Ayrton Celentino, who skipped soccer last season, said he had a hard time keeping up with his teammates. "He pushed me but he also encouraged me," he said of his coach. "He's the best I've ever had."
The coach, the owner of JMR Construction, believes in AYSO's philosophy of accepting every boy and girl who wants to play, regardless of their skills. "There are no try-outs. We don't turn anyone away."
And he's frustrated that more parents don't enroll their children in these kinds of community sports programs, allowing them instead to stay home and play video games.
"All they do is kill people on the screen," he said recently in between tournament games. "And when things get tough, they hit the reset button. There's no reset button in life."
When they take to the field on Saturday, the boys will be accompanied by a small, close-knit army of families that has followed them from field to field for seven months, weathering last summer's heat to last month's Arctic storm.
Their leader is the coach's wife, Martha Ramirez, who has coordinated everything from the purchase of uniforms to carne asada meals to hotel accommodations.
The Ramirez family opened up their hotel room for those players whose parents were unable to make the tournament in Garden Grove.
During games, she sometimes stands alone on the sidelines. She shakes her head when an opposing player roughs up a North Park boy, following him with her eyes to make sure he's all right.
During a recent playoff game she was asked which one was her son. She responded, smiling, ""They are all my sons."
[sidebar]How to support the teams
The North Park AYSO League is collecting funds to help cover travel and other expenses of the U-14 and All-Star boys teams, playing this weekend in the State Championship in Garden Grove. All donations are tax-deductible.
More information is available from the coach, Mario Ramirez, (619) 454-1400, jmrconstruction@cox.net.[/sidebar]
[sidebar]Meet the champions
These 18 boys make up North Park's AYSO undefeated U-14 and All-Star teams. They compete for the State Championship this weekend.
Raul Adame, Ayrton Celentino, Christopher Desiderio, Kevin Estrada, D'rell Gist, Andrew Garcia, Kier Hatch,
Cesar Hernandez, Manuel Lopez, Angel Mancilla, Jorge Mendez, Peter Mendez,
Daniel Ramirez, Rudy Rivera, Raul Silva, Nestor Suarez, Angel Ortiz and Erick Portillo.
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