If you follow our blog, you know that a good number of the children from Love & Hope Children’s Home play soccer. At 13, Michell is the oldest of our children who plays for the local Los Planes de Renderos team. She is the only girl in her age group to represent Los Planes, but she holds her own and is seen by the others as a leader. Michell has found her passion in fútbol. One day after school she expressed her anticipation for practice that afternoon, “I just want to play soccer!”
About three months ago, Michell was asked to play on another soccer team in San Salvador. She was practicing four days a week and playing on two different teams, still the only girl participant. We here at Love & Hope Children’s Home knew she was talented, but maybe didn’t realize the extent of her soccer skills. What happened next was a wake-up call.
At the end of April, someone approached us at Michell’s soccer practice about an all girls soccer team. Upon investigating further, we realized that Michell had been asked to try out for the Salvadoran national team for girls 17 and under! Obviously, Michell was excited, and so were we! The more we found out, the more impressed we were at the Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol (FESFUT), and that Michell was able to garner this kind of attention. She had a chance to be part of La Selecta!
At the beginning of May, Michell participated in a week of try-outs and was asked to return for the next few weeks to live and train with the team. She lived at FESFUT, practiced a couple times a day and made a lot of new friends. Michell came home on the weekends during the month of May exhausted and noticeably more muscular and toned. Michell even had to follow a strict diet, limiting her fat and sugar intake while at home. Since she wasn’t attending school, Michell spent most of the weekend catching up on school work. Somewhere in there, she tried to get some rest. Yet, she was loving it! It was all in the name of fútbol.
At the end of May, Michell came home and at the moment is no longer practicing with the team, but this certainly isn’t the end. Michell is in high spirits about it, knowing that in the coming years she will have more opportunities. Michell was one of the youngest girls to participate in try-outs and we couldn’t be more proud of her! We are so excited to see the opportunities that Michell will have in pursuing her passion. Please pray for Michell as she continues to make her mark on the Salvadoran soccer scene. Please also pray for our other children – that they would also discover their passion and use it to glorify God!
Go Michi! You are awesome, chica! Estamos muy orgullosos de ti. We are so proud of you.