Soccer may be just a game, but Temo Gonzalez believes it can be a way to teach kids life lessons in school.
"Some of these families here, they're coming from hard, hard backgrounds, very tough backgrounds," Gonzalez said. "This is their freedom."
Gonzalez is a technical director with the Trebol Soccer Club. Trebol offers a free in-school program called "Amigos" run by Gonzalez. During recess, he and his trainers work with kids on the basic rules of soccer at four schools in Lafayette and Erie including Pioneer Bilingual Elementary School where half the students are considered low income.
Gonzalez attended Pioneer when he was growing up. The school is mostly Latino.
"We just play man. I know exactly the life you have," Gonzalez said.
He says organized activities during recess provide the obvious fitness benefit.
"I mean the Latin community they're eating a lot of tortilla," Gonzalez said. "The nutrition's not there, you know. What we do, let's burn it out."
But Pioneer Principal Kristin Nelson-Steinhoff says there are other benefits as well, socially.
"They learn how to work together as a team, how to cooperate with one another," Nelson-Steinhoff said.
She says the Amigos program has helped decreased bullying and teasing at school. The principal says having this type of program provided free of charge is invaluable.
"There would be no way, no possible way we could fund opportunities like this for our students," Nelson-Steinhoff said.
Devon Villareal is a fourth grade student at Pioneer. He loves the program.
"It's a good experience just to work with other people," Devon said.
He says playing soccer at recess helps him focus when he's back in class.
"It like clears your mind and makes you ready for that," Devon said.
Nelson-Steinhoff says the academic benefits are clear to her and her teachers.
"Once you have kids physically engaged in positive ways, they're more ready. Their brains are more ready to attend to the work at hand," Nelson-Steinhoff said.
The Amigos program is just one of the ways the Trebol Soccer Club reaches out to the community, Gonzalez says. Trebol also offers around $60,000 in scholarships to low income kids so they can play organized club soccer.
Gonzalez believes the for some children, soccer can be change lives.
"I have parents that sometimes will cry and say what you're doing for my son at this school is awesome," Gonzalez said. "I don't need the money, I'll do this in every school. These kids need it."
