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 Koy
Severino and the coaches of the after-school intermediate soccer
programs in Pasadena ISD want their student-athletes to keep their eyes
on the goal. And that’s not just on the soccer field, but in life.
Severino, the peer facilitator at Southmore Intermediate, formed the
first intermediate soccer program in 1994 as part of an after-school
initiative. Today, the program has grown to include seven Pasadena ISD
intermediate schools that field both boys and girls teams. Schools
participating in the program include Jackson, South Houston, San
Jacinto, Miller, Bondy, Park View and Southmore.
“As a young teen, many of my friends and I did not speak the same
language, but we played the same game and soccer became our mode of
communication and a vehicle of cross-cultural understanding,” he said.
The Southmore Soccer Club began as an extra-curricular after-school
incentive program. Severino said during its first year, the only other
schools he could find to play against were private schools in Houston,
who had had soccer as part of their regular curriculum for years.
“The private schools were so impressed by our players and the quality of
their play that we would be invited every year since then to their
annual tournaments, facing such soccer powerhouses as St. John's, River
Oaks Baptist and Kinkaid,” he said.
This year, Southmore won the championship of the prestigious Kinkaid
Tournament, where they faced the British School of Houston in the
semi-final and KIPP Academy in the final.
After Southmore’s first year, other intermediate schools in the district
began showing interest in fielding after-school soccer clubs and then
the growth of the program began.
“The mission of our program is to provide an opportunity for our
students to strengthen their spiritual, personal and intellectual growth
through participation in a global athletic endeavor integrating
cognitive and physical challenges within a community of peers,” Severino
said. “I think that the most critical aspect of the intermediate soccer
program is that the students engage in a cognitive activity under the
guidance of a positive adult role model - their coaches. Soccer gives
students another incentive to perform well in school, and the lessons
they learn from both the game and their relationships with their coaches
and each other are lifelong.”
Although it is an after-school club sport, the programs follow the same
eligibility requirements of the University Interscholastic League.
“Students must pass their classes in order to be eligible to play.
We apply these standards very tightly,” Severino said.
This spring, the intermediate soccer program reached a milestone as the
seven participating intermediate schools helped the third annual
Pasadena Intermediate Cup become the largest intermediate soccer
competition in the greater Houston area, with 24 matches being played
over a span of three weeks at Veterans’ Memorial Stadium. San Jacinto
Intermediate took the boys tournament title, while the Park View girls
won their division.
The intermediate after-school soccer program is quickly becoming a
pipeline for high school soccer talent.
“The high school coaches absolutely love our program,” Severino said.
“They come out to the games to scout their future players, donate
equipment, host games on their grounds, invite our players to their
summer training camps and even volunteer occasionally as referees. Many
players who have gone through the intermediate programs go on to stellar
high school careers and are recruited by colleges around the country.”
Severino touted the success of several former intermediate school
players. Former Bondy player Isaac Yanez plays for Memorial High School
and earned All-District honors as a freshman. One of the Southmore
players, seventh grade student Derick Gonzalez, recently made it into
the Houston Dynamo youth development system.
Some of the former players even come back to coach. Erica Reyna, who
played for Southmore during the first year of the girls program, went on
to play at Rayburn and San Jacinto College. Now, she coaches the
Southmore girls’ team.
Severino credits the work of the many coaches and volunteers in the
schools for the programs’ success, including South Houston’s Brenda
Villarreal and Terrance Maldonado, Miller Intermediate’s Antonio Bernabe
and John Hardy, San Jacinto’s Amanda Gaeth and Misty Riggenbach, Park
View’s Wilfredo Puente and Donna Rossino, Bondy’s Ian Birch, Cindy Zaid
and Sara Henderson, Jackson’s Joe Garza and parent Hector Ramirez , and
Southmore’s Eric Ortega and Erica Reyna.
“In order for an intermediate soccer program to succeed in the district,
it takes some very dedicated teachers, who not only are willing to
commit their spare time, expend extra energy and even spend some of
their own money for their students, but who also have a deep
understanding and belief in the game and what it can do,” Severino said.
“When you find that very special teacher, your program will succeed. And
that is what we have done in Pasadena.
“It is and always has been my hope that the players we produce are
inspired by their coaches and their experience of playing soccer at the
intermediate level to live a life of integrity and compassion,
transcending cultural barriers to develop a deeper global understanding
of humanity, and dedicate themselves to the development of
their community, much in the same way their coaches did for them,” he
added. “Whenever I see evidence of this, I know that all of our hard
work has been worth it.” |