Many students joined Allen Community College Red Devils soccer team this semester. One of them is 18-year-old Juan Carlos Vaca Ganzález from Guayaquil, Ecuador, the country where “soccer is the most popular sport,” says Juan. Colegio Americano De Guayaquil was the school that Juan Carlos graduated from before coming to Allen. He has been playing soccer for his whole life.
“I like soccer a lot because of my dad; he told me a lot about soccer when I was a kid. Soccer is our first sport,” says Juan.
Juan has been in the United States for only two months. He, as any other international student, experienced cultural shock. “It`s my second month here and I`m still in shock,” he says. Talking about how he manages it, Juan says, “I practice soccer a lot. It keeps me busy.”
Life in the United States seems a lot different to Juan from Ecuador. The big difference is that “in the U.S. there are many opportunities. I never had those opportunities to play soccer on the teams, for example, like my other teammates did. I had to play on the streets. There is no real support in my country. That`s the big difference,” he said.
Juan also remembers how he and his friends used to play soccer on the streets instead of fields. “We would close the streets, and put rocks (across the street) so no cars would pass,” he said.
Juan believes that “there is a very active way of living life in Ecuador. We don’t usually play video games or spend time on something else. We just go out and play sports like soccer, for example.” He played many sports in high school like swimming, baseball, basketball, volleyball and track and field.
Before coming to Allen, Juan thought about going to a university in Ecuador but changed his mind as he wanted to play soccer along with studying.
“Universities in Ecuador don`t have sports,” Juan said. “You have to decide if you want to be a player, student or you just want to work. There are not opportunities to study and play sports at the same time.”
It was a big challenge and responsibility for Juan to study abroad as “not many people can go outside Ecuador. Even if they have money to go outside the country and study somewhere else, they don`t go as they don`t really want to take a risk to go to another country.”
When asked what soccer means to him, Juan says, “Soccer is an opportunity to be seen as a hero in my country.” Juan faced many difficulties before he came here. It was hard and seemed absolutely impossible for him to go to another country and gain success in a college, especially in soccer.
“I am a dreamer; I just accomplish my dreams,” he says. “If I want something I just go for it. That is how I am.”
His father always supported him and was a big inspiration for Juan. “My dad told me ‘If you want it go for it, I will support you,’ and then I came here,” Juan said.
Juan prefers to play, rather than watch, his favorite sport. “I enjoy watching soccer with my friends. But most of the time, I don’t watch it as I like going outside and play it: kick the ball, do exercises,” he said. His favorite player is Antonio Valencia, who plays for the English team Manchester United. Juan wants to have the same position in soccer as Valencia does, which is midfielder.
Juan is excited about this year and next soccer season, as well. “The only reason why I`m here is because God wanted me to,” believes Juan.
ANOTHER new student who joined the Red Devils soccer team this year is 18-year-old Natalie Lynn Leiker from Kansas City, Kansas. Natalie, a freshman, graduated from a Catholic high school in her city. She chose Allen because of affordability, size and the soccer program.
Natalie is excited to join Allen soccer team Red Devils this semester as she has been playing soccer since she was 3 years old.
“All the kids play team sports when they are little so I liked to play soccer and basketball, but I chose soccer” says Natalie. She played soccer all through high school. At the present time Natalie is on a soccer scholarship playing as a defender for Allen’s team.
Natalie and her team have twelve games this season, but there are only six left. Two are home games. “I like Allen’s team a lot. We are family,” says Natalie. She likes going to other cities to play games as she loves traveling a lot and “traveling with a team is always fun,” she says.
Traveling is what Natalie`s family loves to do. “I have been to twenty three states. I`m trying to go to all of them as my family travels a lot. I`ve never been outside of the country, though. I want to go to Europe, especially Germany,” she says. Her favorite place that she visits every year is Colorado as she loves mountains and is a big fan of snowboarding.
At Allen Community College, Natalie takes eighteen credit hours. She thinks about transferring to a four year school as her goal is to get a bachelor`s degree. The university Natalie thinks about going to is Fort Hays State University, majoring in nurse anesthetist.
Going camping and fishing are Natalie`s hobbies. She also likes reading and “making things, like friendship bracelets.” Soccer for Natalie “is an escape from real life. It helps me get away from stress as it keeps me busy so much.”
“I`m excited about the season and next year. Before each game I`m very nervous. It`s more like nervous-excited, though, rather than nervous-scary,” says Natalie.