Positions | Midfields

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: 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: Van Le
Age: 57
First Played: Age 4
Years Playing: 53

“when there was a match then the student players would get together for the match. We would march from the school to the city soccer field: no buses, and of course followed by the chanting and flag waving of the team supporters that comprised mostly of other students.”

Soccer is part of Van Le’s memories of being a kid in rural Vietnam. He finds it hard to remember when he started playing.

He returned to organized soccer when he moved to Austin. He started playing with the Motorola team – the Motorola Mosquitoes – and then kept playing with the Romulans. He also has a regular pick up game with friends in Cedar Park.

Locations Played:

• Cedar Park, Texas
• Mekong Delta, Viet Nam
• Dallas, TX
• Charles Alan Wright Fields | Austin, Texas
• IBM Fields | Austin, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex
• Northeast Metro Soccer Complex | Pflugerville, TX
• East Metro Park | Manor, TX

Additional Information

• Emily Tejada, Interview with Van Le, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)

Name: Cesar Limon
Age: 49
First Played: Age 4
Years Playing: 45

“I would play in the streets with people from my neighborhood, I could not even count how many people, like 30-40 people”

Cesar Limon started playing soccer on the streets of Monterrey, Mexico at the age of 4. Cesar played professional Soccer in Mexico, and semi-pro in the U.S. before pursuing an education in graphic design. Today he works as a Senior Graphic Designer at Texas State University and plays in Austin’s recreational league.

Locations Played:

• Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
• Monterrey FC Stadium | Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
• Toyota Field | San Antonio, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• Dallas, Texas
• Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico
• Nuevo Laredo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
• South East Metro Park | Del Valle, Texas
• North East Metro Park | Pflugerville, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex, Austin, Texas
• Rio Vista Park | San Marcos, Texas

Additional Information

• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Caesar Limon, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)

Name: John Mckiernan-González
Age: 50
First Played: Age 6
Years Playing: 44

“Today, I still wait on the edge of the field, biding my time for my moment.”

John Mckiernan-Gonzalez grew up on the margins of the game but across Nort America. Smaller than most, he had to fight to get time on the field, a challenge made more difficult by moving four times growing up. For him, finding friendly and welcoming games has given him insight and entrée into different places across the United States and North America. Soccer is played everywhere, and everywhere access to soccer games reflect the changing structures of a given place.

Locations Played:

• Pance, Colombia
• American School Foundation | Mexico City, Mexico
• Tuscaloosa YMCA | Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Snow Hinton Park | Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Alabama Soccer Stadium | Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Jackson, Mississippi | 32.372493, -90.114788
• Escuela John F. Kennedy | Jurica, Santiago de Querétaro, Qro., Mexico
• United World College | Montezuma, New Mexico
• Downs at Santa Fe | Santa Fe, New Mexico
• North Mesa Soccer Field | Los Alamos, New Mexico
• Athletic Fields | Oberlin, Ohio
• Fuller Park | Ann Arbor, Michigan
• JFK Hockey Fields | Washington, DC
• Lincoln Memorial Sand Volleyball Courts | Washington DC
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Zilker Park | Austin, Texas
• Southeast Metro Park | Del Valle, Texas
• Northeast Metro Park | Pflugerville, Texas
• East Metro Park | Manor, Texas

Additional Information

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

Name: Carlos Abreu Mendoza
Age: 36
First Played: Age 5
Years Playing: 30

“Now, with all the technology, it is easier to create groups [soccer teams]”

Carlos Abreu Mendoza is originally from Huelva, Spain, home of the first soccer team ever created in Spain. Carlos discovered soccer in grade school through scrimmages during recess. Today he enjoys playing with students at the Student Recreational Center and through intramurals.

Locations Played:

• Texas State University Rec Center | San Marcos, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• Huelva, Andalucia, Spain
• University of Seville, Andalucia, Spain
• Michael Hooker Fields | Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Westlake High School | West Lake Hills, Texas
• Intramural Soccer Field | San Marcos, Texas
• Zilker Park, Austin, Texas

Additional Information

• John Mckiernan-González, Interview with Carlos Abreu Mendoza, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf 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: Kerri Gleason Moran
Age: 40
First Played: Age 6
Years Playing: 34

“I decided that it was good to play 45 minute halves again. And on grass, not on turf … It's different. Very different.”

Kerri Gleason Moran grew up playing soccer. Her sisters played. Her brothers played. Her parents played. She played in school, in local leagues and in competitive travel clubs. This is what it might be like growing up in soccer in Norway, France, or Germany, but she did this in Texas.

She had the opportunity to play varsity and she played for traveling clubs in Chicago. She now plays adult recreational in Austin.

Locations Played:

• Houston, Texas
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Chicago, Illinois
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• North East Metro Park | Pflugerville, Texas

Additional Information

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

Name: Billy Pritchard
Age: 78
First Played: Age 5
Years Playing: 73

Billy Pritchard started playing soccer at the age of five in Liverpool, England. One day, while driving down the park, Billy saw some people kicking a soccer ball and decided to pull over and join their team. Since then, he has been involved in Austin soccer through various teams and leadership roles. The veteran recently retired from the sport after 73 years.

“It was a game you played, a street game, as you were growing up. It is what every kid played, and every piece of ground, every street was kicking the soccer ball, or a bag of something, cans, sometimes”

Locations Played:

• Liverpool, England
• Zilker Park | Austin, Texas
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• IBM Soccer Fields | Austin, Texas

Additional Information

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

Name: Tracey Rodgers
Age: 58
First Played: Age 20s
Years Playing: 38

“I was wanting to do something outdoors, and I knew I could be much better at softball, so I checked into soccer leagues and there was a women's league.”

For Tracey, soccer provides an opportunity to be outside, but outside in a way that is more interactive and engaged than running, hiking, or softball. She started playing in Atlanta, searching out a league and teams that included women. The women’s league in Atlanta provided her a base. She has since branched out into over 30s women’s soccer and co-ed soccer.

Teams – and scheduling three games on weekends – did become difficult to juggle. She currently plays on two, where she can balance the physical burden with the opportunity to play and run with other like-minded teammates and league members.

Locations Played:

• Onion Creek Soccer Complex | Austin, Texas
• University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas
• Atlanta, Georgia

Additional Information

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

Name: Raymond Voith
Age: 75
First Played: Age 16
Years Playing: 42

Raymond Voith first encountered soccer while serving as a Catholic foreign mission seminarian in Pennsylvania. He played for five years in the seminary and then quit for seventeen years until arriving in Austin and playing for the Motorola team. Raymond keeps playing at the age of 75 because he enjoys the sport, staying healthy, and building friendships.

“I just hope to keep playing as long as I feel comfortable and I’m making at least two, three good plays a game”

Locations Played:

• IBM Fields
• South East Metro Fields
• Zilker Park
• Onion Creek Soccer Complex

Additional Information

• Nicole Williamson, Interview with Raymond Voith, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (pdf file)
• Nicole Williamson, Interview with Raymond Voith, At Play: Futbol in the Land of Football (interview audio, mp4 file)