coronavirus, Learning

Johan’s home, now what?

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First of all, we would like to acknowledge and thank the outpouring of love and support we have received the past couple of days from folks all over. It’s been pleasantly overwhelming and much appreciated and it’s in moments like these that our bonds become stronger. We can’t thank you enough. If we haven’t gotten back to you personally, we will very soon. It’s been a physically, and emotionally draining week.

BTW, some of you have inquired about Jogo. Yes, he is away from us but doing really well (emotionally, mentally, and physically). He’s been busy wrapping up his online high school classes. LouCity has taken excellent care of him; we are in constant communication with their staff and they have been nothing short of amazing. Sure, we are not worry-free by any means but he is well-taken care of and “within” a driving distance should he need us. The time to see him again will come soon but that will have to wait…especially now. Anyway, here is where the Gómez’s are now on this Palm Sunday…

Late last night, Johan safely arrived to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) international airport after multiple stops in Europe and the US. He left Porto on Friday and made it home on Sunday (looong trip). As excited as we were to welcome him, we needed to take extreme safety measures to ensure his well-being and of those around him. Kudos to my sister-in-law who is a nurse by profession and led the way in the protocol to follow upon his arrival at the airport. The key to a successful “welcome” at the airport was preparation.

The preparation

We were always very optimistic that the flight would turn out a success. However, that was only part of the trip. There were a lot of unknowns as soon as he landed in DFW and we needed to be ready for the worst-case scenarios. We had to be certain that once he made it out to the terminal and/or home, his (and ours too) safety would be paramount.

  1. Attire: We prepared a new set of clothing (including different shoes) for Johan so that he’d change into that right away at the airport. Short of taking a shower at the airport, the point of doing that was to isolate and seal all his personal belongings ASAP (including his carry-on bag). This included providing a brand new set of gloves and mask. Johan’s only request was “just don’t make me look like a clown with your selection of clothing”. I’m not sure we achieved that but at least he was safe.
  2. Cars: We also prepared two cars to take to the airport, one car would be used by him to drive himself back from the airport and use for the next 14 days while the other would transport the rest of us safely back home.
  3. Medical attention: We found a medical facility that would see him upon his arrival to DFW. Given his flight arrival hours and his uncertain symptoms, we arranged a virtual visit for him in addition to any medical attention he would receive at the airport.
  4. His bedroom: We permanently moved Joana downstairs. Johan would remain in his room upstairs at least for 14 days regardless of his symptoms (or any state mandates). If need be, he would have access to the entire second floor gradually. Needless to say, Joana was ecstatic to move rooms closer to us.
  5. Supplies: We stocked up his room with supplies that we thought he’d need for the next 14 days including some food/water, medical and personal hygiene. That also included disposable silverware to avoid the possibility of infection. BTW, Johan and his pet turtle “Buddy” will have a lot of good conversations in the coming days. Chumchat with Buddy next?
  6. New home rules: It’s hard to tell Joana that she won’t be able to be close to Johan for the next 14 days so we basically told her that we are all in separate quarantines. Johan stays upstairs and we stay downstairs. New house rules effective immediately. Only one person delivers food to Johan: Mom.
  7. Family: We had “surprise” plans to go visit family next weekend. Those plans will now take second priority.

With all the precautions above, the time came for him to land in DFW and we made our trek out to the airport.

The arrival:

Johan was exhausted from a flight that literally lasted 36 hours. The initial welcome was somewhat strange. In fact, what I’m about to describe is very unorthodox and in some ways comical. Pick up the bits and pieces that are useful especially if you need to travel soon.

Johan right after his 36 hour trek with quarantine paperwork he was handed at the airport

First of all, even though all of us made the trip to the airport, I was the only one who got off the car(s) to “welcome” him at the terminal. Yes, as soon as I saw him, I wanted to hug him but that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, the welcome consisted of a set of delineated instructions for him to follow before going home. Apparently, he had been given a similar set of instructions (6 pages) after landing by DFW airport personnel. See below:

State of Texas Mandatory Terms of Self-quarantine (page 1/6)

I took three 13 gallon trash bags with me to the terminal. Since we asked him to change clothing at the airport, the first empty bag was to put his current garment. The second empty bag was to put his carry-on bag. The third bag had a slew of clean/new things. Clean clothes, shoes, new mask, gloves, car keys, money, etc. (a la Chapo Guzman).

Johan after changing clothes at the DFW airport 040420

Transportation:

Johan had some initial concerns about driving back home because he was so tired, jet-lagged, it was late at night, cold, dark; and let’s be honest, he doesn’t really drive in Porto. However, it was imperative that he drove home by himself. We led the way home at a speed of 50 mph and since it’s a ghost town out there, 25 minutes after we took off from terminal E’s garage, we were home. As soon as he arrived home, he put away the trash bags in the garage and everything was ready for his medical consultation.

