until a select team invited her to play with them. Her skills are evident, as she is currently a varsity athlete at Huston Tillotson College.

Although she started playing organized soccer in middle school, her whole family has been playing soccer for some time. Her father played with leagues, and this attention to the craft of soccer has passed onto Samira and her siblings.

Locations Played:

• Dove Springs FC | Austin, Texas
• Del Valle High School | Del Valle, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Northeast Metro Park | Pflugerville, Texas
• Huston-Tillotson College | Houston, Texas

Additional Information

• Carlos Flores, Interview with Simira Cordero, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• Carlos Flores, Interview with Simira Cordero, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)

Name: Arlet Garcia
Current Age: 21
First Played: Age 9
Years Playing: 12

“It can be competitive, but it's just depending on the team.”

Arlet Garcia’s family put her in a soccer league in South Austin when she was nine. She kept on playing, whether indoor at Millenium, with her high school in Del Valle.

She has continued her career in soccer, playing in Texas A&M and, whenever she can, with her old teammates here in Austin.

Locations Played:

• Millenium Kids | Austin, Texas
• Mendez Middle School | Austin, Texas
• Dove Springs Rec Center | Austin, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Texas A&M | College Station, TX

Additional Information

• Carlos Flores, Interview with Arlet Garcia, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• Carlos Flores, Interview with Arlet Garcia, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)

Name: Gabriela Garcia
Current Age: 20
First Played: Age 3
Years Playing: 17

“Soccer's always kind of been in my family, my dad and my grandpa, they all played.”

“I started playing when I was six. My brother started playing, so then I kind of wanted to do what he did.”

Soccer is a family thing in the Garcia family, and Gabriela Garcia is part of this family thing. She claimed her place on the field when her brother started playing. They played on the same teams around Austin growing up, making soccer a family thing for her, her parents and her grandparents. She is currently playing on the varsity team at Huston – Tillotson, a choice that came easily to her.

Locations Played:

• Millenium Kids | Austin, Texas
• Del Valle High School | Del Valle, Texas
• Huston Tillotson College | Austin, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, TX
• Northeast Metro Park | Pflugerville, Texas

Additional Information

• Carlos Flores, Interview with Gabriela Garcia, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• Carlos Flores, Interview with Gabriela Garcia, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)

Name: Esmeralda Hernandez
Current Age: 22
First Played: Age10
Years Playing: 12

“I love it. I like the team effort. I wanna keep up with it. It was something that I used to be really good at, so I wanna keep it up, 'cause now in college you really don't get a chance to play as much.”

Esmeralda Hernandez started playing at 10, most likely at school. Two years later, she started playing for her high school in Del Valle. Soccer is something she fostered at school, in teams outside of school, and since she left Austin for College Station in college. She currently is active in the soccer association in College Station, playing both indoor and outdoor.

likes playing on teams, and the networks around soccer feel large enough that she can find a team through “word of mouth,” where people will tell her, “oh, you are on a team. Come play.” Esmeralda Hernandez speaks to the way Soccer is a very present part of life, here and in College Station.

Locations Played:

• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Del Valle High School Soccer Fields, Del Valle, Texas
• Penberthy Rec Sports Complex, College Station, Texas

Additional Information

• Carlos Flores, Interview with Esmeralda Hernandez, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• Carlos Flores, Interview with Esmeralda Hernandez, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)

Name: Jacqueline Ibarra
Current Age: 20
First Played: Age 6
Years Playing: 14

“it’s the adrenaline. … and the teamwork.”

Like a skilled midfielder, Jacky Ibarra has been moving in and out of organized soccer as long as she can remember. Part of the reason why is the richness of her family, as she played soccer on a team with her cousins as well as playing for her schools since late elementary. The game continues to be rewarding for her and she continues to participate, both in college and when she comes home, because, as she reflects, “it keeps you going.”

Locations Played:

• Millenium Kids | Austin, Texas
• Dove Springs Rec center | Austin, Texas
• Hillcrest Elementary | Austin, Texas
• Del Valle High School | Del Valley, Texas
• Texas State University | San Marcos, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Northeast Metro | Pflugerville, Texas

Additional Information

• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Jacqueline Ibarra, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Jacqueline IBarra, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)

Name: Carlos Jimenez
Current Age: 24
First Played: Age 4
Years Playing: 20

“I was fortunate enough that my team kind of just transformed into a Select team.”

Carlos Jimenez started playing where he grew up, mostly because of his mother’s encouragement. As he put it, “My mother’s originally from Spain, so I was born into it.” He played at home, but his mother moved him into organized soccer, first to the league organized by the Optimist’s Club in Town and Country, and from recreational league into Select, and from there to traveling teams linked to the soccer club Lone Star United. His enthusiasm and expertise translated to a position on the varsity team at Southwestern University. He is a recent graduate and maintains his involvement in soccer in various ways, though competitive soccer is on a hiatus. He did confess that “MLS coming to Austin is kind of awesome.”

Locations Played:

• Town and Country Optimists Club | Austin, Texas
• Lone Star United Soccer Club | Austin, Texas
• Southwestern University | Georgetown, Texas

Additional Information

• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Carlos Jimenez, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Carlos Jimenez, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)

Name: Cristobal Juarez
Current Age: 20
First Played: Age 3
Years Playing: 17

Chris Juarez learned about soccer from the blinking screen. His first memories include watching his father watching soccer on TV. Over time, Chris moved from watching to playing, first with his dad and then in the neighborhood league.

