For the 4th consecutive year, the Springfield Sister Cities Association is hosting a cultural and soccer exchange with Tlaquepaque (Ta-lak-ee-pak-ee), Mexico . A group of 17 young men, between the ages of 12 and 15, depart on June 26th. They will play 4 games over a 6 day period against teams that are part of Atlas Football Club, a team that competes in the Mexican Professional League and supports a large Youth Academy, a model that is just beginning to be emulated in the US by Major League Soccer.
Photo slideshow and gallery of photos from the Friendly
The Sister Cities site describes Tlaquepaque as a city of more than 525,000 that is both traditional and cosmopolitan and places its emphasis on art and culture. Known as the “Soul of Mexico,” the city borders Tonala to the south and Guadalajara and Zapopan in the north. The city is located less than an hour from the major metropolitan city of Guadalajara, Mexico, the country’s second-largest city.
This is the second visit by a Springfield team to Tlaquepaque, the first coming in 2006 following the visits to Springfield by the Atlas players in 2005 and then 2007. The home-and-away series is a hotly contested set of games leading to the award of a classic trophy and medals with Springfield winning each of the past two years.
This years players are well aware of the history and look forward to continuing the winning trend. Jackson Patillo, 15 and a member of the Willard Tigers as well as Springfield SC, will be making his first visit beyond US borders. What is he looking forward to the most? “Playing in the stadium that Atlas FC competes in. It will be a fast game, and rough, but we can compete with them. We’ve got a pretty good team as well”
Video from KOLR 10 including interviews with Jackson & Gehrig
The youngest member is Izzy Chappell, who will be a seventh grader at Pershing Middle School this Fall. Asked about his expectations, he was confident. “We’ll win” was his response, which went hand-in-hand with his personal plans. “I want to buy jerseys of teams from Mexico, and a soccer ball for my trophy case”. He’s a speedy forward with good skills and his greatest memory currently is scoring against the KC Wizards goal keeper in costume during half time contests of a game against Missouri State.
There is one young man who will be making his second trip to Tlaquepaque, a 14-year old veteran of international travel. Gehrig Haberstock, from SpringHigh Select SC who will be a sophomore at Waynesville this Fall, is the son of a recently retired Army veteran. Like me, Gehrig was born in Munich Germany but has gained all of his soccer experience in Missouri, his home since 2001. He was one of the youngest on the trip in 2006 and besides the games, the cultural experience still resonates for him.
“We toured the city, seeing their old buildings and plazas. It was pretty neat. We ate a lot of fajitas, more than I ever want to eat again!”
The Sister City relationship between Springfield and Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico was formalized on June 27, 2003 and has included a number of visits besides this soccer event. According to their website, the SSCA sought this relationship with a Spanish-speaking community because of the growth of the Hispanic population in the Ozarks region and for the opportunities for business and cultural development. As these boys can attest, it’s been a great relationship. Bring home the hardware boys!
Post a Comment