Adhering to social distancing in a cold, empty parking garage

Medical consultation and feast back home

He proceeded to his room and his medical consultation lasted about 30 minutes. He was only asked a few questions regarding his trip. In Atlanta, he was medically screened meticulously because of his trip origination (and layovers); he was asked about his whereabouts for the last 2 weeks. However, since he was experiencing no symptoms, they said there was no need to test him at this point. They emphasized that we need to monitor him closely for the next 5 days.

As soon as that finished, he took a prolonged, relaxing (accompanied by Drake’s music) bath. After that, we then had “food” (dinner/breakfast) ready. He had requested a home-cooked meal so Claudia went all out and made him Mexican street tacos. He devoured 10 delicious ones. As he wrapped up the food up in his room, we finished watching Season 4 of “Money Heist/La Casa de Papel” and went to sleep right after that. We were all very exhausted but happy, really happy.

Condiments not pictured here

This morning we all woke up very late to face day #1 of our quarantine. So far, we are all symptom-free but it’s only been a few hours post exposure. We had a healthy and delicious omelette each.

First breakfast: Omelette

As we are getting ready for our “Palm Sunday” virtual service, I remembered that my sister (avid church goer), who has always shown an unconditional support for the boys, had interviewed Johan just the day before he left Porto. At the time, she didn’t really know that Johan would be traveling back home. We sometimes limit that type of information to try to shield family members from stressing out about our uncertain football related adventures (Jogo also found out last minute…thank you Mike). J/K

The pre-flight interview:

Below, you will find an interview that my sister Blanca, journalist by profession, did with Johan. Kudos to her, who worries sick about our boys, when honestly she has bigger fish to fry. Credit where where credit is due; she is the master-mind of this website. We love you sis. BTW, happy birthday tomorrow. You are a special kiddo. I don’t tell you that enough. As for the short interview below, beware, the interview is in Spanish.

Johan’s interview prior to his trek across the pond

The promise

In our culture, it’s very customary to make promises (mandas); they a type of religious offerings. When making a manda, an individual calls on a saint to bring his or her case to God so that he can intervene and solve a problem. Mine was a bit different but I did make a promise to myself that if Johan made it home safely, I would shave my head, so that’s coming up later today…..thanks again for all the love an support; we hope you continue to find value in reading us. Until next time #theGomezway

coronavirus, Learning

Should Johan return to (the) US?

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Español

Making the decision was emotionally draining but executing it is proving to be full of suspense and uncertainty; this is how it all went down…

Last Saturday afternoon (our morning), the Federação Portuguesa de Futebol (Portuguese football federation) finally made the decision to end its season for all age groups U19s and under. However, Porto’s technical staff requested Johan to stay put for the months of April and May. The main objective behind that request was to have him train once the Portuguese health department lifted all restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The club wants to prevent adverse effects from having a longer “off season” for the returning players. Johan loves OPorto the city, Porto the club, and football but with the COVID-19 numbers climbing exponentially daily, it was obvious there was a part of him hoping to come home early. Inevitably, he accepted the club’s decision with some hesitation but excited at the chance of getting back on the field and potentially practice with the first team…and this is when the emotional roller-coaster began.

Just a few hours later (Saturday evening Porto time), and with the COVID-19 situation worsening by the minute, FC Porto’s ownership decided to change their mind and advised ALL foreign nationals to travel back home ASAP. Ironically, the decision Johan had so hesitantly accepted a few hours prior (to stay put in Portugal for two additional months) was now being reversed with the resurrected (now not so remote) possibility to come home at last. He called us immediately with the news. To be honest, Claudia and I were not prepared for the quick change of heart by the club. When Johan asked us if we wanted him to come home, we couldn’t give him a rational, well-thought out, objective answer; instead, we impulsively said “of course”. Suddenly, we had more questions than answers but we owed it to him to do our due diligence and assess whether the trip back home was even feasible (and safe). And so, the emotional roller-coaster continued.

Were there flights even coming to the US from Europe anymore?

As soon as we hung up with Johan, we immediately called an American Airlines (AA) customer service representative. To nobody’s surprise, we couldn’t get a hold of one and had to wait hours before receiving a call back. Meanwhile, Claudia’s anxiety was increasing by the second as we couldn’t locate flights. I tried to keep my cool (was occupied working actually) but to our dismay, once we received a call back, a somewhat jaded (maybe frustrated AA rep) vehemently informed us that AA had NO scheduled flights back to the US (or Mexico) until the first week of May. We were quickly integrated into the reality the world is living in. Now, it was impacting our family directly. However, we were not about to give up so we kept searching everywhere for other flights.

