From Broken Dreams to Building Champions: My Journey Through Soccer and Life I was born in Mexico, where soccer wasn’t just a sport—it was life. Growing up, I played on dusty fields, driven by pure passion and the dream of making something bigger of myself. The game taught me discipline, resilience, and the beauty of chasing something wholeheartedly. But life, as it often does, had other plans. In my late teens, a brutal collision on the field left me with a broken jaw—a moment that changed everything. The pain wasn’t just physical; it was the sudden halt to the one thing I thought defined me. Recovery was long, and with it came doubt and a quiet fear: *What if this was the end of my soccer story?* I fought my way back, but something had shifted. By the time I made it to college, the sport I had once loved began to feel like a burden. The politics, the pressure, and the constant grind had taken the joy out of it. Slowly, I drifted away, thinking I was done with soccer for good. But soccer wasn’t done with me. Years later, I found myself coaching—not by choice, but by circumstance. I stepped into the role reluctantly, thinking it was temporary. But as I watched players grow under my guidance, something incredible happened. The same game that once broke me began to heal me. Coaching wasn’t about me anymore—it was about them. Seeing their struggles, their triumphs, their love for the game rekindled mine. Over five years, my team defied the odds, bringing home four championships. But the trophies weren’t the real victory. The real win was watching players transform—not just into better athletes, but into better humans. Seeing them succeed on and off the field reminded me why soccer mattered in the first place. Today, I coach not just to build better players but to build better people. I understand the struggles—injuries, self-doubt, burnout—because I’ve lived them. And I know the power of soccer to shape lives in ways far beyond the field. My story isn’t just about winning games; it’s about finding purpose, rediscovering passion, and using every challenge as fuel to lift others. Soccer gave me a second chance, and now, I give that back to every player who crosses my path. This is why I do what I do. This is why I coach.