Soccer fanatic Eric Alvarenga turned his attention to the ball and joined the professional FC Barcelona soccer team.
The Grade 11 boy's love for the sport started early, according to his family, and grew as he won youth trophies such as Best Goalkeeper. At the age of three, he was kicking his ball in a mini-soccer just like his father and uncles were kicking his ball in a real soccer. For years, all he wanted to do was play in the Glen Cove Junior Soccer League, at the soccer academy, in the yard with his neighbors, and kick a ball in the dark unless adults stopped him. That's what I thought.
“He wanted to be on the soccer field every day,” said his uncle, Miguel Alvarenga, president of the Glen Cove Soccer League. “It's so funny. Even when we're at a family barbecue, he's always talking about soccer, his friends, his brother, me, his parents. Why don't we talk about school?'' He said, “No, I love soccer.” ”
Born and raised in Glen Cove, Alvarenga wore a Barcelona jersey given to him by his uncle, but his professional dreams never materialized. He died suddenly on March 14 in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his family had moved about three years ago in search of better opportunities. he was 18 years old.
After the family returned home from dinner, Alvarenga felt tired and went to bed, but two hours later he found his girlfriend dead, his uncle said. He said doctors will determine the cause of death.
Those who knew Alvarenga, the eldest of four children, described him as a “kind soul” who wanted to help, whether it was doing housework for his mother or handing out pandemic donations with his uncle.
“I remember Eric always smiling,” said Nelson Iocolano, principal of Robert Finley Middle School in Glen Cove. “He was always very courteous and courteous and just the epitome of kindness and positivity.”
His kind heart was sometimes frightened by the violence he saw in the world, his family said. “People are sick,” he told his uncle when ISIS kidnapped and killed victims.
Alvarenga said young Eric always wanted to hang out with him, from soccer games to barbecue grills, where he would tell his uncle that “that thing was on fire.'' The teenager had a serious demeanor ripe for teasing, like when he caught a small fish, his uncle recalled with a laugh. “He tried to catch a fish, but when I told him it would bite, he got scared.”
In recent years, the teenager has opened up to the world, his uncle said. He was exploring career options outside of football. He enjoyed traveling to his parents' home country of Honduras.
Mr. Alvarenga had planned to attend college and play soccer, based on his uncle's advice that the best way to get noticed was to get noticed by professional recruiters. As a goalie, he was able to calculate the trajectory of the ball, yell to his teammates, “This is mine,” and grab the ball, his uncle said.
In a recent conversation, the teenager said he was anxious to return to Glen Cove to be with his childhood friends and uncle.
Alvarenga said now that her memories of her nephew are “only happy ones.”
In addition to his uncle, he is survived by his parents, Erica Alvarenga and Jose Alvarenga, and his siblings, Brian, Ever, and Abby of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Funeral services were held on March 23 at Dodge-Thomas Funeral Home in Glen Cove, followed by interment on March 25 at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.