Could Johan fly in another airline? if so, what would that entail? Was it safe?

We tried all known travel sites (multiple airlines) and could only come up with two flights in the next week or so. One flight would leave Monday (March 30th) and another one on Tuesday (March 31st) each with 4 stops and taking over 3 (yes 3) days to make it home…not the safest. Time-wise, both were far from convenient too but in a bind, they were doable options. However, neither flight was going to work; see, Johan needed to take care of the regular “summer” move to do’s list prior to leaving Porto since he wouldn’t be back until late in the summer. Booking one of the flights above, gave him extremely limited time to take care of that list. The challenge wasn’t so much expediting the to do’s; the main obstacle was that hardly anybody from FC Porto was physically available to assist so he was left alone to master mind and execute creative decisions. Faced with little immediate success for flights and the mounting stress this was causing on Johan (and us), we decided to sleep on making a final decision concerning his return home and then talk about it Sunday morning.

At last…a travel decision was made

Saturday night was really long. Neither one of us could sleep assessing different scenarios. There wasn’t a “right” decision. After careful analysis (accompanied by prayers), we were split on a decision Sunday morning. While Claudia and Joana were adamant about bringing him home, Mike and myself thought the most prudent thing was to have him wait in Porto for at least a couple of weeks until hopefully the situation improved. The time to share a decision with Johan came around. The phone call was hard, voice-cracking hard. As I was sharing my logical, well-thought out decision with him, he listened attentively,

As I articulated my thoughts, I was trying to imagine his disappointment which made it more difficult for me to be eloquent.. In my head, everything made perfect sense but somehow, it did not feel right. In one hand, Johan was definitely safer staying in Porto. He lives with his roommate and both are only allowed to go out to get groceries (club cafeteria is closed). How risky can that be? The risk associated with going to the store and back to the house was minimal. On the other hand, his mental well-being by potentially staying in Porto up to four additional months was going to be tested. As soon I finished relaying the no-go travel decision to Johan, he said little but was upset, really upset. He didn’t hide it either. This was the second time “the situation” had fiddled with his feelings to no avail. As we hung up, my anxiety continued to be rampant. Had we now just lost a chance to bring him home for additional months?

Would he be stuck in Porto until the beginning of the 2020-2021 season (August)?

Having made that decision, I personally slept better Sunday night. That wasn’t the case for Claudia; something was not right. Her maternal instincts found every reason to question the decision; I must say, she had some thought provoking questions. Somehow, I found a logical justification for every one of them…until the following statement was made: “I’d rather have him get sick here with us, than over there“. That hit me really hard. For a moment, I could only picture that situation and the feeling of helplessness and perhaps guilt. At that point, all the reasoning I had done the past 36 hours went out the door. Johan was returning home at any cost.

Claudia kept playing the beginning of this song when we were split on a decision

Back at it finding flights

FC Porto has been amazingly supportive this year with us. They did not disappoint this time. We collaborated and with their resources, we found a creative way to book a 4 layover flight. Don’t ask me how we did it. The chances of the logistics working seamlessly are not in our favor; even so, we needed to make a run for it. The journey back home began earlier today (Porto time)…

How do you prepare for a 2-day (potentially longer) flight? (that normally takes 10 hours)

Once the booking was confirmed, Johan had to act quickly. Here are a few of the things Johan had to take care prior to traveling.

  1. Personal belongings: His TV, mini-fridge, wardrobe had to be stored in a safe place for the summer as he will not be back in the same apartment next season. Normally, the club would take care of this; however, nobody is physically available these days so it was hard to coordinate. Johan boxed up all his stuff, secured it and left it in his current apartment. There’s a risk associated with this.
  2. Luggage: Due to the multiple layovers and change of planes for his flight; the possibility of losing/delaying the luggage in transit was extremely high. It was not wise to travel with checked-in luggage as that could cause Johan to miss connection flights. Johan had to find an international luggage service that will ensure his personal belongings for the summer travel safely to the US (on separate planes)
  3. Money: He is traveling with an adequate amount of money as ATM’s are not guaranteed to be functional. The amount is enough for needed emergencies: hotel, car rental, food, and other travel expenses in case he’s stuck in any one of the connection cities.
  4. Hydration: Since there will be no (minimal) food/beverage service at any of the airports (and even onboard the plane), he hydrated like crazy these past few days.
  5. Food: Similar to above, he packed up snacks that will last him for multiple days of his journey
  6. Embassy: He called the embassy for travel advice almost daily. They were very helpful; but extremely cautious (almost pessimistic) about traveling nonetheless
  7. Supplies: Hand sanitizer, gloves, mask, vitamins, medicine, etc.

