DENVER — Juan Pirela spent nine years as a professional soccer player in Venezuela. He grew up with a love for the sport, and it was always his dream to play at an elite level.
Pirela arrived in Denver five months ago, after deciding with his family to emigrate from Venezuela to the United States. Since then, he's organized three soccer clinics for kids to learn basic drills and techniques, and to help those who want to play again. He coaches along with two other relatives who also played professionally.
"Basically, we lived for soccer. It is a passion, a love, something we dreamed about since we were kids," Pirela said in his native Spanish language. "I was a professional soccer player for nine years with that career, living for football. They paid me, as you would say, to kick a ball. But with the economic situation in the country, we had to emigrate."
On Sunday, the clinic was open only to students at Valdez Elementary School in north Denver. Twenty-two students signed up for the two-hour clinic. All of them are bilingual due to Valdez's dual language immersion program.
"It felt really cool, felt kind of special, because not everyone gets to do it," said Luciana, a student who participated in Sunday's clinic.
"I think it means a lot to them that they love the game of soccer and all they want to do is help teach the children and the community the game that they love," said Lori Conway, who has brought her son to some of the previous clinics.
"Him and his dad watch professional soccer every Saturday morning, and he just watches old YouTube games from Messi and Ronaldo," Conway said about her 5-year-old son. "Learning from professional soccer players is exactly what he wants to do. Yeah, he's very excited about it."
Conway is now working with the three coaches to help spread the word and organize additional clinics. The event on Sunday resulted in roughly $500 in donations to the coaches, and was the largest turnout yet based on the number of students participating.
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