Christopher Juarez had talent. In addition to playing at the Millenium Center and his school teams, his family became involved in the traveling teams, bringing him in contact with other clubs across Texas, in addition to playing soccer with his high school. He continues to be dedicated to his craft, playing after work “almost every day.”

Locations Played:

• Millennium Kids | Austin, Texas
• Dove Springs Rec center | Austin, Texas
• Lone Star United Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Del Valle High School | Del Valley, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Northeast metropolitan park | Pflugerville, Texas

Additional Information

• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Cristobal Juarez, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Cristobal Juarez, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)

Name: Denise Mendoza
Current Age: 20
First Played: Age 9
Years Playing: 11

"You can basically play anywhere.”

Denise Mendoza picked up soccer from her dad. He watched, he played, and he encouraged Denise to play as well. She played with her family and the local league associations in South Austin. The issue that comes up for her in soccer are injuries. Like many other young athletes in organized sports, injuries happen and the reality and possibility of re-injury shapes the ability to play. Like so many others, Denise has withdrawn and returned to play. Fortunately, there are many teams searching for talent, so Denise can “basically play anywhere.”

Locations Played:

• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Del Valle High School | Del Valle, Texas

Additional Information

• Carlos Flores, Interview with Denise Mendoza, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• Carlos Flores, Interview with Denise Mendoza, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 audio)

Name: Emily Tejada
Current Age: 20
First Played: Age 5
Years Playing: 12

“Being in the fourth grade playing with sixth and seventh graders was very intimating. Of course, my comfort was being a goalie.”

Few people consider the way soccer interacts with other sports and hobbies. For Emily Tejada, soccer became a place to have a role in the team, from being a goalie to becoming a defender. She also moved from the Wilson County Youth League to the Boys and Girls Club teams, with an accompanying shift in skill level. However, there was more than soccer in Floresville, and dance became increasingly rewarding to Emily in high school. She decided to opt in for dance, but she still enjoys meeting her friends and family whenever the Floresville jaguars play. As Emily Tejada points out, soccer has become part of the warp of programs for children in Floresville and across other small towns in Texas.

Locations Played:

• Wilson County Youth Soccer League | Floresville, Texas
• Boys and Girls Club | Floresville, Texas
• Floresville High School | Floresville, Texas
• Floresville Middle School | Floresville, Texas
• Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

Additional Information

• Emily Tejada, “Soccer through a childhood,” Center for the Study of the Southwest, Texas State University (pdf file)

Name: Kasey Stovall
Current Age: 20
First Started: 7
Years Playing: 13

“Soccer has humbled me, soccer has provided a family, soccer has been a healthy coping mechanism, and most of all soccer will always be there for me.”

Recreational soccer has taken root across Texas.  Kasey Stovall’s discussion of soccer in his life charts out the many ways youth soccer associations, in-district school leagues and high school soccer provided a structure to his life outside of his home and through troubles in his home. Joining a soccer game also gave Kasey Stovall a connection to people in his community, whether he had just moved in or had been there for some time.  Soccer, a shared thing that towns across North and West Texas, provides a way for new comers to join in the local team joie de vivre.

Places:

• Garland, Texas 
• Amarillo, Texas 
• Greater Dallas, Texas
• Lakeview Centennial High School 
• Student Recreation Center | San Marcos, Texas 

Name: Karen Urquiza
Current Age: 20
First Played: Age 9
Years Playing: 11

“She's been playing since when she was 15, no 18 actually because she started when got here. After that she kept on playing, she scored a lot, she always had the luck shot. She fell in love with the sport so everyday she would be playing. There would be people inviting her, called all the time but she couldn't go over, she couldn't play.”

Karen Urquiza rejected soccer. Her mother loved the sport. She took Karen to games, hoping she would start enjoying the game as much as she did. For her mother, Austin became the place she learned to love and play soccer, and other players loved playing with her mother. This was not Karen Urquiza’s early experience with the game.

Locations Played:

• Mexico
• Millenium Kids | Austin, Texas
• Soccer Zone | Austin, Texas
• Mendez Middle School | Austin, Texas
• Del Valle High School | Del Valle, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Zilker Park | Austin, Texas

Additional Information

• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Karen Urquiza, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Karen Urquiza, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)

Name: Nicole Williamson
Current Age: 20s
First Played: Age 8
Years Playing: n/a

“Before classes the older kids could be found having pickup games, during recess entire classes would play against rivaling classes. After school, students would practice for the next day … the sport was a culture and a lifestyle for most of my classmates. At recess, everyone played no matter how good they were.”

Soccer rules Houston’s school yards. That was Nicole Williamson’s experience. The ubiquity of unsupervised semi-organized soccer shaped almost every student’s experience of their time outside of class. As a migrant to Houston, this everyday school play made her school and her neighborhood different than the schools and neighborhoods she lived in before moving to Texas.

Soccer became a way to view relationships in each neighborhood. When her family moved to a more affluent part of Houston, the games became more organized, more supervised, and with more parents present. Kids also had to pay to play, something no one seemed to do in her previous neighborhood. Nicole used soccer to provide an insight into the culture of each neighborhood, whether “as an isolating game (from my early perspective), an identifier (for my brother), or a way of life (for the kids that went to my school).”

Locations Played:

• Houston, TX
• San Marcos, TX
• Puerto Rico

Additional Information

• Nicole Williamson, “Soccer as an isolator, identifier, and way of life,” Center for the Study of the Southwest, Texas State University (pdf file)