As I write this, he’s in his first stop in Zurich, Switzerland (even farther than Portugal). The first of 4 stops. Baby steps….God willing, he will land in Dallas, tomorrow night (late). Although unlikely, he may be quarantined at the airport depending on his symptoms. At that point, we will be facing a different challenge but “together” (as a family) at last…

We know we have a lot of prayer warriors in our audience. Please pray that our boy makes it home safely. We don’t care if we have to quarantine ourselves for a while. We want him home. Preferably safe. Until next time.

Matthew 6:34
Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own
Little Johan – 18 months old
Español, North Texas SC

Campeonato de USL-1

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English

¡Buena chavos! Jogo, tu participación en la obtención del campeonato resultó fundamental; la asistencia (a la asistencia) resultó en el gol ganador y que decir de la salvada en la segunda mitad que contó por lo menos por un gol y medio.

Sin embargo, el momento de más orgullo en la familia durante esta temporada llegó el día en que ambos Jogos compartieron el campo en Toronto. El tiempo fue efimero pero muy especial.

La familia Gómez siempre le estará eternamente agradecida a la organización del FC Dallas por estas oportunidades brindadas a los chicos. ¡Felicitaciones a los dos por esta temporada tan exitosa! #TheGomezway.

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Llegamos a 4000 vistas

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English

En esta ocasión queremos aprovechar para reconocer los comentarios positivos que frecuentemente recibimos sobre el contenido de nuestro sitio. La buena noticia es que en muy poco tiempo, hemos registrado más de 3000 vistas.

Gracias a todos y sigan interactuando con nosotros para que el Gracias a todos y sigan interactuando con nosotros para que el contenido continue siendo más específico, informativo y útil para todos. A final de cuentas, no se trata sólo de números, sino del impacto (la calidad antes que la cantidad es lo que cuenta para nosotros) que nuestro contenido tenga en las familias del fútbol.

Nuestro objetivo siempre será contribuir al mejoramiento del deporte en este país compartiendo nuestra experiencia futbolera como director técnico, árbitro, jugador, pero sobre todo, como padre de hijos futbolistas.

Estamos agradecidos de tener este espacio digital para llegar a ese fin. Por cierto, la próxima publicación será una continuación de la publicación “Agente vs Escout” de la semana pasada. Por ahora, les mandamos un cordial saludo y un agradecimiento por seguir al tanto.

Por cierto, si tienen algunos minutitos, échenle un vistazo al siguiente podcast. En el episodio de ésta semana, el invitado es Cole Bassett. Buen trabajo chavos.

Chumchat season 1 volume 11. Guest: Cole Bassett
Family, FC Porto, Learning, U20-MNT, Uncategorized

Portuguese Quarantine

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It’s nothing short of weird being quarantined in a foreign country. Foreign-ish. I don’t really like to use that excuse anymore because I feel like I’m really well adapted, plus Portugal reminds me a lot of Mexico. It gives me comfort sometimes when I’m out and about and certain parts of the city are identical to Mexico. The first couple of days went by so slowly, it seemed like it was a week’s worth of time packed within one day. Our apartment is a good size but I share a room with someone and even just a few days in, I already felt like I was losing my sanity. Thankfully, there was a first team player who happened to get loaned out about a month ago. He happens to be an Argentinian who gets along very well with my also Argentinian roommate. Long story short, he left us his car and his house. We packed up our stuff to stay for a couple weeks minimum and headed over to the crib. It’s looking like it’ll be about a month until we go back to training and that’s if everything goes well. The countdown’s on.

2020-04-21T17:12:00

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Back to Training (Supposedly)

As I’m writing this, we’re about 23 hours in and this is about as good as quarantine gets. Space away from roommate, space to do my own thing, FaceTime friends and family without overlapping conversations as my roommate screams while playing Fortnite. It’s been really nice. I had forgotten what it’s like to have a little space to breathe. Yesterday we headed to the supermarket, masked up, to stock up on groceries since the only downfall of this is that we’ll have to cook. Thank God that people in Portugal haven’t resulted to panic buying like some people in the states have. I would honestly have no food to live off of if that was the case. The cafeteria where we usually get our food from at Casa Dragao, is closed right now. All my teammates have gone home, and my national team teammates (most) that play in Germany or England got to head back… without having to quarantine upon arrival, so I’m a little jealous. Shout-out Leo (Sepulveda) if you’re reading this, because it’s way worse in Spain and he hasn’t been able to go home so I can’t even complain. He’s been helping me by telling me what to stock up on and what to cook and stuff. That’s the bro. We stocked up on groceries and I cooked my first meal in a while. Easy to make spaghetti. Simple, healthy and always filling. Haven’t cooked in a while and honestly, forgot how much I hate cleaning up after and washing the dishes. That night, I went to sleep kind of late but woke up early the next morning to do the workout Porto sent us, plus, I want to keep my body on the same training schedule time-wise as we’re usually on. I was only going to spend about an hour out there but ended up staying for two because I got a hold of the ball. I could have stayed outside forever with the ball honestly, especially now that there’s nothing to do.

