EduKick Madrid – Letter from Anselmo
Letter from Anselmo on EduKick Madrid player progress!
During my visit last week I was impressed with the level of performance and commitment that our Edukick boys showed with respect to our whole program. They showed respect for each other and an incredible amount of enthusiasm to want to improve in all aspects of their development, football, academics, Spanish and social life.
EduKick players in action!
Our Edukick Madrid program is about improving while being happy at playing, training, studying, learning and living together in a foreign country and culture. With that goal in mind I met with each one of them to see if they were all happy and content with their expectations of the program.
I can proudly communicate to you all, that the overall impression is that in just two months they have achieved a lot for themselves with the language, with the culture, with their social life (local new friends) and especially with their passion for the game of football.
Not all our participants are the same and that is why also some minor frustrations and false expectations appeared and we diligently had to deal with them. But these are minor adjustments that are always part of the game of adapting to a new country, culture, language and new friends that act as brothers and new Edukick Madrid staff that must act as whole new host parents.
EduKick players arriving in Madrid!
Parents or guardians must realize that these are a lot of daily life changes that our boarders need to adjust and shallow in just one single shot. All this represents a whole deal of challenge to each one them and that is why we OVERALL FEEL SO PROUD OF EACH SINGLE ONE OF OUR BOARDERS.
Everyday they are proving to themselves and to everyone around them that they are proudly determined to excel and get the most of this very unique experience. The first semester is always the most difficult one (homesickness may appear strong) and I saw some cases of it last week. I also saw some confusion on some others not knowing how better take advantage of their time here, trying harder at practices, at school and at Spanish classes.
Some others needed guidance for their football goals so they could be realistic and achievable. Some others felt frustrated with their local team coaches (we must realized how hard is for each one of them, being foreigners, to prove to local coaches that they are better players than local ones.
Please think of superstars like Ibrahimovic at Barcelona or Benzema at Madrid what a hard time they had and are having at adapting to new team players, coaches and culture).This is tough for adults and very tough for our young boarders too.
But there they are, hanging in there, everyday going to practices, classes and following a strict schedule that is going to help them develop a strong character and lots of self-confidence in their ability to face challenges & hardships with confidence to figure them out and succeed. For all this, year after year and as expert educators, we tell parents to have a little bit of patience because the best is yet to come in the second part of the program. Then there they will be, feeling fully integrated in their teams, in their classes, in their schedules and moving with confidence about what to expect next from the whole experience.
At the end of the year they will be much better fulfilled, much stronger physically and mentally, more ready and that is exactly the reason we have so may returnees for the following year. Formation of a character happens with time and challenges and we love it when we see so many young men maturing so fast with a sense of reality and community, besides the fact that they can become great athletes for themselves.
So all my time past week went to make sure that all of them were happy and with no issues that could jeopardize their growth and they search for good and happiness. This spirit was highly present and visible in all of our boarders’ eyes and outlook for progress.
I interviewed them with respect to their feelings toward all issues: their goals while in our program, their language level, their football, their new friends, their relationship with staff, coaches and local players and a long list of etceteras of personal issues to get to know them better.
I think I did and felt the pride of their families (parents, brothers and sisters). We had a wonderful time together knowing about each other. And they were eager to learn about my football professional career and my goals and how it was working with the Spanish National team and they learned about Xavi, Iniesta, Villa or Casillas and we talked and talked and when we realized it was almost midnight and we had to go to bed. This group of boarders is a great group let me tell you!
Let me also tell you about the biggest issue in their agenda: FOOTBALL. They are all playing or are going to be playing in local teams their level and their ages. Most for the COLMENAR local football academy program which is one of the top football programs in Madrid. The Infantil, Cadete and Juveniles categories are the teams that are hosting 9-10 of our participants. They play in the same junior leagues than those of Real Madrid, AT. Madrid, Getafe, and Rayo Vallecano, all of which, are first and second division professional teams from the Spanish La Liga.
Normally it is very difficult to make Colmenar teams even for local players, but this year most of our players have made the team are getting playing time and contributing actively to their respective teams’ victories. As an example I want to refer to the games Cadete B and the Juvenil B played excellent competitive games where our players excelled, scored and assisted (I do not want to use names to avoid preference issues). In other games our players came late in the game and helped consolidate a 5-2 victory away. Other local teams that are hosting our players are Carranza, FC. Race and friendly amateur club Montenebros.
Of course winning and losing are important for our players’ confidence and psyche, but for us the whole issue of football is daily training and progress. We can see that they are becoming much stronger athletes, much better technical players having a more clear understanding of the basic requirements of team performance.
Witnessing our players in their training together with the other Spanish players and coaches is a moment of communal exhilaration and joy that I wish all parents could have witnessed. Our Edukick players are making a truly impressive difference for themselves and with their contributions to the teams on and off the field and the local community members are very much aware of it and highly appreciating it.
As expert educators and ex professional players you cannot imagine how gratifying it is for us to see the level of adaptation, integration and commitment that our Edukick participants are demonstrating by having proved to themselves that they can make it even under the most challenging of conditions (Foreign country, language, culture etc…).
The caliber of football exposure that our boarders are getting from Spain best football practices in the world justified by the motto: “Control the ball, control the game”, is helping them gain an invaluable experience that will last long in their football careers.
WELL DONE BOYS!
Please Jon send our best regards and wishes for the Holidays to all parents and participants!
Cheers
Anselmo and EDUKICK MADRID Family
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