Isabella Alcantara watched her young daughter and son practicing their soccer skills on a late June afternoon at Leo Alvey Park in Kansas City, Kan. The occasion was a special co-ed soccer academy
sponsored by the Kansas City Kansas Soccer Association that brought together area club soccer coaches and Wizards players, including the Wizards Academy Juniors, to participate in a series of drills and
competitions with youth ages 5 and older.

Jose Zarate, president of the Kansas City Kansas Soccer Association, spoke about the importance of the academy. “A lot of these kids have soccer in their blood. We don’t have to pay a lot for coaches, it is already familiar to them. A lot of these kids play soccer, they love it already. We just need to expose them to it in an organized fashion
– in a developed and structured atmosphere and expose them to better clubs such as the Wizards Academy Juniors so that they can be exposed to some organizations where they hopefully can make a career of it.”

Santiago Hirsig, a midfielder on the Wizards team and originally from Argentina, was one of the players who spoke with children about their soccer skills. “The main thing is the kids need to understand is their responsibility when they come to the pitch. They need to be
prepared for the game. The best way to learn the game is to play. It is not something that you get from the internet. Even if they want to
become professional someday, something may change, but the basics of the game will always be the same.”

Hirsig added that the lessons to be learned on the pitch are universal. “The kids become more interested in the game as fans. They
identify with individual players. They start to have idols. … They also get a great example of what it takes to succeed in the game. You
have to have a sober and dedicated approach to the game. You have to take care of yourself and want to get better and these are things that serve you well the rest of your life.”

“We are trying to develop kids and make soccer one of the more dominant sports here in Kansas City, Kansas,” said Zarate. “We are in a very diverse community. We have a lot of cultures here. We need to reach out to those individuals and let them know that there is an opportunity for soccer here. You don’t have to pay a lot of money to get involved and have fun.”

Like Hirsig, Zarate also highlighted the important life lessons of organized sport. “The biggest thing that we get out of it is that we keep them out of trouble. They do well at school and they do well at home and give back to the community. Those are the three things we focus on.”

Zarate pointed out that the commitment of coaches and parents in the kids’ development is a way of investing in the future of the community. “As they grow up and become adults we would like to see them come back and give back to the community as we did for them.”

Alcantara was enthused by the interest generated by the World Cup and took the opportunity to bring her kids to take advantage of the skills program. “Thanks to the Cup and this program the kids are
enthused to practice a sport which is good to exercise the body and where they can improve their skills.”

Alcantara believes the television exposure of the World Cup has focused attention on the most popular organized sport in the world.
“The kids are enthused to get out here and practice after they watch the games. Before it was not like this. It was hard to get them
interested. They have followed the teams of their home country and they want to mimic their heroes.”

She told Hispanic News that her children were supporting the USA at the beginning and added the Mexican team when they saw their parents and friends rooting for Mexico. “Now that the two teams, Mexico and
USA are out, we are supporting the Latino teams that are left. Like you say, this only comes around every four years.”

Hirsig believes that in the next four years until the next Cup comes around, the energy and enthusiasm generated by the world tournament will manifest itself in increased interest and improvement as youth
become more involved in the game. “You can see the parents here on the sidelines supporting the kids and this gives them the sense that they can come here in a safe and secure environment and enjoy
themselves and learn new skills.”