Johan fiddling with the ball 031820 (Porto, Portugal)

After, I finished with some stretches to make sure the legs don’t tighten up too much. I’ve struggled with my hamstring lately so I’m using this time to really take care of it, especially when we’re just sitting around, your muscles tend to tighten and tense up so it’s always good to do light stretches to increase flexibility. Highly recommended for any athlete, and you can do them while watching TV or doing nothing now that you’re in quarantine.

I’ve really been enjoying the space I have compared to normal, but it’s no secret I’d rather be home right now. I talked to the people in charge here but they don’t want to let me go until a date is given for return to play so we’re waiting on the federation to say something. I doubt they’ll let me go back, so kind of just have to deal with it. It sucks because, although I wouldn’t necessarily be able to go out with my friends, at least I would be in my city and with my family. Also, I don’t want to be stuck here if things get worse and it’s summer. Then, there would really be no point in me being here. I have a good relationship with the doctors here due to my past injury and they’re constantly checking up on my mental state, and I’ve never struggled with that (thank God, but if you do struggle with that reach out to someone) but it is weird being here and not playing with the team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Daw1n7KFY
The World’s Most Unforgettable Smile

By the way, at time of writing it’s Ronaldinho’s 40th birthday, he’s one of the greatest of all time and helped a lot of us fall in love with the game with that contagious smile. Let’s honor him by watching some of his greatest moments. Oh and go subscribe to my podcast on YT, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Also, follow us on insta @chum.chat . We’re honestly pretty good for a trio of 18 year old. Give it a listen… you probably have nothing better to do.

Our latest EP and Interview with Las Vegas Raiders and Clemson legend WR Hunter Renfrow
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Family

Nutrition and Chumchat

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Nutrition is an integral part of one’s health and growth and more so for athletes. Having two young athletes living away from us has presented its share of challenges. As parents, we always want to ensure that our children’s nutrition is adequate for their age and activity levels.

To be honest, both boys have always been very disciplined and have understood the importance of a balanced diet given their lifestyles. However, we know there are way too many food choices available. Even as an adult, it’s hard to discern what’s best for our bodies, that feeling magnifies for a couple of teenagers and this is where they sometimes need our assistance.

In Johan’s case, he currently has no need (or desire) to cook as Porto takes care of that aspect of his life. Similarly, Louisville also takes excellent care of Jogo; however, Jogo loves to cook frequently (more so recently). As you can see from his hobbies, he finds cooking therapeutic as well fulfilling…and this is where we (mom) come in.

See, when they both lived in Frisco (about an hour away from us), their nutrition was easy to manage (and even influence). Mom would cook additional portions that they would in turn freeze, transport to their home and eat at will. During the weekends, the boys would come home and we would just all eat together (all smiles).

Nowadays, we leverage technology to increase Jogo’s nutritional IQ. We not only help him with cooking but also with shopping. I must say, it works extremely well. The videos also serve a secondary purpose as they help us practice my native language. Warning, the video below is in Spanish.

Spanish Rice Cooking: 03.15.20 (Keller, TX)

Remember that carbohydrates are an athlete’s main fuel. Their body changes them to glucose -a form of sugar- and stores them in their muscles as glycogen. A diet rich in carbs is important. In the future, we will be adding more videos about other support methods (ex. grocery shopping) and hints to help young athletes and their families with managing/influencing nutrition remotely. As with anything you do in life, do it with a passion.

Matthew 6:21

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also

In other news, the chums have been doing really well and continue to increase their follower base. This week’s guest was NFL’s Hunter Rentfrow. Give them a listen when you can and susbscribe to their YouTube channel or Spotify. Enjoy

Chumchat Season 1, Episode 10: Talking Shop w/ Hunter Renfrow (Las Vegas Raiders Star WR)
Family, FC Porto, International Competition, Learning, Louisville City FC, U19-MNT, U20-MNT

COVID-19 & missed U20/U19 MNT callups

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In these times of uncertainty, we sincerely hope everyone is safe, healthy and most of all, enjoying some down time with family. We would like to take this opportunity to share some recent family anecdotes which initially appeared to be disastrous, but are proving to be beneficial. We hope you find them comforting and perhaps they help soften the impact of the current Coronavirus adversities however those may be affecting your personal lives.

