Club Cheras Soccer Tournament Recap

Club Cheras hosts the biggest soccer tournament in MC history! Fourteen teams from surrounding MC communities arrived at our humble soccer field yesterday, two hours late asis Salvadoran custom! The day got off to a rocky start as 1.) the truck that was supposed to arrive to help us haul everything to the field didn´t show up 2.) our girls team didn´t come dressed to play (What!?) 3.) We didn´t have enough tables and had to haul one in from a local house 4.) The wood we needed for our stove was wet 5.) several ¨cheras¨arrived late and were more concerned with looking cute and not breaking a sweat than pulling their weight.
In spite of all that, the day turned out to be a huge success. No rain!!! All the kinks worked out and we got a lot of support from unexpected places. One of the women in my community, Tina, appeared out of nowhere and helped fry pastelitos from 9 til 4 just because she wanted to support us. Her daughter is not even in our group. She refused any payment I tried to offer. My Salvadoran Mamá also showed up to help with the wood situation. A local soccer coach, Nelson, volunteered to ref the last several games of the tournament when nobody else wanted to help. My good friend Sarah Gongora gave tons of moral support, cracked the whip on my girls, and managed the sales booth for most of the day. I was on the run the whole day…didn´t eat a thing or sit down until 6pm. I have the Tshirt sunburn to show for it. We had so many games to fit in (14!), we were playing 15 minute games, most of which ended in penalty shots. During each game I was running around the perimeter of the field telling teams that were up next to get ready, hunting down refs for each game, and settling disputes over game play order. When a penalty shot went array, I had 20 angry teenage boys barking in my ear, demanding I make a call. Keep in mind I know about as much about the sport of soccer as I know about open heart surgery. Luckily the disputes were verbal and not physical and were somewhat peacefully resolved. In the event of a disaster, we did have 3 cops show up to keep an eye on everything, one of which asked for my number and told me, ¨don´t worry Miss, justice is right here,¨ while pointing to his gun. Agh, gross.
The girls played first. Montecristo got 3rd place, tragically. The boys games took up most of the day and drew a very large crowd. Around noon we had already sold all of the food and drinks we had brought to sell, so I had to do an emergency run to my friend Francisca´s shop to grab 4 more crates of soda and water. At the end of the day we brought in a total of $315.00 of profit, not too shabby for a one-day event! It was really exciting to see the anticipation and adrenaline of all the players. The cheering, the laughter, the smiles gave me the feeling that in spite of all the rough patches, the communities had a lot of fun yesterday. As I vented about my exhaustion to my Salvadoran father figure, Don Angel, post-tournament he told me, ¨Kali, there were definitely things that could have gone smoother, but you did a great thing; we´ve never had a tournament that big here on our field as long as I can remember.¨ So when I collapsed into my hammock at the end of the day, I knew we had done well and I could finally breath again. My girls still have a long way to go in terms of stepping into leadership roles at such events. I´d be lying to say that they all chipped in as much as I had expected them to. There were a lot of blank stares as response to requests for help. We´ll definitely talk more about that at our next meeting. I know I have to be patient, this was a huge event and none of these girls have ever participated in the undertaking of something like this. However, I know they are capable of more. They all have the potential to be leaders, or at least great team members. It´s a process…
The girls rocked blue bandanas the day of the event (thanks Mom and Aunt Mary) which not only made them feel more öfficial¨ as group members, but helped me pick them out quickly from the crowd. Our decorations were admired, particularly by the women that showed up to watch the event. The men of course had their eyes glued on the trophies. I send a million thanks to my Mom and and Aunt Mary for doing everything possible to take off the pressure of this endeavor from afar. I love you so much and I can´t explain how much your support means. This wild and crazy Salvadoran soccer tournament is your success as well! So congratulations! Below are pictures from my birthday and the soccer tournament. Se me cuiden! Kali