Soccer has become much more than just a game for a high school team in Contra Costa County.
At Cal Prep Richmond, both players and coaches see it as a pathway to college and a way to keep kids off the streets.
But the small charter school is having a difficult time staying in the game due to a lack of resources.
The small charter school recently jumped to a more competitive league after dominating a smaller league for years.
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But the competition is more fierce and the program is falling behind due to a lack of basic resources.
Right now, the team often relies on students bringing their own soccer balls and sometimes playing without any formal goalposts and nets.
“Sometimes players don’t even bring their balls,” said player Ivan Flores. “Or forget, or even because we have school, they don't bring it."
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“You can’t play a sport without a ball ... I don’t know what you’re paying without a ball,” said player Javier Ruano.
It’s why their head coach, Cesar Tamayo, is now hoping a plea to the community and a GoFundMe account will help address the problem.
Many of the team's players come from underserved communities and he believes the game provides them a way to stay off the streets and a pathway to college.
And now, competing against top schools means more college scouts.
“They get exposure from college coaches,” said Tamayo. “Opportunities come, like scholarships and things like that.”
Flores is a senior and credits the soccer program for the current interest he’s receiving from scouts.
“I feel like if I didn’t have this in my life, it would be more challenging for me,” he said. “Especially as a senior, it would be really challenging, I wouldn’t have colleges looking at me, scouts looking at me.”
The coach says those opportunities for players are fueling him and his push to get the equipment his team needs to compete.
“We just want to be able to pretty much be at the same level as our competition,” said Tamayo. “Improve and keep up with competition.”