One of the hardest things that the Gomez’s have had to adjust to in the past year has been living away from our oldest children (especially Johan). Yes, technology facilitates certain things but you can’t change others such as the time difference. Although both Johan and Jogo left home when they were 16 and 13 respectively, they were both within a manageable driving distance from us (if they ever needed us). Also, we would see them at least once a week and when we did, we were ALL HAPPY; we miss that. Nowadays, we see them once every 2-3 months and it becomes especially worrisome (nostalgic even) in turbulent times like the ones taking place now.

Johan being in a country where the COVID-19 confirmed cases climb up exponentially every day, far away from us, makes us feel helpless. Honestly, it’s a humbling feeling that tests our patience thresholds. Yes, we worry sick about him because in the end “that’s what us parents do best“. On the other hand, Jogo being twelve hours (driving distance) away, seems to be within reach if an emergency comes up but he’s still far. In the end, we trust that the Lord will guide them appropriately.

If you happen to have your children close to you (more so during these challenging times), give them a hug, tell them how much you love them and reminisce about life events with them. Go through old pictures/video together. Not all of us are THAT fortunate right now. Before you know it, your kids will be gone building their own legacy and chasing their own dreams.

I will start closing this post on a positive note. Although football is full of sacrifices as some would say; it’s also full of rewards, ironies and some fortune. Sometimes luck is on your side yet others it isn’t. See, in less than two months, Johan has been called up twice for different U20 MNT camps and guess what? He has been unable to attend either. Some would say, that’s terrible luck (maybe so). For the first camp in January, as you some of you already know, he was injured just days before he was scheduled to fly out to Florida. In hindsight, the unexpected additional down time gave him and his friends time to give birth to another life project: Chumchat and discover perhaps another talent. The second U20 MNT camp (in Portugal) was cancelled a couple of days ago and although Johan was disappointed, he recognizes that this down time will present new opportunities once again. In the end, football is only a small part of our lives right now and we must seize each day. “Carpe Diem” Johan until the next opportunity, then, be prepared.

Last but not least, Jogo was invited with the U19 MNT to Spain for an international tournament. As a family, we were looking forward to enjoying watching the boys represent the US crest simultaneously. Unfortunately, the tournament also got cancelled. While that was unfortunate, Jogo is using the unexpected additional down time to continue excelling in his new high school and familiarizing himself with his new life in Louisville. We try to teach the boys that in the face of adversity, it’s how you bounce back that determines the ultimate outcome and molds your character.

The Gomez’s are resilient to “bad luck”, adversity but most of all, remain hopeful that there will be brighter times ahead of us. For all of you, stay resilient, healthy, and faithful out there. This will inevitably pass and life will return to “normal”. Make the best out of these times. Until next time. #theGomezWay

1 John 5-5

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

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Español, Family

VERTE PARTIR duele TANTO…

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ENGLISH

…a pesar de que irónicamente te hemos visto partir de tantos aeropuertos en docenas de ocasiones, sin embargo, esta vez fué emocionalmente agotador.

Para ser honesto, se mezclaron muchas emociones … tantas lágrimas derramadas, la alegría de haber tenido el placer de tenerte cerca por unos días. Las despedidas son complicadas; la familia siempre va a ser egoísta por naturaleza y te va a querer cerca “a todas horas”. Algunos de nosotros incluso diríamos que la vida es injusta…en realidad, la vida no lo es, ya que estas son nuestras decisiones y estamos conscientes de que estás alcanzando tu sueño y bueno, al final, eso merma un poco el dolor de tu partida.

Aun así, es difícil explicarle a tu hermana por qué te tienes que ir “una vez más”; y como era de esperarse, lloró todo el camino de regreso a casa. Además, ver a tu hermano sollozar como un niño pequeño no es algo de lo que hayamos sido testigos antes…el vínculo que ustedes tienen es notablemente muy fuerte. La mayoría de las personas tan sólo ven la fachada familiar, pero el trabajo detrás de la cancha es admirable y sólo los que vivimos el día a día, lo sabemos.

A final de cuentas, este estilo de vida es nuestra elección y ese es el alto precio que tenemos que pagar. El adiós de hoy fue más duro de lo normal, ya que no sabemos cuándo nos veremos de nuevo. Hasta entonces, queremos que sepas que eres amado, admirado y muy especial en la vida de muchos. Ve a buscar tus sueños hijo porque acá siempre tendrás a un equipo muy COMPLETO y capaz apoyándote…#theGomezway

Louisville City FC

LouCity

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Jogo’s new crest with two stars

The expectations

Football has allowed the Gómez’s to visit and experience some amazing places domestically and internationally; in the process, we have met some wonderful people. We are beyond grateful to football for those opportunities. In this particular occasion, we visited yet another historical place packed with pleasant folks. After the initial remote interactions with the Louisville City FC staff, we were confident that we would finally encounter hospitality, honesty, genuineness, openness, and the appropriate development setup for Jogo…and sure enough, Louisville did not disappoint.

