Boys play soccer on a dirt field at Unity Park in Trenton's Chambersburg neighborhood. (LA Parker/The Trentonian)
TRENTON โ Jose Cabrera creates dreams from dust mixed with tiny flecks of crabgrass.
On Thursday evening, as the sun crept across Chambersburg in Trenton, 50 children played soccer on a field that had been eroded to nothing but dirt. At an adjacent playground, teens and young adults kicked up dust as a grassless baseball field became a makeshift soccer field.
Undaunted by the situation, Cabrera, a dreamer, managed to avoid the complaints and challenges of the situation and charmed around 400 football-loving young people, unaware of the dusty disadvantages.
Cabrera, who leads Team America, a growing city soccer program in Trenton, New Jersey, needed an interpreter to translate from Spanish to English, but when his smile succeeded in inspiring children's dreams. It was a universal expression, and no words were needed.
“We've been playing soccer here for eight years. What started as kids kicking a soccer ball around has turned into a league of hundreds. We practice one day a week, and on Saturdays the kids Everyone plays one game at a time,โ Cabrera explained.
On Saturday, youth will compete in approximately 22 contests on three small fields, producing the Dust Bowl. These playgrounds once provided an opportunity for Italian children who played baseball and envisioned Yankees stars such as Tony Lazzeri, Yogi Berra, and Joe DiMaggio as historical heroes. When the Italians left The Burgh, most of Chambersburg's vacant buildings and other spaces, including sports fields, were filled with Latinos. Children here wear shirts with the names of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on them.
In an incredible stroke of good fortune, on April 22nd, approximately 100 Team America Trenton players and some family members will be joining Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls and the National Women's Soccer League's New Jersey. /Visited Red Bull Arena, the home base in New York.
“We had a great time,'' Coach Cabrera said with a smile after the players enjoyed their third consecutive visit thanks to the Red Bulls' youth soccer initiatives.
Please try to imagine. These kids, many of whom grew up enduring tough conditions, playing soccer on dirt fields where dust choked their voices and discolored their socks, ended up kicking up their heels and earning $200 million. He was scheduled to play in a professional soccer stadium.
Building a dream is an eye-opener.