EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A local boys youth soccer team from the under-15 age category is calling on the community’s help to put the Borderland on the map at a regional tournament in Tampa Bay, Florida on June 21.
Miners FC 2009 Boys Soccer lifted the South Texas State Cup in Round Rock, Texas over Memorial Day weekend, and punched their ticket to the Southern Regional Championships.
Miners FC 2009 Boys – South Texas State Cup Champions
The South Texas Cup is one of the Lone Star State’s highest levels of competition for youth soccer, and both tournaments are part of the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships.
U.S. Youth Soccer is the largest youth sport organization in the country, according to their website.
If the Miners win out in regionals, they would guarantee themselves a spot in the National Championships in July.
The core group of this team, Miners FC Head Coach Chris Augilar said, has been together for nine years.
They have competed in high-level tournaments across the country, but this would be their biggest milestone yet.
On top of the tournament providing a lifetime experience, Aguilar said the opportunities for his players are significant.
“There’ll be a lot of college scouts out there watching these games. They tend to attend the higher level tournaments and hopefully the goal is to get them all (Miners players) who want to play at the next level, collegiately, some opportunity to play, get their education and continue to play the game that they all enjoy and love to play,” Aguilar said.
The El Paso region has notably produced professional soccer talent in recent years, such as Ricardo Pepi and Alejandro Zendejas. Aguilar said it’s important to recognize the youth on their way up.
“El Paso is starting to become known as a hotbed for youth soccer talent,” Aguilar said. “There’s so many games being played and spread out throughout the city. So when a team gets an opportunity to get some notoriety, I think it’s well deserved, and there’s many other teams that have been successful.”
However, the quick turnaround from tournament to tournament has quickly become a challenge for the players and their parents, which is why the Miners are raising funds to help cover the expenses.
To help them, you can go to their GoFundMe page here.
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