The airport

My fathers’s favorite sport was not football; it was boxing. I became a boxing fan at an early age mostly because of him but also because my home country produces its share of good boxers. I remember watching boxing every Saturday night with my father; he’d ask me trivia questions about the sport so I became very knowledgeable at a young age. All that said, when the trip to Louisville materialized, the last thing that crossed my mind was Muhammad Ali’s hometown. However, as soon as we landed in the Louisville Muhammad Ali airport, I felt I had gone full circle in a small (but very intimate) part of my life. My dad would have been happy.

Jogo and mom at the Muhammad Ali airport 03.04.20

The folks

From the moment we received confirmation of the trip until the last handshake; we felt welcome; the hospitality was incredible. It’s not often parents get an opportunity to talk openly to the head coach (especially one whom we admire) and much less his staff (the assistant coach and the goalkeeper coach). They made us feel welcome…special. We were not just a number. Is this how it’s supposed to be? Thank you. In addition to the coaching staff (and in no chronological order), in our first trip, we met the vice president of operations, the club president, the academy director, the public relations team, the chaplain (and his wife), players (Sean, apologies since we were in a rush), etc. Everyone was so genuinely kind and welcoming. Words can’t suffice. They say Texans are famous for their southern hospitality…don’t know, what we experienced that weekend outdoes anything we have witnessed before. We know we landed at the right place.

The stadium

Are you kidding me? A 65 million dollar facility with a capacity of up to 14k fans. It’s not every day that a USL team has its own brand new football dedicated stadium. Being part of the inception of a project magnifies the satisfaction and was a factor in our decision. The attention to detail is incredible; from the shape of the stadium to the locker room soccer tennis area. It’s well thought-out. It’s also not surprising that the folks who made us feel welcome are the same folks behind this magnificent design. The two main supporter groups will be ecstatic. The tifos and smoke bombs setup; everything is built with a purpose. The Lynn Family stadium will be inaugurated by Louisville City FC on April 11th. We are looking forward to an environment packed with supporting fans on our third visit; we have never experienced an environment like that in North Texas.

The Gomez’s at Lynn Family Stadium 03.05.20

Pre-season

Having the flexibility to accompany the team to pre-season was the cherry on the cake. Jogo not only had a chance to interact, train and play with the team in Louisville but also traveled with them to Florida to further validate any potential on-the-field development uncertainties. While there, he played a scrimmage against a very talented DC United side and defended some very good players. Get well soon Paul. We need you back on the USMNT.

Jogo defending Paul Arriola in pre-season 02.06.20

The city

In two quick pragmatic trips with packed agendas, we achieved everything we wanted except perhaps more sight-seeing. We’ll be back, there’s no doubt about that. We did manage to use at least one of the famous beautiful bridges that go across the Ohio River (to cross to Indiana to go to Target).

The weather

Is this how cold it’s supposed to get? Texas winter wind surpasses this any day. We experienced beautiful days for football with (guess what?) no wind and we loved it. Incidentally, the colder weather and the quicker speed of play of the team helped Jogo with what he embarked on right after Louisville City FC pre-season.

The farewell

In an already gloomy afternoon (Kobe’s news), the time came to say goodbye. It had to be quick because Jogo needed to return to “his business” and the quick adieu helped. Mom was sad (extremely sad). Everything we have seen far exceeds our expectations; we know deep in our hearts this is where he belongs. Yet as we head back to the airport, a natural sudden nostalgic feeling rushes in. The sadness is exponentially exacerbated by the gloomy cold Sunday night. Feelings are strange and we can’t explain them sometimes; for now, we must manage them. There is no doubt this is the next logical progression in his career. We know Jogo will embrace it with open arms because he is surrounded by an excellent team. Seize the day son. It is time to continue shining.

Jogo with teary-eyed mom
Learning

Agent vs scout part #2

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This post is a follow up to the one we wrote a couple of weeks ago regarding agents and scouts part #1. With the recently finished Generation Adidas (GA) qualifying games, it seems appropriate to continue talking about agents and scouts. Before we start though, it’s of utmost importance to remind our audience that everyone in football has their own agenda. Clubs want what is best for the club, scouts want to protect their reputations, agents want to make money, parents want their kids to be a success and most of the time these agendas do not align well. With that in mind, let’s try to address some basic questions.

  1. Why do players/families seek an agent/scout?

Players/families seek out an agent or scout because they typically need assistance, guidance or just a second opinion on a decision. Normally, players/families look for an agent as a way to either validate probability or try to expedite the player’s path to professionalism. Conversely, an agent seeks out players/families to gauge if there is a potential match between the player’s/family’s aspirations and what a particular football club needs for potential representation.

2. How do players/families find an agent? Or does the agent find you?

Typically, agents find players they are interested in at events such as Development Academy showcases/playoffs, Generation Adidas Cup (qualifying and tournament), Dallas Cup, DA/ECNL games, Youth National Team events, International tournaments, football online forums, etc. On the other hand, there are some proactive parents who seek out agent advice via online research (ex. this blog) or by asking parents of players currently leveraging the services of an agent. For example, recently, we have had several parents reach out to us for suggestions on alternate paths for their players instead of the local MLS club. As far as scouts are concerned, scouts tend to be a bit more reserved and may not interact with the player/family at these events directly. Sometimes, scouts could be college coaches which is a separate option altogether.

3. Once the player/family meet/talk with an agent, what should the first conversation be about?

Well, this one is somewhat easy, if the agent found *you*, you let them explain the reason they contacted you which is likely interest in player representation. On the other hand, if you reached out to the agent, be ready to state what you need from them; be specific about your questions (these may be personal in nature). We must say that it’s likely the first meet/talk is a phone conversation. Examples could be a request to asses your player, possible progression pathways for your player, MLS/USL/DA/NCAA rules, best development environments for your player, etc. Below is an example of some topics/questions to be curious about. The priority of the questions below is situational based on player/family needs.

  1. Services offered (ex. building player profile, player placement, additional sponsorships, tax preparation, etc.)
  2. Cost structure for services offered
  3. How many other players do they represent?
  4. Who else do they represent?
  5. How long have they (agent/agency) been in the business?
  6. How did agent/agency start in the business? Did he/she play the game?
  7. How long have they been assessing/following your player?
  8. What’s their assessment of your player?
  9. How do they make money?
  10. What markets are they most comfortable in?

4. What comes after the first meeting/conversation with an agent?

It really depends on the agent’s familiarity with your player and a potential need for your player on a club. Although unlikely, if the initial conversation leads to a potential trial in a particular market; it may be necessary to have the agent create a video clip of the player for promotion/exposure. Most agents have access to ample footage (WyScout) so they should be able to create their own but sometimes time is of the essence; and the agent can request player footage to the family so it’s important for the family/player to have a clip readily available that can be used. Put some thought into creating the clip (we could probably write an entire post on this topic) but don’t go overboard (especially with the music). In our case, we organically created the #theGomezway YouTube channel and that proved to be instrumental in agents validating their thoughts on the boys. Our advice is to have fun with it; if not for recruiting, the website will be full of memories in a few years. You don’t really have to go all out either. However, it’s important that you enjoy doing it and that it doesn’t become a chore.

5. If I don’t have footage of my player, where do I find some?

If your player plays DA, all games are recorded. Most of those games are readily available if you ask the right person. At FC Dallas, there was a point in time where all it took was a request to the manager for footage but as soon as they realized parents were using it for highlight purposes, they started scrutinizing and negating such requests. It’s always a good idea to try to record (or have somebody record) games where your player shows well. Look into Soloshot. That did wonders for us. Disclaimer: We don’t work for Soloshot.

6. Does it cost money to go on trials?

It should not cost any money to be assessed by a club. However, commuting to the club’s facilities whether be across town or in a different continent is normally at the expense of the player/family. Once the player is trialing, housing is typically provided by the club. For example, trialing in Europe is very cost prohibitive for families. Once there, the inviting club normally provides room and board. Sometimes you could be fortunate enough to have a club so interested in your player that they can assist with travel costs as well. However, it is typically NOT the norm especially for American (pay to play) players.

7. Once in a trial, what role does the agent play?

The main role of an agent in a trial is to set it up. The agent usually doesn’t accompany the player to the trial (especially if it’s abroad); however, the agent will help setup room and board with the club for the duration of the trial. A typical trial is about a week but could easily last longer depending on the hosting club interest, point in their current season, weather, etc. Since the family is paying for the transportation to the trial club, it’s probably a good idea to try to line up clubs in a particular market to trial with all in one trip. If the agent sets up multiple trials in one trip, it is possible to receive feedback from the clubs prior to the end of the trip. The agent will relay that feedback to the player/family.

8. How long does it take to receive feedback?

It depends. If the club really, really wants your player (and the conditions are all present -ex passport, release, age, etc.), they can extend an offer on the spot; otherwise, they will take their time possibly to evaluate other players. Similarly, your player can explore other clubs in sequence. In general, the agent is the one receiving feedback directly from the club; one can expect to hear from the club within a few weeks; otherwise, it probably means, there may not be an immediate interest.

To be continued….

Johan , Jogo, and Joana Gómez